The Supreme Court on Tuesday transferred PILs pending before it and in many High Courts challenging the Centre's 'Agnipath' scheme for recruitment in the Armed forces to Delhi High Court.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant, and AS Bopanna also asked the High Courts of Kerala, Punjab and Haryana, Patna, and Uttarakhand to transfer the PILs pending before them against the 'Agnipath' scheme to Delhi High Court or keep it pending till a decision from the Delhi High Court if the petitioners before it so desires.
"In this backdrop, we are of the view the three writ petitions which have been instituted before this court should be transferred to the Delhi High Court and renumbered under Article 226 of the Constitution.
Ordinarily, we would have disposed of these petitions by granting liberty to the petitioners to move the Delhi High Court afresh but we are desisting from following that course of action, to obviate any further delay in withdrawal of the petitions and filing of fresh petitions", the bench said.
The bench directed the registrar judicial of the top court shall accordingly transmit the record of the three writ petitions filed under Article 32 of the constitution to the registrar judicial of Delhi High Court so that the petitions can be renumbered and be placed before the appropriate bench in terms of the appropriate directions of the Chief Justice of the High Court.
"It would be appropriate to direct that the copy of the present order be placed on record of the proceedings in each of the High Courts by the counsel appearing on behalf of Union of India in those proceedings", said the bench.
"We request the Delhi High Court for expeditious disposal of the writ petitions after hearing the parties," the bench said, adding that the Union of India shall ensure that copy of this order is immediately placed before the registrar judicial of the concerned High Courts.
Meanwhile in the afternoon, the bench of Delhi High Court Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said it would hear the present petition along with several pleas challenging the Agnipath scheme on Wednesday.