{"id":34900,"date":"2023-04-13T02:08:51","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T20:38:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=34900"},"modified":"2025-04-20T18:19:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T12:49:43","slug":"sc-ruling-on-agnipath-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/sc-ruling-on-agnipath-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"SC Ruling on Agnipath Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Why in news?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What is the Agnipath scheme?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>News Summary: SC ruling on Agnipath scheme<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What is the background of the case?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What is the doctrine of promissory estoppel?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>How does the doctrine of promissory estoppel relate to the Agnipath case?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What was the observation of the apex court on this matter?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Why in news?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Supreme Court dismissed petitions challenging the Delhi High Court judgment which upheld the Agnipath scheme for recruitment to the armed forces.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is the Agnipath scheme?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>About<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Agnipath scheme is a central government scheme launched in 2022 for recruitment to the armed forces.<\/li>\n<li>It is a recruitment process for individuals <u>below the rank of officer<\/u>, with the goal of deploying fitter, younger troops on the front lines, many <u>of whom will be on four-year contracts<\/u>.\n<ul>\n<li>The armed forces would also have the option to retain some of the best &#8216;Agniveers.&#8217;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Eligibility\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Candidates between the age of 17.5 years to 21 years will be eligible for enrolling in the Agnipath scheme.<\/li>\n<li>Girls under the given age limit are open for the agnipath entry, while there is <u>no such reservation for women under this scheme<\/u>.<\/li>\n<li>The recruitment standards will remain the same, and recruitment will be done twice a year through rallies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pay &amp; Benefits of Agniveers<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi-test.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/content\/ckeditor\/2023\/04\/19\/image-20230419225802-1.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Image Caption: Pay &amp; Benefits of Agniveers<\/p>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2><strong>News Summary: SC ruling on Agnipath scheme<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h2><strong>What is the background of the case?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Various petitions were filed in the apex court challenging the Delhi High Court judgment which upheld the Agnipath scheme.<\/li>\n<li>Some of the petitioners included candidates who were shortlisted in the earlier recruitment process to Army and Air Force.<\/li>\n<li>Names of some of these candidates had appeared in a provisional list for recruitment to Air Force but the recruitment process was cancelled when Agnipath scheme was notified.\n<ul>\n<li>There was written exam, physical test, medical exam conducted under the old recruitment process.<\/li>\n<li>After which a provisional selection list was published with the ranks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Against this backdrop, the petitioners argued that <u>the government must be directed to complete the old process citing the doctrine of promissory estoppel<\/u>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2><strong>What is the doctrine of promissory estoppel?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>About<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The doctrine of promissory estoppel is an equitable doctrine evolved by equity to prevent injustice.<\/li>\n<li>The doctrine is a legal principle that prevents a person from going back on a promise made to another person, even if the promise is not supported by consideration.<\/li>\n<li>It is based upon principles of justice, fair play, and good conscience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Conditions when this doctrine may apply<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In a 1981 decision in <i><strong>Chhaganlal Keshavalal Mehta v. Patel Narandas Haribhai<\/strong><\/i>, the SC lists out a checklist for when the doctrine can be applied.\n<ul>\n<li>First, there must be a clear and unambiguous promise.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Second, the plaintiff must have acted relying reasonably on that promise.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Third, the plaintiff must have suffered a loss.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>This doctrine is often used in contract law cases, but it can also apply in other areas of law, such as property law or tort law.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>The doctrine of promissory estoppel and contract<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The doctrine of promissory estoppel is not the same as a contract, and it does not create a contract between the parties.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Rather, it is a principle that can be used to enforce a promise in certain circumstances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2><strong>How does the doctrine of promissory estoppel relate to the Agnipath case?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>In the present case, the petitioners\u2019 argument invoking the doctrine essentially means that the <u>government\u2019s actions of putting up a shortlist etc would be a promise made by it<\/u>.<\/li>\n<li>The candidates acted based on that promise and they refused other jobs in CRPF, BSF etc. Hence, they must be compensated for their loss.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2><strong>What was the observation of the apex court on this matter?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The promissory estoppel is always subject to overarching public interest.<\/li>\n<li>The court also observed that this is not a contract matter where promissory estoppel in public law was applied.\n<ul>\n<li><u>It is a public employment and that the question of applying this principle will not arise in this case<\/u>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q1)<\/strong> <strong>What is a contract between two parties?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A contract between two parties is a legally binding agreement that sets out the rights and obligations of both parties. It can be in writing, verbal or implied by conduct. A contract typically includes several key elements, such as the offer, acceptance, consideration, and intention to create legal relations. An offer is a proposal made by one party to another, while acceptance is the other party&#8217;s agreement to the terms of the offer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q2)\u00a0What is a tort law?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Tort law is an area of law that deals with civil wrongs committed by one party that causes harm or injury to another party. The term &#8220;tort&#8221; comes from the French word for &#8220;wrong&#8221; or &#8220;injury.&#8221; Tort law provides a legal framework for individuals or entities who have suffered harm or injury as a result of the wrongful conduct of another party.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-law\/what-does-promissory-estoppel-mean-8552259\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>SC ruling on Agnipath scheme: What does promissory estoppel under contract law mean?<\/u><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mondaq.com\/india\/government-contracts-procurement--ppp\/1226798\/doctrine-of-promissory-estoppel-and-its-application-against-government--an-explainer-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Mondaq<\/u><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/vikaspedia.in\/education\/career-guidance\/career-options\/agneepath-scheme\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Vikaspedia<\/u><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/agnipath-scheme-for-recruiting-soldiers-7969432\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Indian Express<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Agnipath is a central government scheme launched in 2022 for recruitment to the armed forces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":34901,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-34900","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}