Delhi HC refuses to entertain plea to form Gujjar regiment in Indian Army

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a public interest litigation seeking direction to the Centre for the formation of a Gujjar regiment in the Indian Army.

A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela termed the PIL to be "absolutely divisive" and asked the counsel for the petitioner to do some research before taking up such petitions.

Sensing the court's mood which warned of imposing costs on the litigant, the petitioner's counsel withdrew the plea.

"After arguing at some length, the counsel for the petitioner states that she has instructions from the petitioner who is present in the court to withdraw the petition. The same is dismissed as withdrawn, the bench said.

The court was hearing a PIL by one Rohan Basoya, claiming that the Gujjar community has a well-documented history of bravery, having participated in various wars, including the 1857 revolt, Indo-Pak wars of 1947, 1965, 1971, Kargil war (1999) and counter insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Despite this rich martial legacy, they (Gujjars) have not been accorded a dedicated regiment, unlike other martial communities such as Sikhs, Jats, Rajputs, Gorkhas, and Dogras," the plea said.

It added that the Indian Army has historically maintained ethnic-based regiments, recognising the contributions of specific communities to national defence.

However, the exclusion of Gujjars from the system creates an imbalance in representation and violates their constitutional rights under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, the petition submitted.

The plea submitted that establishment of a Gujjar regiment would provide equal opportunities, increase recruitment, and would strengthen national security.

The demand for a Gujjar Regiment has been raised before, yet no concrete steps have been taken by the government. Given the community's presence in border regions like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Punjab, a Gujjar Regiment would also serve strategic military interests in counter-insurgency and border security operations, it said.

The plea sought to direct the government to conduct a study on the feasibility of forming a Gujjar regiment and to implement necessary measures for its establishment.

During the hearing, the bench orally said, "Please understand that you are seeking a mandamus. What is the prerequisite for mandamus? There has to be a right vested in you either by any statute or any law or the Constitution. Which is the law which gives you a right to have such a regiment? Where is that right?"  It asked the petitioner's counsel which provision of the Constitution or any other enactment or customary law gives the right to have a regiment of persons of a particular community.