Delhi High Court declines to entertain plea for Gujjar Regiment in Army
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (May 28, 2025) declined to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking a direction to the Centre for the creation of a Gujjar Regiment in the Army.
Terming the PIL 'absolutely divisive', a Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela asked the counsel for the petitioner to do some research before taking up such petitions.
With the court cautioning the litigant of imposing costs, the counsel chose to withdraw 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 The same is dismissed as withdrawn,' the court said.
During the hearing, the Bench questioned the petitioner's counsel which provision of the Constitution, statute, or customary law conferred the right to form a regiment based on a particular community.
The PIL was filed by 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 said.
'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 such as 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,' the PIL plea said.
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