Delhi HC rejects 'divisive' PIL to create Gujjar Army regiment
Delhi high court
NEW DELHI:
Delhi high court
on Wednesday rejected a PIL seeking a direction to the Union government to constitute a Gujjar regiment in
Indian Army
, and warned the petitioner that cost would be imposed for filing a 'divisive' petition.
"There has to be a right vested in you either by any statute or any law or the Constitution. Which is the law that gives you the right to have such a regiment? Where is that right?" asked a division bench comprising chief justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.
The petitioner, Rohan Basoya, argued that despite a rich martial legacy, Gujjars have not been accorded a dedicated regiment, unlike other martial communities such as Sikhs, Jats, Rajputs, Gorkhas, and Dogras. He submitted that the absence of a Gujjar regiment violates their constitutional rights. "The demand for a Gujjar regiment has been raised before, but no concrete steps have been taken by the govt. Given the community's presence in border regions like Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Punjab, a Gujjar regiment would also serve strategic military interests in counterinsurgency and border security operations," the plea said.
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