New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) requesting the government of India and the Ministry of Defence to establish a Gujjar regiment in the Indian Army.
A bench of Justices Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Tushar Rao Gedela stressed that the government’s recruitment policy promotes equal opportunities for all citizens, regardless of caste, religion, region, or community. The court expressed dissatisfaction with the plea, criticizing the attempt to create a regiment based on caste.
The bench questioned the constitutional validity of the petition, asking whether any provision in the law or Constitution supports the demand for a caste-specific regiment. It emphasized that army regiments are structured to include people from various backgrounds to foster national integration.
Following the court’s observations, the petitioner’s counsel chose to withdraw the plea. The bench then marked the case as dismissed.
During the hearing, advocate Monika Arora, representing GoI, reiterated that since Independence, the Indian government has maintained a policy of avoiding the creation of new regiments based on caste, religion, or region, in order to ensure fairness in recruitment.
She added that though there have been several demands through petitions, parliamentary discussions, and private member bills for regiments based on historical or regional identity, the government has consistently upheld its stance.
Petitioner Rohan Basoya had argued that the Gujjar community has a historic legacy of courage, citing their involvement in the 1857 revolt, the Indo-Pak wars, the Kargil conflict, and counterinsurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir. Despite this, the community has not been accorded its own regiment, unlike others such as Sikhs, Jats, Rajputs, Gorkhas, and Dogras.
The plea claimed that the Indian Army has historically included community-based regiments to honour their contributions, and the Gujjars’ exclusion undermines equal representation and violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. It further suggested that forming a Gujjar Regiment could enhance recruitment, reflect fairness, and bolster national security.
It also pointed out that the Gujjar community has a substantial presence in border states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Punjab—areas critical for both counterinsurgency and border defense—arguing that a dedicated regiment would serve strategic interests.
