Some castes’ exclusion from President’s Bodyguard recruitment challenged

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 17

The alleged exclusion of certain castes from the process of recruiting President’s Bodyguard has come under the judicial scanner. Taking up a petition for challenging the process, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked the Additional Solicitor-General (ASG) of India to respond.

Justice Rajan Gupta of the High Court also fixed the case for further consideration in January next year after granting ASG Satya Pal Jain the liberty to seek instructions from the Union of India before apprising the court of its stand.

The matter was brought to the notice of Justice Gupta’s Bench by Manish Dayma of Gurugram, who had filed the petition against the Centre and other respondents. He had challenged an advertisement/notice dated August 12, 2017, which was stated to have been published in a vernacular newspaper, on the ground that the President’s Bodyguard advertisement excluded certain castes for applying for the posts.

Taking up the matter, Justice Gupta had, on the previous date of hearing, asserted that the Bench was not inclined to issue notice at the current stage as authenticity of the notice was required to be verified.

Justice Gupta, at the same time, had directed the handing over of the copy of the petition to an advocate appearing for the Union of India to enable him to assist the court in the matter for adjudication on the issue.

As the case came up for resumed hearing, Jain appeared on behalf of the Union of India before submitting that he required additional time to seek instructions and address the court on the issues raised in the petition. The Bench accepted the ASG’s request before adjourning the hearing.

Available information suggests that the President’s Bodyguard is an elite household cavalry regiment of the Army. It is the senior-most in the order of precedence of the units of the Army and its primary role is to escort and protect the President of India.

It is equipped as a mounted unit with horses for ceremonies at the presidential palace and vehicles for use in combat. The regiment is the successor of the Governor General’s Bodyguard of the British Raj.