Gaurav Yadav a resident of Rewari, Haryana has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the recruitment process of the President's Body Guard (PBG). The petition says "The preferential treatment provided to three castes namely Jats, Rajputs and Sikhs deprives other citizens of getting recruited to PBG.

Yadav, a 19-year old, six feet tall boy from Rewari, a city which is often termed as Nursery Of Soldiers, was motivated to join the PBG and serve the nation. He then saw a vacancy notice in a newspaper, but after inquiring, he got to know that only Jats, Rajputs, Sikhs were eligible to apply for the job and him being an Ahir leaves him no chance to even give it a try.

"After a brief research, I got to know that I was not eligible for the selection process because of my caste despite adhering to all the physical and educational qualifications." Yadav told 101Reporters.   

The Delhi High Court now has sought a response from the Centre and the Army Chief. A similar public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in 2012 by Doctor Ishwar Singh challenging the Army's recruitment process. Another plea, which was made specific to the recruitment of the President's Body Guard, filed in 2017. Both the petitions were dismissed by the court. The Supreme Court in it's response to the PIL filed in 2017 said, “How can a PIL be entertained against the President who is the head of the Republic? We do not get into these kinds of PILs.”

Singh says he had been a keen observer of Army's recruitment process for years. He said, "Years back a tall athletic built youth came to me for treatment and soon as I started writing the prescription the youth told me to write cheap medicine as he was unemployed. I suggested him to join the army as he was physically fit to which he said, “People from our caste have almost no recruitment in the army. I was shocked after hearing this and since then have been fighting against the recruitment process. I have written several letters letter to Prime Minister and Defense Ministry to take an action against the same.”

Why only three castes?

An RTI reply which 101Reporters accessed reveals that the class composition of the PBGs has only Sikhs, Jats, and Rajputs each caste having a share of 33.1 percent. The RTI reply also states that enrolment into the President's Bodyguard only comprises of Sikhs, Jat and Rajput as general soldiers apart from clerks and tradesmen who are recruited on All India basis.

Back in 2013 in response to Ishwar Singh’s petition the army admitted that recruitment to the President's Bodyguard is open only to Rajputs, Jats and Sikhs. However, in an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, the army rebutted to the allegation that recruitment is done on the basis of caste and religion.

The affidavit said PBGs are placed under the President's secretary and are mainly tasked to perform ceremonial duties which require common height, built and appearance. The army in it's reply further said that the PBG has three troops and therefore only three classes could be represented.

Many experts argue that even though the process does not discriminate on the basis of caste and religion, it could lead to youth forging certificates. In June this year, The Tribune reported five youth forging their residential, caste certificates to join the army. According to the report, the youth, belonging to other backward classes (OBC), forged their caste certificates so they can apply for a specific regiment of the army as Rajputs. The army that time maintained its stance saying the recruitment is not conducted on the basis of caste but it has caste-wise vacancies for the respective regiments. These youth forged their caste certificates knowing the vacancy in the Rajput Regiment.

The single class regiment classification in the army was initiated by the British in the 19th century after the 1857 uprising. After Independence, the army continued that status quo but avoided the formation of any such new regiments. According to reports, the army had made considerable efforts to raise All  India- All Class regiments in which recruitment is made from all class and region without any reservations.

Constitutionally Valid?

Ram Naresh Yadav, the lawyer through whom both Yadav and Singh filed the petition, argues that the recruitment process is in violation of Article 14,15,16 of the Constitution. He said, "Even though PBGs are mainly tasked to perform ceremonial duties they cannot be exempted from adhering to the Constitution. Recruitment process contains a despotic classification which is based on caste, henceforth, it being in the nature of class legislation, stands in complete violation of Article 14. Also, the process stands in violation of Article 15(1) which prohibits discrimination on the basis of caste, colour, religion, race, sex, place of birth and Article 16 which ensures equality in public employment.”

Who are PBGs

PBG is a small unit of approximately 150 troops placed under the President's Secretariat. It is the senior-most in the order of precedence of all the regiments of the Indian Army. The first PBG unit was raised in 1773 by the then Governor, Warren Hastings. The battalion was first coined as  ‘The Guard of Moguls' but with India gaining independence it came to be known as The President's Bodyguard. PBGs are expert horsemen and are train regularly in that. They accompany the President at various events and play a very important role in ceremonies at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Currently, the PBG recruitment process draws a huge number of applicants with 10,000 youth applying for just nine vacancies.