The Delhi High Court announced on Friday that it will first hear the appeals challenging the Agnipath Scheme of the Centre on December 12 and then move on to hear other appeals seeking resumption and enrolment as per prior recruitment advertisements in the defence services. The Delhi High Court referred to this as the "core issue" for adjudication.

Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad's division bench requested that Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who was representing the Centre, separate the petitions and provide a chart for the court's convenience.

"Agniveer is the main matter…..core issue is the agniveer matter," The court stated, adding that the outcome of the plan will affect claims relating to force recruiting.

"We will keep these matters on December 12 at 2:30 PM. What we will do is, whether we will finish our list or not, we will hear this case."

The bench responded that it will take into consideration the request made by Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who was representing one of the petitioners and asked the court to hear the case on a daily basis.

The parties are allowed to submit any additional replies or rejoinders before the next hearing date, the court added.

The High Court, where related petitions were already pending, received a number of writ petitions filed before the apex court contesting the Agnipath recruitment scheme.

The Centre last month requested that the petitions be dismissed, arguing that the defence of Indian territory against both internal and external threats requires a young, technologically advanced, and adaptable armed forces.

The Centre had also stated that a review of the current organisation of the armed services' divisions below "officer" rank had revealed that the average age of the Indian Armed Forces' members was 32 years old.

This stood in stark contrast to the government's estimate of the average age of the Armed Forces around the world, which revealed that it was 26 years old.

Furthermore, it had stated that the scheme's goal was to create a young combat force that was both physically and intellectually equipped to handle the upcoming challenges.