‘Big jolt to IPS'—why SC order to end lateral entry in CAPFs is stoking unrest among cops

The Print

27-05-2025

'They have a grievance that because of lateral entry into the higher grades of the respective CAPFs, they are unable to get their timely promotion,' the order said. 'Consequently, there is a great deal of stagnation. Such stagnation can adversely impact the morale of the forces.'
Stating that though there is merit in IPS officers heading CAPFs to maintain their character as a 'unique central armed force', the Supreme Court, in its order dated 23 May this year, said that it could also not be oblivious to the grievances of the CAPFs.
New Delhi: After a long-lasting court battle between the officers of the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) over whether IPS officers should continue to be sent on deputation to CAPFs at senior positions, the Supreme Court decisively ruled in the negative last week.
Therefore, the SC said that CAPFs, including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Assam Rifles (AR), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and National Security Guard (NSG), will be treated as 'organised services' for all purposes.
The court ordered progressively reducing the IPS officers deputed to the CAPFs. The IPS and CAPF officers' recruitments are through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), under which the former gets recruited through the Civil Services Examination and the latter through the CAPF (assistant commandant) Examination.
The judgment has come as a big jolt to IPS officers, who, so far, have been deputed to the CAPFs in large numbers.
'While IAS officers come to central ministries on deputation, we go to CAPFs on deputation,' a senior IPS officer told ThePrint on the condition of anonymity. 'Disallowing that is not only unfair to us but also hampers the Centre-state balance as IPS officers are the link between state governments and the Centre since CAPFs only report to the Centre,' the officer said.
'IPS deputation is necessary to maintain the all-India character of law and order,' the officer added.
Also Read: Age just a number & retirement a formality. How retired IAS officers continue to run Modi govt
Court battles, confusion, more court battles
In February 2019, the Supreme Court granted CAPFs the status of Organised Group A Services (OGAS) and granted CAPF officers the Non-Functional Financial Upgradation (NFFU).
Services such as the IAS, IPS, IRS, etc., are all OGAS, under which officers are granted pay and other benefits according to their privileged status, including NFFU. It means that an officer gets a salary raise and related perks if he reaches a certain level of seniority, even if the officer does not get a promotion due to lack of vacancies.
So far, CAPFs have been headed by IPS officers and, at the same time, filled with IPS officers across senior positions. CAPF officers thought that the grant of OGAS would mean that lateral entry into their forces would stop, as it is not allowed in other services with the same status.
In the absence of OGAS, 20 percent of posts in the rank of Director Inspector General (DIG), 50 percent of posts in the rank of Inspector General (IG), and all Director General posts in the CAPFs had remained reserved for IPS officers—an arrangement seen as deeply unfair and demoralising by the officers of the CAPFs.
In July 2019, acting upon the Supreme Court judgment, the Centre approved the proposal to grant OGAS status to CAPFs. However, the officers' hope to head their organisations remained still unfulfilled.
It was due to confusion over one line in the Supreme Court order, which, CAPF officers felt, was 'deliberately misinterpreted' to continue IPS deputation in their organisations.
A line in the February 2019 order said the 'grant of status of Group 'A' Central Services to RPF (Railway Police Force) shall not affect (the deputation of) the IPS'.
The RPF does not fall under the CAPFs, and the CAPF officers took it at face value—the line applied to RPF only, and their officers would head their forces.
IPS officers, however, interpreted the order to apply to CAPFs in their entirety and felt that the omission of the word CAPF from that line was a 'human error'.
The confusion led to another round of clarificatory petitions filed by officers of the CAPFs—first, in the Delhi High Court, which did not rule in their favour, and afterwards, in the Supreme Court.
The latest SC order, however, has left little scope for confusion. 'Now that the central government has accepted that CAPFs are included in OGAS, the natural consequences should follow,' it said. 'In other words, CAPFs are OGAS for all purposes. When CAPFs have been declared OGAS, all benefits available to OGAS should naturally flow to the CAPFs. It cannot be that they are granted one benefit and denied the other.'
'The number of posts earmarked for deputation (for IPS) in the cadres of the CAPFs up to the level of Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) should be progressively reduced—over a period of time—say within an outer limit of two years,' the order added.
Also Read: Amid Centre-state tussle, legal suspense over Jharkhand DGP's post retirement tenure
'IPS officers to man police stations?'
However, the latest judgment has created a stir among IPS officers.
'Courts cannot decide how organisations of the Government of India are run, their structure, their promotions, etc.,' said a senior IPS officer on the condition of anonymity. 'This has to be decided by the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) and DoPT (Department of Personnel & Training). So, we do not consider this matter settled. It will go back to court if need be.'
According to the officer, the government has increased the recruitment of IPS officers in the past few years. From 150 IPS officers recruited in 2019, the number of recruitments has jumped annually since 2020 by 200 officers per year. 'Where will all these officers go if their deputation stops? Should we all man police stations?' the officer said.
The IPS officer further said that the central government ministries are all occupied by IAS officers, and the only place to go on deputation for IPS officers are the CAPFs.
Even though, as reported by ThePrint, officers of several other non-IAS services like the railways, revenue, etc. are coming to central ministries on deputation in large numbers, there is almost no representation of IPS officers in central ministries. According to DoPT data, until October last year, of a total of 236 joint secretaries, there was only one IPS officer posted in the position in the Government of India.
Moreover, IPS officers have a 40 percent Central Deputation Reserve (CDR), i.e. 40 percent of the total number of IPS officers in the country are supposed to be serving in the Centre at any given point in time.
'Where will all these officers go? IPS officers have the same constitutional status as the IAS. We cannot be dispensed with just like that,' the officer said.
A second senior IPS officer, echoed the same sentiment. 'Other than the Assam Rifles and CRPF, all CAPFs have been created post independence and led and nurtured by successive generations of IPS officers. Removing them from most levels of leadership will be a huge decision with immense implications for internal security and for the future role of the IPS in the scheme of things,' he said. 'I am sure that the GoI will take all things into consideration before deciding on how the SC order is to be implemented.'
IPS officers are likely to approach the MHA for redressal of their concerns, several officers told ThePrint.
A shot in the arm for CAPFs
On the other hand, the judgment has come as a real shot in the arm for officers of the CAPFs.
'We have won a just battle after many years of being manipulated over bureaucratic rules and nitpicking,' a senior CRPF officer told ThePrint on condition of anonymity. 'There is complete stagnation for us. We would not be able to rise to the rank of DIG even after years of service because much younger IPS officers, who had no idea about dealing with conflict or insurgency situations, would be parachuted in,' the officer added.
'They first tried to make sure that we do not get the status of Organised Group A Service, so we can continue to work at low pay and minimal benefits,' the officer said. 'Once granted that status, they found this one line which was, obviously, an error to continue the discrimination and to keep coming to CAPFs for plum postings.'
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: Deportations, conversions to waqf, the ever-increasing powers of district magistrates in India