New Delhi: The government is set to introduce a bill that would ensure top positions in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are held by Indian Police Service officers, with the draft law mandating the director and special director generals to be appointed on deputation from the IPS.
The CAPF (General Administration) Bill 2026, to be introduced by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Parliament on Monday, also proposes filling the other two senior-level ranks predominantly through deputation from the IPS.
The draft bill also proposes to reserve at least 67 per cent of posts at the Additional Director General-level for IPS officers on deputation. For the Inspector General position, the cap is set at 50 per cent.
The terms of the bill align with the prevailing situation in the CAPFs, where all top posts are predominantly held by IPS officers on deputation. The chiefs of the forces, along with the special director general and the additional director general, are also from the IPS.
The 50 percent reservation of posts at the level of IG for IPS officers is constant according to the prevalent practice.
However, the new bill proposes no reservation for IPS officers on deputation at the level of Deputy Inspector General, a change from the prevalent rules where around 20 percent of posts at the DIG level are reserved for IPS officers.
The new bill will apply to five CAPFs: the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and Border Security Force (BSF).
The bill comes nearly a month after the Ministry of Home Affairs had informed the Supreme Court that it was considering a “statutory intervention” on the issue of deputation of IPS officers to the CAPFs.
The MHA had informed the apex court during the hearing on a contempt plea, initiated on the grounds of non-implementation of the court’s order delivered in May last year. In the judgment, the top court had asked the government to “progressively reduce” the deputation up to the level of Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) within a period of two years.
The union government had challenged the order, but the court rejected it in October last year. During the hearing on the contempt petition, the MHA had hinted at bringing a law to codify and formalise the deputation of IPS officers, a move met with sharp reactions from CAPF veterans on social media.
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An ‘umbrella law’
The MHA has argued in the draft bill that the absence of a law governing the organisational structure and command in CAPFs has led to a series of “unnecessary litigations” on service-related matters.
“In recent years, due to the absence of an umbrella law, regulatory provisions have evolved in a fragmented manner, resulting in several litigations on service-related matters, leading to some functional and administrative difficulties,” the MHA states in the draft bill.
“Considering the nature and purposes of the Central Armed Police Forces and to avoid unnecessary litigations, there is a need to lay down an umbrella law to regulate the recruitment, deputation, promotion, and other conditions of services of Group A General Duty Officers and other officers appointed in these Central Armed Police Forces and other rules regarding these Forces,” it has argued.
A new law is needed to ensure legislative clarity, preserving distinct operational and functional requirements of the CAPFs and harmonising judicial directions with administrative and federal requirements, says the draft bill.
It states that the continued effective functioning of the CAPFs, which have been carrying out national security and anti-insurgency duties, is another objective of the bill.
“Historically, Indian Police Service officers are an integral and important part of the Central Armed Police Forces, who have been serving on deputation along with officers and members of these Forces. The Central Armed Police Forces perform functions relating to national security and anti-insurgency in close coordination with the state authorities,” the draft bill states.
“Therefore, in the interest of maintaining Centre-State relations by ensuring close coordination between the Union and the States for effective operational functioning, it is essential to maintain the existing system of deputation of the Indian Police Service Officers in the Central Armed Police Forces,” it further states.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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