New Delhi: Officers from four Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) have started a fresh legal battle in the Delhi High Court to stop the deputation of IPS officers in their forces.
A month after the Supreme Court refused to grant their request, officers from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Border Security Force (BSF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) have filed several writ petitions in the Delhi High Court, praying for an end to the IPS officers’ deputation in their forces.
While the ITBP was the first to approach the court and get a temporary stay on the deputation of IPS officers, all the other forces followed suit, with over 383 CISF officers, 80 CRPF officers and 80 BSF officers expressing the grievances in the high court.
Responding to the petitions, the Delhi High Court has asked the government to inform the court each time a position above the rank of DIG in the CRPF, CISF and BSF is to be filled by an IPS officer until the matter is settled. For the ITBP, the court has put a stay on the deputation of IPS officers until the next hearing.
“This is a grave issue in all the forces, that is why we have approached the courts again,” said a senior CRPF officer. “The message is clear — that these forces have completely given up on the IPS leadership.”
The officer said the executive cadre joining these services with some legitimate expectations of career progression has been routinely let down by the IPS, which is why the forces have been forced to knock on the judiciary’s doors again.
“We will fight this battle until we have exhausted every window possible,” the officer said.
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The issue of vacancies
In their petitions, the CAPF officers have highlighted the problem of massive vacancies in the positions reserved for IPS officers at the levels of inspector general (IG), deputy inspector general (DIG) and superintendent (SP), arguing that IPS officers are not interested in coming to the forces at lower posts.
A second CRPF officer said as a result of this, on the one hand, “there is stagnation among CAPF officers who retire without being promoted”, and on the other, “there are vacancies in the CAPFs, affecting the smooth functioning of these forces”.
The petition of the CRPF officers highlights the gravity of the problem. In the CRPF, five IG posts are lying vacant. The problem is worse at the DIG level, with 20 posts lying vacant for the last 10 years, and only two positions physically occupied by IPS officers.
In the BSF, 37 DIG posts reserved for IPS officers have been temporarily diverted to cadre officers.
The petition states that the immediate juniors to these rank are suffering, as their promotional avenues are closed despite the positions being vacant, because they are reserved for the IPS cadre.
“It is pertinent to mention that the respondents should be more agile while filing the said high ranks posts which are necessary for smooth functioning and management of the organisation,” it says.
‘They want to impede functioning’
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had granted the status of Organised ‘Group A’ Services to the CAPFs. While the order was interpreted by CAPF officers to mean that the deputation of IPS officers up to a certain rank in their forces will end, IPS officers felt it meant only giving financial parity to CAPF officers.
“The Supreme Court has already decided the issue,” a senior IPS officer said. “They filed a clarificatory plea, and were explicitly told by the court that deputation of IPS officers in CAPFs cannot be challenged… Yet, they want to impede the functioning of the forces.”
Also read: CAPF must stop slandering IPS, shows lack of discipline: Ex-BSF chief