The government on Wednesday introduced the Central Armed Police Forces (General Administration) Bill, 2026, in the Rajya Sabha, brushing aside Opposition notices on its introduction through a voice vote.
The proposed bill that seeks to retain the dominance of IPS officers on deputation in the five CAPFs, countering the Supreme Court’s ruling, was objected to by Opposition parties Congress, Trinamool, AAP and CPM.
In October last year, the apex court had directed the Union home ministry to “progressively reduce” IPS deputation in the five CAPFs — BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP and SSB — up to the rank of IGs in the next two years. It also directed the ministry to carry out a comprehensive cadre review of their existing Group A officers in the CAPFs, from the rank of assistant commandant to inspector-general in six months.
The apex court order had come on petitions filed by Group A officers of various CAPFs seeking cadre review and restructuring and amendment of recruitment rules to eliminate IPS deputation.
The proposed bill provides that to appoint officers from the Indian Police Service in CAPFs, 50 per cent of the posts will be filled by deputation in the rank of inspector-general and a minimum of 67 per cent of the posts by deputation in the rank of additional director-general. Posts in the ranks of special director-general and director-general shall be filled by deputation only, it says.
Junior home minister Nityanand Rai introduced the bill. The rules under the bill govern the recruitment and conditions of service for Group A General Duty Officers and other officers and members in the CAPFs.
Opposing the bill, Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress called it “anti-federal”.
Congress’s Vivek Tankha argued that the bill risked eroding constitutionally protected rights of nearly 13,000 service officers. “Parliament can legislate. It cannot take away the basis of a constitutional right,” he said.
DMK’s Tiruchi Siva raised the sharpest structural concern that the bill was designed to nullify Supreme Court rulings that had curtailed IPS deputation in paramilitary forces. "Every time the Supreme Court gives a judgment, Parliament overrides it. The separation of powers becomes a big question," he said.
"The number of posts earmarked for deputation 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 apex court had said last year.
Earlier, a group of retired CAPF officers had approached the Supreme Court with a contempt plea against home secretary Govind Mohan for not implementing its October order in this regard.
"The proposed CAPF Regulation Bill, 2026, assumes considerable importance. Any legislative intervention affecting the command structure, service conditions and leadership opportunities within CAPFs inevitably carries implications not only for institutional morale but also for the operational effectiveness of forces responsible for protecting India’s internal stability and border security," the group had said in a press statement last week.
The proposed bill states that under Article 312 of the Constitution, the IPS is an All-India Service and its officers are posted in the Union and the states.
“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 objectives of the bill state.
The CAPFs perform functions relating to national security and anti-insurgency in close coordination with the state authorities, it said.
"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," the bill circulated among Rajya Sabha members said.
Expressing disappointment over the proposed bill, a CRPF officer said: "The bill seeks to retain the dominance of IPS officers on deputation in the five CAPFs. The cadre review as mandated by the SC would have reduced IPS deputation and facilitated greater participation of CAPF officers in decision-making within their organisations, ensuring institutional parity and boosting the morale across the forces."