CAPF consists of Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). File. | Photo credit: ANI
The Central Armed Police Forces (General Administration) Bill, 2026, which is likely to be introduced in the Rajya Sabha next week, states that in all CAPFs, 50% of the total posts in the rank of Inspector General, at least 67% of posts in the rank of Additional Director General and all posts in the rank of Special Director General (S) will be filled by the Director General of India and the Director General of Police. Until now, these broadcasts have been made by executive order, and the bill will codify the provision.
The bill seeks to negate the Supreme Court’s May 23, 2025 judgement, which had asked the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to “gradually reduce” the representation of IPS in the CAPF to the level of IGs over the next two years.
Retired CAPF officials have opposed the bill, saying the government is discriminating against cadre officers who won the case after 10 years of litigation to overcome career stagnation. Due to the absence of senior level posts, an officer who joins as an Assistant Commandant in the CAPF needs at least 15-18 years before being promoted for the first time.
The bill circulated among Rajya Sabha members on Friday said CAPFs perform national security functions in close coordination with state agencies and to maintain the Centre-State relationship, IPS officers are essential for the effective functioning of the force. It stated that “it is considered necessary to enact an overarching law to regulate the recruitment and conditions of service of Group A General Service officers and other officers appointed to the CAPF in order to ensure legislative clarity, preserve its operational distinctiveness, and harmonize judicial guidance with administrative and federal requirements.”
List of objects
Home Minister Amit Shah said in a statement on objects and reasons that in recent years, due to the absence of an overarching law, regulatory provisions have evolved in a fragmented manner, leading to several litigations on service-related matters, leading to some operational and administrative difficulties. He added that the bill was introduced to “avoid unnecessary litigation”.
It said the CAPFs play a vital role in maintaining national security and performing important functions such as securing the country’s borders, conducting counter-insurgency operations and maintaining the internal security of the Union and states, adding that the force is also designed to complement the armed forces of the Union during wartime.
He added that under Article 312 of the Constitution, the IPS is an all-India service and “historically, IPS officers have been an integral and important part of the CAPF”.
CAPF officers claimed that despite conducting operations from the front and several of them being killed in the line of action, they face career stagnation and mostly the first promotion comes only after 15-18 years of service.
Currently, 20% posts in the rank of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and 50% posts in the rank of Inspector General (IG) in the CAPF are reserved for IPS officers through an executive order. The total strength of the CAPF is around 10,00,000, which includes 13,000 Group A cadre officers. Parliament was recently informed that there are around 93,000 vacancies in all posts in the CAPF.
On 23 May 2025, the Supreme Court held that Group A Executive Cadre officers of the CAPF are for all purposes Organized Group A Services (OGAS). Apart from phasing down the representation of IPS in CAPFS down to the IG level over the next two years, the court asked for a time-bound revision of cadre and service rules in six months. MHA challenged the judgment, but on 28 October 2025 the Supreme Court dismissed the review application, making the judgment final. MHA is the cadre controlling authority of both CAPF and IPS.
CAPF consists of Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
Published – 21 March 2026 0:29 IST
