The issue of deputation of IPS officers to the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and that of the cadre review of the CAPFs’ personnel is refusing to die down. A fresh complication arose when the Home Ministry on Tuesday requested the Supreme Court to give it up to 20 months to carry out a comprehensive cadre review of the CAPFs’ personnel.
It needs to be mentioned here that just a few days ago the Union Cabinet cleared a Draft Bill to retain the provision of deputing IPS officers to the CAPFs up to the ranks of Inspector General (IG) and Deputy Inspector General (DIG), and the Bill is likely to be tabled in the Parliament soon.
The apex court, in its judgment in May 2025, had directed the ministry to carry out the cadre review of the CAPFs personnel for which the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sought additional time, citing the “nature and complexity” of the process.
The ministry had also submitted that it is examining the requirement of a “statutory and regulatory intervention” in the wake of the judgment delivered on May 23 last year.
In that landmark judgment, an apex court bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Abhay S. Oka had ordered the progressive reduction in deputation of IPS officers in the CAPFs as well as the carrying out of the cadre review within six months.
The last cadre review had been conducted in 2016 and was initially due in 2021.
The Centre then filed a review petition against the ruling, which was dismissed by the Supreme Court in October 2025, prompting the MHA to order a cadre review of Group A officers from all CAPFs.
The Home Ministry asked the top court for more time due to complexities involved in cadre review, which it said is a “long drawn exercise” involving multiple stakeholders like the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the Department of Expenditure in the Ministry of Finance, and a final nod from the Union Cabinet. Thus, the ministry requested the top court to allow it one more year to “complete the requisite procedural and statutory formalities in a comprehensive manner.”
The ministry also reminded the apex court that it is actively considering the requirement of appropriate statutory and regulatory intervention in accordance with law.
The ministry also informed the top court that it had already initiated the cadre review process for all CAPFs through a government order and requested that the court modify its 23 May 2025 judgement to allow officials more time to implement the policy.
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