New Delhi, Aug 19: The much-awaited cadre review of Group A officers of the five Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) is expected to be placed before a high-level government committee soon following clearances from the Union Home and Personnel ministries, officials said on Wednesday.
They told PTI that the proposals are currently with the Department of Expenditure (DoE) under the Union Finance Ministry. They will be placed before a high-level cadre review committee, usually chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, for final deliberations and recommendations.
Cadre restructuring improves career prospects for an organisation’s personnel.
The Supreme Court’s May 2025 order necessitated a comprehensive cadre review and revision of recruitment rules for Group A executive cadre officers of the five CAPFs — Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
The court issued the direction based on petitions filed by a group of CAPF officers who had fought a years-long legal battle seeking better promotion prospects amid long delays in moving up the ranks compared to Indian Police Service (IPS) officers posted in these forces on deputation.
The Union government filed a review petition against the apex court judgement, which was rejected in October 2025. Subsequently, the government enacted the CAPFs (General Administration) Act in April this year.
Following the rejection of the review petition, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) directed the five CAPFs to undertake a “comprehensive and detailed” review of their existing Group A cadres and submit the proposals to the ministry for implementation of the court’s order.
The MHA received the proposals from the five forces between May and July and subsequently sent them to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) between July and August as per prescribed procedure, officials said.
The DoPT followed the set procedure and forwarded the reviews to the DoE on August 17 along with its observations and recommendations, they said.
The DoE is expected to complete its processes soon, after which these cadre reviews will be placed before a high-level cadre review committee, usually chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, for deliberations and final approval, officials said.
The hopes and aspirations of about 13,000 cadre officers for better promotion prospects and streamlined service conditions are linked to the review, they said.
Officials expect the final cadre review report to implement the apex court’s May 2025 order, which directed that the deputation of IPS officers up to the rank of Inspector General (IG) in the CAPFs be “progressively reduced” over the next two years to create more promotion opportunities for the cadre officers.
In response to a contempt petition filed by these officers seeking implementation of the Supreme Court order, the MHA recently informed the court that 46 IPS officers had been brought on deputation to the five forces in the ranks of Superintendent of Police (SP), Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and IG since the apex court’s order of May 2025.
