In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Tuesday held that all Central Armed Police Forces — CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF, RPF and SSB — be recognised as “organised services”, saying it will remove stagnation, ensuring promotion and other service-related benefits to officers in the same post.
It also held that Group “A” officers of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) should be given all benefits including non-functional financial upgradation (NFFU) from 2006 in terms of the 6th Pay Commission.
The top court upheld the Delhi High Court’s two verdicts by which it had granted “organised service” status to Railway Protection Force (RPF), CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB.
NFFU is a concept introduced in the 6th pay commission and was granted to what the Government termed as Group “A” organised services.
Under NFFU, if all the officers of a particular batch cannot move up the ladder owing to lack of vacancies but only one does, the others will automatically get financial upgradation like the one promoted. However, it would involve only a financial upgrade but not rank or perks.
The top court’s order will benefit thousands of Group A officers of central paramilitary forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF).
A bench of Justices R F Nariman and M R Shah upheld the orders of the Delhi High Court passed on December 4, 2012 with regard to grant of “organised service” status to Railway Protection Force (RPF) and to CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB in its September 3, 2015 verdict.
The bench, while dismissing the appeals of Centre against the order, said that in the monographs published by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) right from 1986 till date, CAPFs have been shown to be a part of the Central Group “A” Services.
“CAPFs have been shown as a part of the Central Group A Services after conducting the exercise of Cadre Review etc. By the DoPT. Therefore, all throughout from 1986 till date, in the Monographs published by the DoPT, CAPFs have been shown to be a part of Central Group A Services. Therefore, thereafter it would not be open for the DoPT not to consider and/or treat the CAPFs as an Organised Group A Services,” the bench said.