The Union government has once again gone against the ruling of the Supreme Court to ram through Parliament the CAPF Act 2026. The Act was notified on 9 April, observed as Shaurya Diwas by the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) in the memory of personnel who lost their lives in the 1965 conflict with Pakistan.

The Supreme Court had directed a gradual reduction of IPS officers on deputation to CAPFs (Central Armed Police Forces). The ruling came after 14 years of litigation, during which the government’s arguments failed to move either the high court or the Supreme Court. The new Act upturns the apex court’s ruling and ensures permanence to the deputation of IPS officers at higher supervisory levels in the CAPFs.

The CAPFs include the Assam Rifles, Border Security Force (BSF), National Security Guard (NSG), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), CRPF, CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).    

An order (monograph) by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1984 accorded officers of CAPF the status of “Organised Group ‘A’ Service (OGAS)” along with 57 other Central government services. Under OGAS, all posts from entry level to Joint secretary (IG in case of CAPF) were to be filled by promotion.

Over the years, however, virtually permanent reservation of posts for IPS officers at various levels deprived the cadre officers of their right and opportunity to be considered for leadership posts. This led to acute stagnation, with the result that an officer joining as assistant commandant would get his first promotion to the next higher rank after 15 years of service in CRPF, almost 14 years in the case of BSF.

In 2009, the government sought to address such stagnation and decided to grant ‘Non-Functional Financial Upgradation’ (NFFU) to the personnel of several OGAS services, but not to the CAPFs. Faced with the double jeopardy of stagnation and financial loss, CAPF officers approached courts after government declined to grant them parity.

The ruling by the Supreme Court in 2025 and subsequent dismissal of the review petition of the government was the culmination of a 14-year legal battle in which Delhi High Court in 2015 and SC in 2019 ruled in favour of CAPF officers, yet the government either kept appealing against orders or implemented them only partially.

The new Act overturning the SC’s order neither addresses the core issue of stagnation amongst CAPF officers nor mitigates the double jeopardy of financial loss due to acute stagnation at all levels.

The courts had rejected the arguments by the government and the IPS Association that IPS being an All-India Service (AIS), its officers were essential to be deputed to the CAPFs and that this advanced the cause of Centre-state relations.

Courts also rejected argument that IPS personnel in CAPFs would ensure better coordination or intelligence because the role of CAPFs was to assist the police in internal security. Typically, the Act was enacted without any scientific study or consultations with stakeholders.

Professional forces require stable, homegrown leaders well versed in the professional requirements of the organisation, not perpetual dependence on external command structures. Reform should strengthen institutional ownership within CAPFs while ensuring administrative balance. The Act fails to meet this important criterion. Importantly, professional forces across the world tend to evolve towards leadership that emerges from within their own operational ecosystem. That is not exceptionalism, it is institutional maturity.

The new Act is bound to result in yet another cycle of litigation even as it demoralises the officers who had joined the CAPFs directly and result in lack of cohesion and coordination. The question that needs to be asked is, why the government is so determined to push IPS officers on deputation for short periods. Does it enhance performance or productivity? Is it really administrative reform of some kind or is there more to it than meets the eye? 

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The Act has undone what the Supreme Court did — direct the government to implement its own policy of granting all benefits of OGAS to the CAPF cadres — a status granted to all other 57 services of the government of India. The statement of objectives justifying the retention of IPS in CAPF on grounds such as the IPS being an AIS or IPS deputation being necessary for reasons of coordination with states and for coordination of intelligence were found to be superfluous arguments by courts at all stages.

Why are IPS officers so keen on deputation to CAPFs? These are large forces with large, independent sources. Senior IPS officers in states, it is said, often feel powerless and seek greener pastures. It also provides an escape from potentially inconvenient or hostile political dispensations in states. A third attraction is that they can hope for postings in either major metro cities or in their home states.

In several CAPFs, postings reserved for IPS officers in remote areas typically remain vacant. Some of them may even be escaping from poor performance or questionable conduct, making them susceptible to pressure. It possibly suits the government to have such officers lead CAPFs on election duty, for example, in West Bengal. 

Officers belonging to the Indian Police Service are experts in crime detection, investigation and law and order duties — roles structurally and operationally distinct from the task of guarding the border and counter-insurgency. The decision to place them for short periods at higher positions have arguably led to underwhelming operational orders and stagnation of both personnel at all levels and infrastructure development.

A large number of court cases and high number of voluntary retirements have been the result. The removal of the ranks of lance naik and naiks in CAPFs has resulted in a constable taking as long as 22 years for his first promotion.

Another example is the addition of a seventh company in a battalion without proportionate enhancement of support staff, resulting in increase of operational area and administrative burden on a unit commandant.

The new Act raises constitutional concerns and is a fit case for judicial scrutiny. Parliament can of course legislate within constitutional limitations, but is Parliament free to bypass binding judicial pronouncements without first curing underlying legal defects? As in the case of the appointment of election commissioners, this Act restructures administrative control in a manner that effectively neutralises the impact of a Supreme Court order, amounting to questionable legislative overreach.

The invocation of “national security” as a justification for sweeping changes does not make the law immune from judicial review. Apart from this, the Act appears to defy judicial authority, upsetting the balance between different institutions and principles of separation of powers, judicial review, and rule of law. It prioritises administrative convenience over constitutional discipline and seeks to achieve indirectly through legislation what has been argued in courts and turned down as violative of constitutional principles.

It also does a disservice to the 13,000-strong CAPF cadre which has the experience and training to take over the reins of these specialised forces. Section 3 of the Act centralises authority and disproportionately favours IPS officers on deputation without any rational link to the stated objectives of efficiency and national security. Hopes of CAPF cadres about resolution of their grievances have been put paid to by the enactment of this Act as they face an uncertain future and another long legal battle.

Views are personal

The writer retired as additional director general of the Border Security Force, and is a security analyst associated with several thinktanks 

The Indian National Congress (INC) on Friday sharpened its attack on Union Home minister Amit Shah during his visit to Ladakh, accusing him of sidestepping key local demands even as he participates in a high-profile exposition of sacred Buddhist relics.

Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh took to X to criticise the minister, saying, “The Home minister is in Ladakh today basking in the glory of the Piprahwa relics, while remaining silent on the demands of the people there for statehood, Sixth Schedule status, and protection of land and employment.”

Ramesh also invoked history to underline his point, recalling that India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had engaged more directly with Ladakh’s aspirations during his visit in July 1949. He noted that sacred relics of the Buddha’s chief disciples — Sariputta and Maha Moggallana — were repatriated from London and handed over to the Mahabodhi Society of India in Kolkata in January 1949.

According to Ramesh, during Nehru’s subsequent visit to Ladakh, Buddhist leader Kushok Bakula Rinpoche requested that the relics be brought to the region. “A year later in May 1950 this materialised, and the relics were taken around Ladakh for 79 days,” he said, adding that they were later enshrined in Yangon, Colombo and Sanchi.

The Congress has been consistently pressing the Centre to clarify its position on Ladakh’s long-standing demands, including full statehood, safeguards under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, and legal protections for land and jobs.

Shah, who arrived in Ladakh on Thursday, is attending the first-ever international exposition of holy relics of Lord Buddha in India. However, the opposition’s criticism underscores the widening political debate over governance and representation in the Union Territory.

The exchange highlights a broader tension between symbolic outreach and substantive policy commitments, as Ladakh’s residents continue to push for constitutional and administrative safeguards.

With PTI inputs

Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin on Friday expressed strong confidence in his party’s performance in the recent assembly elections, asserting that the efforts of party workers would bear fruit when votes are counted on 4 May.

Addressing a May Day event, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader said the outcome of the polls, held on 23 April, would reflect the extensive groundwork carried out by party cadres.

“We are set to reap the rewards of the hard work put in by our party cadres on the coming fourth,” he said, adding that there was “no deviation whatsoever” from this expectation.

Stalin emphasised that his confidence was not based on exit poll projections but on the party’s organisational strength and campaign efforts. He also hinted that the results would bring “good news” for supporters awaiting the outcome.

Reaffirming his party’s ideological foundations, Stalin said the DMK’s governance model was rooted in principles and would continue to follow the same path.

During his address, he also reflected on the historical significance of May Day in the state. He credited former chief minister C.N. Annadurai with first declaring 1 May a public holiday in Tamil Nadu. He further highlighted the role of late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi in advocating for its recognition at the national level.

According to Stalin, it was at Karunanidhi’s request that then prime minister V.P. Singh extended May Day as a paid public holiday across the country.

The counting of votes on 4 May is expected to determine the political direction of the state, with major parties closely watching the outcome.

With PTI inputs

The association agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU) enters provisionally into force on Friday May 1, after more than a quarter-century of negotiations, in what constitutes one of the world's most ambitious trade deals and the largest reciprocal opening ever finalised by the South American bloc. The final signing took place on January 17 in Asunción and, although final ratification by the European Court of Justice and subsequent approval by the European Parliament remain pending, provisional entry into force allows the immediate start of tariff reductions covering 95% of Mercosur products and 91% of EU products.

In today’s newsletter: The events in Golders Green this week are the latest in a line of attacks on the Jewish community that have led many to question their future in the UK

Good morning. It is a terrible fact of life for British Jews that few were surprised by Wednesday’s knife attack in Golders Green, north London, in which two men were stabbed in an area home to a large Jewish community. A 45-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder.

The incident is the latest in a string of antisemitic attacks, on people and property, that have struck fear into many British Jews in recent years. John Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, said many in the community are at “breaking point” and feel the UK is no longer a safe place for them to live.

Iran | Iran’s supreme leader has broken his recent silence with a defiant statement hailing Iran’s control over shipping in the strait of Hormuz and vowing to guard the country’s nuclear and missile programmes.

Environment | Governments have been asked to develop national “roadmaps” setting out how they will end the production and use of fossil fuels, after a landmark climate meeting involving nearly 60 countries.

UK news | Winston Marshall, a former member of the band Mumford & Sons and the son of the GB News co-owner Paul Marshall, has said Britain should construct a mine-laden “floating wall” to stop small boat crossings on the Channel.

Counter-terrorism | More and more young people are being drawn into the world of violent extremism, a senior police officer has warned, as a young neo-Nazi was convicted of planning a mass gun attack after being caught in an undercover MI5 sting.

UK economy | The Bank of England has left interest rates unchanged at 3.75% but said the UK may need to brace for increases later this year, as “higher inflation is unavoidable” as a result of the war in the Middle East.

Exclusive: women ‘massively underrepresented’ in next week’s local and devolved elections, campaigners say

Women will be massively underrepresented on ballot papers across the UK next week, campaigners say, with research revealing that almost twice as many men as women are standing as candidates across the local, mayoral and devolved elections.

Democracy campaigners say men of all political stripes are likely to dominate local government, with women’s views on issues from social care to bin collections sidelined by the huge gap between the numbers of male and female candidates.

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s most prominent opposition party, the Workers’ Party (WP), issued its yearly Labour Day message at midday on Apr 30 (Thursday) titled Strengthening Social Solidarity in the Age of AI. The statement from Secretary-General Pritam Singh expressed appreciation for workers amid concerns for the future of jobs in Singapore as technology, specifically Artificial Intelligence, rapidly develops.

He pointed out the value of the contribution of every worker, from the Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) who drive Singapore’s innovation, to skilled tradespersons, care workers, and public servants.

“The progress of our nation is built on the collective effort of all workers, and we owe a profound debt of gratitude to those who continue to serve across all sectors of our society,” he wrote.

Transformation of work due to AI

The WP noted how AI is no longer a novelty but is redefining work and, moreover, will play an ever-increasing role in people’s work and everyday lives. However, the party underscored that “uniquely human capabilities—empathy, physical presence, critical thinking and creativity—are becoming more valuable than ever.”

When Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced the national Budget in February, he emphasised Singapore’s push toward AI, with a new AI Council to be set up with himself as chairman. The message from the WP referred to this, but called at the same time for more proactive policies to support all workers.

More support for new graduates

The WP has expressed much concern over the dilemma new graduates face, as some entry-level professional roles are being replaced by AI-driven solutions. This could cause young professionals to miss out on the long-term development of skills vital for them to grow as future leaders, the WP warned, which is why stronger support for them is needed “to get past the taxiway and onto the runway.”

The party called for temporary wage subsidies to encourage companies to hire graduates in apprenticeship-style roles, which would help young workers gain essential experience while reducing hiring risks for employers. 

A call for redundancy insurance

As it has many times in the past, the WP again called for a redundancy insurance scheme to protect workers amid the risk of displacement in today’s global economy. This scheme should be given to workers of all income levels as it would provide protection against financial pressure.

“True security comes from a clear pathway: from redundancy to reskilling and finally to employment. We believe that retraining must be coupled with an assurance that such efforts will translate directly into new, stable jobs,” Mr Singh wrote.

The WP noted that a lack of a strong safety net for people’s basic needs would cause workers to shy from the qualities needed at this time of transformation, innovativeness and risk-taking.

The WP Chief ended the message by affirming the party’s commitment to continue to bring rational and constructive proposals in Parliament that would bring society forward.

“We envision a Singapore where every contribution is valued, and all workers are protected. #WeContinue forward—together, and with no one left behind. I wish all workers in Singapore a Happy Labour Day.” /TISG

Read also: WP MP Louis Chua: Now is the time to do more for Singapore’s fresh graduates

This article (WP’s Labour Day Message: We continue forward together, with no one left behind) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

Five-year-old’s grandfather and senior Warlpiri elder appeals for calm, saying: ‘It is time now for sorry business’

• Warning: This article contains references to and images of Indigenous Australians who have died

Northern Territory police say one person is facing charges and more are expected to be over unrest in Alice Springs after the arrest of a man in connection with the death of five-year-old girl.

The grandfather of Kumanjayi Little Baby, whose body was found on Thursday 5km from the Old Timers town camp where she was last seen alive on Saturday night, called for calm in the central Australian town on Friday, saying the violent confrontation between police and others at Alice Springs hospital was not “our way”.

Religious group ‘reviewing all available remedies’ after clips of young people rushing its buildings in ‘raids’ go viral

On any given day, Los Angeles’s Hollywood Boulevard teems with tourists and street performers clustered near the area’s many landmarks. But in recent months, the strip has been set abuzz for a new reason.

Throngs of mostly adolescent boys and young men have been rushing the Church of Scientology’s international headquarters on the famed street.

SINGAPORE: Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) secretary-general Chee Soon Juan has made a dig at recent comments Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong made, as he expressed concerns online about the rate of deforestation in the country.

The party chief is presently on a trip to the US and has been invited to give talks to a number of groups, including students at top American schools. He wrote in a social media post that he took a drive to a state park to see the famed California redwood trees and was left amazed at the sight of the giant trees.

He wrote, “It didn’t disappoint. Its magnificence is truly breathtaking. Some of them are more than 2,000-years old.”

Reflecting on the state of forests at home, Dr Chee added, “Meanwhile, in Singapore, we are clearing more forests for development, including more data centres. But no worries, the government says they are ‘green’ data centres. And to compensate for the immense heat generated, not to mention the enormous amounts of power and water needed, we just have to use more fans and less air-con.”

His tongue-in-cheek comment about using less air-conditioning is a reference to the DPM’s controversial energy-saving tips that recently went viral.

Mr Gan had advised in Parliament earlier this month that Singaporeans should take public transport instead of driving and use fans instead of air-conditioning units to do their part in conserving energy.

Netizens on social media, online forums, and messaging groups were quick to ask whether the DPM and his fellow ministers would lead by example and take buses and trains, and turn off the air-con in Parliament, to do their part.

Others described the remarks as “tone-deaf” and “out of touch,” with some suggesting they reflected a disconnect between policymakers and ordinary citizens.

This article (Chee Soon Juan mocks Gan Kim Yong’s controversial energy saving tips) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.