Breaking the Mould

On May 23, the Supreme Court finally pronounced its verdict on the long-pending issue of recognition of the status of Organised Service (OGAS) for Group A officers of five Central Armed Forces (CAF), viz. BSF, CRPF, ITBP, CISF, and SSB. The long-awaited judgment in favour of the CAF officers has gone through several legal daon pench (as they call it) over the last two decades.

The latest order of the Supreme Court endorses the earlier judgment of the Delhi High Court passed way back in 2015. That order, although challenged by the Government in the Supreme Court, was upheld. However, the faulty interpretation of the Supreme Court’s order led to an almost total negation of its essence.

It is important to clarify the essence of OGAS. The two most important aspects of OGAS are as follows. Firstly, all posts up to the rank and pay of Joint Secretary should be manned by the cadre officers of the respective services. The second important element of OGAS addresses the problem of stagnation in the respective services, which arises due to the non-availability of vacancies. OGAS provides that officers of services designated as organised should be given the pay of higher grades up to the level of Additional Secretary in a time-bound manner. This provision is called Non-Functional Financial Upgradation (NFFU).

However, the skewed interpretation of the Delhi High Court’s orders, upheld by the Supreme Court, failed to address both these aspects, and as a result, only partial benefits were granted.

It is ironic that over sixty organised services had all been granted the benefits mandated by OGAS, but the Government steadfastly kept denying these to the five CAFs, in spite of the court orders mentioned above. This is what led to the fresh round of litigation culminating in the Supreme Court judgment of May 23 referred to above.

The acute stagnation among the officers of the CAF, coupled with the non-implementation of OGAS—and therefore NFFU not being granted—led to a double jeopardy for these officers, whose combined cadre strength is in the region of over ten thousand. They were neither getting promotions nor were they getting the benefit of pay upgradation as per the OGAS mandate.

The acuteness of stagnation can be understood by the fact that officers who joined the BSF, CRPF, etc., in 2012–13 are still stagnating at the entry level, whereas the rules prescribe a residency period of only six years. If these officers were to be promoted according to the prescribed residency period, they should have received at least two or more promotions. Officers of the BSF who joined in 1994, for example, are still languishing at the level of Commandant, whereas their peers in the IPS, having reached the level of Additional DG or even DG, are commanding the very forces in which they joined at the entry level! Similarly, officers of all other services having OGAS status have all been granted the pay scale of Additional Secretary.

It is a fact that the pyramidal structure of the CAF makes it impossible for most officers to be promoted to higher policy-making levels. However, the deprivation of OGAS status adds to the already difficult situation by preventing even eligible officers from reaching those levels, as these are occupied by deputationists from the IPS, who are largely unaware of the culture and operational ethos of these forces. Trained in policing, IPS officers tend to apply policing methods to manage these regimented forces and are unable to understand the dynamics of ground-level requirements or establish a connect with the troops.

The implementation of the latest Supreme Court order, which reiterates that the officer cadres of these five CAFs are ‘organised services,’ adequately addresses the problems of pay and allowances. The order also addresses the issue of stagnation to an extent by making all the cadre posts up to the level of Inspector General (Joint Secretary) available to cadre officers within a time frame of two years. The order is unambiguous and leaves no scope for any alternative interpretation, as was done with previous orders. The Supreme Court has also directed the Government to take time-bound action.

The implementation of the present court order—by ensuring that all higher supervisory-level posts up to the level of Inspector General are occupied by cadre officers—will ensure that the experience and domain expertise of these officers do not get wasted at lower operational levels. This will, in turn, go a long way in enhancing the operational and administrative efficiency of these organisations, which are critical to national security. The rich ground experience of these officers will now be available for policy formulation regarding the utilisation of these forces in the overall security matrix of the country, as well as for equipping and ensuring operational preparedness.

It is hoped that the orders will be implemented at the earliest, and that cadre officers will be consulted while making service and recruitment rules, as per the directions of the Supreme Court, thereby resolving the long-festering issues of the CAF cadres.

The writer is Additional Director General, BSF, (Retd). Views expressed are personal