Rajya Sabha passes CAPF bill, Opposition walks out
New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Central Armed Police Forces (General Administration) Bill, 2026, with a voice vote amid an Opposition walkout.
The bill seeks to create a unified legal framework governing personnel across different CAP forces, replacing the current patchwork of separate service rule regimes for the five Central Armed Police Forces.
Replying to the debate, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that the Central Armed Police Forces Bill, 2026, was placed before the House not as a legislative proposal but with a purpose to strengthen the security system of the country.
According to Rai, the bill is an important step in the direction of resolving several inconsistencies in the service rules, cadre management, appointment related issues, among others, to boost the efficiency and morale of armed forces.
He stated that over a period of time, CAPF's domain kept on expanding due to which different rules, guidelines and administrative solutions were adopted leading to lack of clarity and inconvenience in its implementation.
Rai said that the bill aims to create an umbrella structure for resolving several such anomalies and streamlining its structure for better coordination and implementation.
Dismissing the allegations of various members that the bill is against the federal structure of the country, Rai said, “I want to clarify that the bill is not against the federal structure. In fact, it further strengthens the federal structure.”
He maintained that the CAPF bill helps in maintaining a proper coordination between armed forces and state police as well as state administration.
The minister also dismissed apprehensions of several members regarding other issues such as violation of the principles of separation of power, stagnation in the career progression among others.
He said that the earlier recruitment process used to take one-and-a-half to two years, however, now the process has not only been simplified but the duration has also been shortened to 10 to 11 months.
He informed the House that several issues related to residences, pension, welfare, social security etc have been improved by taking adequate measures.
The Opposition staged a walkout demanding that the bill be sent to a select panel of Parliament.
Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the members wanted the bill to go to a select committee of Parliament.
Kharge alleged that the minister’s reply didn’t address the main issues related to institutionalisation of deputation, adverse impact on morale and career progression, lack of consultation and representation and lack of concern for judicial direction.
Dissatisfied with the minister's response, the Opposition staged a walkout amid sloganeering.
Responding to Kharge, Leader of the House J P Nadda accused the Opposition of disrespecting Parliamentary procedures.
"I have said this before, they (Opposition) don't have any interest in the debate. They don't have any respect for parliamentary procedure," he said.
The Central Armed Police Forces (General Administration) Bill, 2026, provides that to appoint officers from the Indian Police Service in CAPFs, 50 per cent of the posts will be filled by deputation in the rank of inspector general and a minimum of 67 per cent of the posts by deputation in the rank of additional director general.
The proposed legislation comes after the Supreme Court, in October last year, dismissed the Centre's plea seeking a review of its 2025 verdict that directed that IPS officers' deputation in CAPFs up to the level of Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) should be "progressively reduced" and asked for a cadre review to be carried out in six months.
