Lok Sabha MP from Buxar Sudhakar Singh (Photo: X)
New Delhi: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) member of Parliament and Lok Sabha member from Buxar in Bihar Sudhakar Singh wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, raising a battery of longstanding grievances of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) officers -- from stalled implementation of Non-Functional Financial Upgradation (NFFU) to the continued deputation of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers at senior levels within the paramilitary forces.
The two-page letter, dated 23 March 2026, cautioned that a failure to address these issues will have long-term consequences for both the operational effectiveness of the forces and the country's internal security.
What the letter says
Flagging persistent policy ambiguity around the Organised Group A Services (OGAS) status of CAPF officers, Sudhakar Singh’s letter noted that the lack of clarity has created confusion within the ranks.
Read also: When Leadership Lacks Grounding -- The real risk in the CAPF-IPS debate
Describing the situation as “serious administrative delay”, he pointed out to the July 3, 2019 Cabinet decision granting NFFU to CAPF officers, saying benefits have still not fully reached the eligible personnel.
He also called out the government's posture on IPS deputation, arguing that placing outside officers at supervisory positions while the forces' own cadre officers stagnate at lower ranks undermines institutional trust and career progression.
केन्द्रीय सशस्त्र पुलिस बल(CAPF) अधिकारियों के सेवा हितों एवं लंबित मुद्दों के समाधान के संबंध में देश के माननीय गृह मंत्री @AmitShah जी को लिखा पत्र…#CAPF pic.twitter.com/Vwj7bKFDhm
— Sudhakar Singh (रोज़गार जहाँ, वोट वहाँ) (@_Sudhaker_singh) March 24, 2026
He also wrote that CAPF personnel being forced to repeatedly approach courts for their rightful entitlements has created a perception that the forces are turning into a "court-administered police force" -- a characterization that reflects the scale of administrative failure.
Read also: Stagnant Ranks, Broken Morale -- The cost of CAPF’s skewed HR policies
He further urged the home minister to take prompt and just decisions to protect the interests and morale of CAPF officers.
The wider controversy
Singh's letter comes at a particularly charged moment. The Supreme Court, on May 23, 2025, ruled that Group A Executive Cadre officers of CAPF are Organised Group A Services for all purposes -- a ruling that directed the government to complete a cadre review within six months and progressively reduce IPS deputation up to the rank of Inspector General over two years.
Read also: Chanakya’s Warning and India’s Shame: How the state fails its CAPFs
The Ministry of Home Affairs challenged the verdict. However, the apex court rejected the review petition on October 28, 2025, making the ruling final.
On March 9, 2026, the home ministry informed the court that it is considering "appropriate statutory and regulatory intervention," and the Union Cabinet approved the Central Armed Forces (General Administration) Bill, 2026, on March 10.
The Bill has drawn fierce pushback. Retired officers and legal analysts argue that the proposed legislation effectively institutionalizes IPS dominance in senior leadership roles within CAPFs, directly contradicting the spirit -- if not the letter -- of the Supreme Court's orders.
The NFU fault line
At the heart of the grievance is a decade-long battle over NFFU -- a mechanism introduced by the Sixth Pay Commission that automatically upgrades the pay of officers who are denied promotion due to lack of vacancies.
Read also: Give CAPF officers what Supreme Court ordered – and what they earned
The Supreme Court had noted that CAPF officers faced a compounded injustice: senior positions were being filled by IPS deputation, blocking internal promotions, while NFFU -- the financial fallback for stagnation -- was simultaneously denied to them.
Retired officers have pointed out that CRPF and BSF assistant commandants of certain batches have gone 16 years without their first promotion, while IPS officers of junior batches join the same forces at the DIG level.
