Central paramilitary forces are "organised services": HC

In a significant order, the Delhi High Court today asked the Centre to consider all paramilitary forces -- CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF and SSB as "organised services" which will remove stagnation and ensure promotion and other service-related benefits to their officers.
A division bench of Justice Kailash Gambhir and Justice Najmi Waziri said group A officers of paramilitary forces should be given all benefits including non-functional financial upgradation (NFU) from 2006 in terms of the 6th Pay Commission.
NFU is a concept introduced in the pay commission and was granted to what the government termed as 'Group A organised services'.

Under NFU, 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 who has got promoted. However, it would involve only a financial upgrade but not rank or perks.
"The government itself has admitted in various notifications, pamphlets and official communications that they be considered as organised services since 1986," the bench said.
"As recently as on February 11, list relied on by the Government of India, petitioners in central forces have been categorised as 'organised services', therefore benefits ought to be granted to them," the bench said, adding that officers of central forces be "deemed" to be treated as 'organised service'.

"They shall be granted the benefits of NFU in terms of the sixth pay commission," the bench said.
The order will benefit about 10,000 Group A officers of central paramilitary forces like Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal and Central Industrial Security Forces.
It was argued that officers of the paramilitary forces were facing stagnation not only because of lack of adequate promotional posts, but also because a majority of the posts of the top hierarchy had been filled up by deputationists (IPS officers), affecting the career progression of the cadre officers.