Delhi HC puts temporary stay on IPS deputation at DIG, IG level in ITBP

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday stayed the Home Ministry's order deputing an Uttar Pradesh cadre officer to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in the rank of Inspector General, a day after it ordered a temporary stay on the deputation of IPS officers in the ranks of DIG and IG to the border guarding force.

A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Talwant Singh had on Monday stayed the deputation of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in the Sino-Indian border guarding force upto the senior administrative grade (SAG) level after a group of cadre officers approached it seeking relief, officials said.

The cadre officers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) had contended that as they have been declared an 'organised service cadre' by the Supreme Court and also by the Union Cabinet early this year, IPS officers cannot seek deputation in the DIG and IG ranks in the force.

During the next hearing in the high court on Tuesday, the ITBP officers informed the bench about the home ministry's order, also given on Monday, following which the court ordered a stay on the issue and fixed the next hearing on January 9, 2020.

"This effectively means that IPS officers cannot come on deputation to the ITBP in the DIG and IG ranks for the time being. The order is being studied," a senior home ministry official said.

The ITBP has over half-a-dozen vacancies in the DIG and IG ranks at present.

IPS officers and cadre officers of various central armed police forces like the ITBP are at loggerheads with each other over implementation of the organised service and non-functional financial upgradation (NFFU) being provided to the latter by the Union government recently.

ITBP is primarily tasked to secure the 3,488-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China along with rendering a variety of duties in the internal security domain of the country.