PROMOTION IN BSF

High court issues order against existing promotion system in BSF

The Agartala bench of Guwahati High Court today issued an interim order in favour of executive level officers of Border Security Force(BSF), while directing Union Home Ministry and Director General(DG) of BSF to review the existing promotion system in the force.

A two-member bench of the High Court heard the case, filed against BSF's top brass, who were from Indian Police Service, (IPS) by a group of junior level officers of the force.

According to the report, one Ashok Choudhury and four other BSF officers had filed a case challenging the ongoing promotion practice of the BSF and reservation of the posts in the ranks of DIG to Director General(DG) in September 2005.

The petitioner apprised the Court that IPS cadres had been depriving the BSF officers so far as promotion was concerned and as per the norms about 40 per cent posts of DIG, 66.66 per cent posts of IG and cent per cent post of Additional DG and DG were reserved for IPS cadres who neither have the knowledge of border management nor the experience of working at field level.

Terming the present practice of promotion as "unconstitutional" and in "violation of the fundamental rights" of the field level eligible officers, petitioners complained that by making reservation at policy making level for BSF, the government was compromising with efficiency in the organisation as well as national security.

Demanding assurance of at least 50 per cent posts being opened up for the BSF officers at DIG, IG, ADG and DG level, the petitioners maintained, "Even though the cadre strength of both forces is almost the same, BSF cadres have only six posts for IG and 43 posts for DIG but no posts in the ADG or DG-level in the force, whereas IPS have 388 posts of DG, 564 posts of IG and 492 posts of DIG." "The IPS cadres are coming only at supervising level and have no experience of border management or training, which amounts to compromising on national security on the one hand and triggering conflict between policy makers and executives of the force on the other," petitioner pointed out.

Earlier, IIM Kolkata in 1993 and Bureau of Police Research and Development in 1994 had conducted study on the efficiency of BSF and suggested to keep the higher posts in the force out of reservation, the petitioners said, adding that the recommendation of Sixth Pay Commission had also contemplated allotment of the higher posts to BSF cadres.