Fresh trouble is brewing for the Union home ministry as state police officers, women in armed police forces and deputy superintendent of police in states are raising a red flag to the home ministry’s move to induct Indian Police Service (IPS) officers through Limited Competitive Examination to be held by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in May 2012. The move has already run into trouble with the Army barring a large section of its officers from sitting in the exam.
While some states had already opposed the idea at the onset, a large section of police officers are coming out to term the move as “unconstitutional and arbitrary’’. Till now, IPS officers have been recruited solely through the annual Civil Services Examination conducted by the UPSC.
Despite serious reservations expressed by the UPSC itself, the MHA has opened the door for serving major or captain-level officers in Army, Navy or Air Force or as deputy superintendent of police in a state or Union Territories or assistant commandants in Central police organisations who have not crossed 35 years of age to try their luck in the IPS.
On Saturday, home minister P. Chidambaram rejected the Opposition saying there are a large number of IPS vacancies in CBI, NIA, IB. “There may be a few people who have opposed but the larger interest of the IPS and the state cadres has to prevail. I think very cogent reasons have been given why this lateral entry examination is absolutely necessary otherwise for the next 15 years, we will never be able to fill the vacancies in IPS. This is done after careful study.” He also said he sincerely hopes “that a sufficient number of Army officers will also take the examination.”
In what could mount legal challenges for the MHA, the officers opposing the Limited Competitive Examination claim that the UPSC’s objections cannot be “overturned’’.
They also claim the Limited Competitive Examination will increase the vacancies in states, negatively impact promotions and create discrepancies in pension benefits among officers. Moreover, the women officers feel that their representation in the IPS will go down.