New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has sought responses from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Border Security Force (BSF) on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleging misuse of BSF and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel. The plea claimed that soldiers are being diverted from their security duties and deployed as domestic workers at the homes of senior officers.
A division bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay issued notice on September 3 and listed the matter for hearing in January next year.
Allegations Raised in the Petition
The PIL was filed by Sanjay Yadav, a serving Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the BSF, through advocate Dr. Surendra Singh Hooda. While respondents questioned Yadav’s locus standi, his counsel argued that past disciplinary action against him did not bar him from raising the issue.
According to the petition, misuse of manpower has become routine, with soldiers pulled from border and law-and-order duties to perform domestic tasks at officers’ residences. It cited shocking examples, including personnel being assigned to care for a senior officer’s dog.
The plea warned that such diversion of soldiers poses a serious national security risk, especially with more than 83,000 vacancies across CAPFs and the Assam Rifles.
Reference to DoPT Guidelines
The petitioner pointed to a 2016 Office Memorandum (OM) issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). The directive ordered withdrawal of personnel, vehicles, and security facilities from the homes of retired officials within a month of retirement. It also stated that those failing to comply must pay for such facilities and face action.
Despite this, the BSF later compiled a list identifying 131 personnel found working in the homes of retired police and CAPF officers. The plea stressed that the actual number of personnel diverted was much higher.
Failure of Compliance
The petition alleged that even after the list was prepared, no concrete action was taken to withdraw unauthorized manpower or recover expenses from retired officials. Though some isolated withdrawals occurred, the petitioner claimed that unauthorized deployment continues on a large scale.
Yadav had earlier issued a legal notice on the issue, but authorities allegedly took no remedial action. The petition urged the court to direct an independent inquiry into the misuse of manpower and its impact on national security.
