Cases clubbed only after CJI spoke to presiding judges
The Chief Justice of India intervened before two petitions related to the deputation of IPS officers in Central Armed Police Forces were clubbed together for hearing, according to reports. The contempt petition, initiated for alleged violation of the Supreme Court's May 23, 2025 judgement directing gradual reduction and eventual phasing out of IPS officers' deputation to CAPFs, was pending before a bench headed by Justice Ujjal Bhuyan. A separate petition challenging the validity of the new CAPF Act, enacted after the SC judgement and permitting IPS deputation, was before another bench headed by Justice Manoj Misra.
On September 30, the contempt petition listed before Justice Bhuyan was abruptly removed from the notified case list. Subsequently, both petitions were listed before a special bench of Justices Misra and Bhuyan, triggering significant objections. Senior advocate Shyam Divan raised concerns about the removal of a listed matter, noting that once a cause list is notified in the Supreme Court, no one should alter it. Senior advocate Guru Krishna Kumar similarly objected to the procedure.
The CJI's communication to the presiding judges preceded the clubbing of the two cases, which addressed overlapping issues concerning IPS officer deputation to central armed police forces under the framework established by the earlier court judgement and the subsequent legislative amendments.
