Tradition & History : Police Ranks (with special reference to the Central Police Organisations)

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Let me start by saying that I do not believe in superiority or inferiority of any service. I also do not like it when the CPOs/PMFs are shown in bad light. They are doing a job as tough (if not tougher) than the Army and ideally there should be pay parity amongst all Group-A services within the govt including the CPOs and the Defence Services.

Having said that, I’ll return to the issue at hand. A lot has been said by officers of the CPOs on the supposed equation of the rank of Second-in-Command with Lt Col of the Army. They have also demanded upgradation to Pay Band-4 if the rank of Lt Col is granted the same. Before touching the actual equation and historical aspect of the same, let’s take a look at the following facts and then come to our conclusion whether the rank of Second-in-Command can be compared with Lt Col or not :-

Second-in-Command
Years of service required to reach the rank : 11 years including training
4th CPC pay scale : Rs 3700-5000
5th CPC pay scale : Rs 12000-375-16500

Lieutenant Colonel
Years of service required to reach the rank : 14.5 years including training if assumed from the Indian Military Academy
4th CPC pay scale : Rs 4700-5900
5th CPC pay scale : Rs 15100-400-18700


Now let us proceed with history – firstly with Police rank badges and then with Police ranks with special reference to CPOs.

From District Police Chief onwards, the police had the following system of rank badges till about independence :

Superintendent of Police / Assistant Inspector General of Police : Three Stars (Upgraded to Crown on reaching the basic pay scale of Rs 950/-)

Deputy Inspector General of Police : Crown with one Star

Inspector General of Police (highest police rank) : Crown with Two Stars

In the late 1950s and early 60s, the police establishment went in for a major overhaul and upgradation of rank badges. This followed the introduction of additional ranks such as Selection Grade etc. To meet new ranks, rank badges were appropriately upwardly modified. Contrary to popular perception, the Ministry of Defence very vehemently protested the rank confusion created by junior police officers wearing senior military rank badges but the issue was sorted out in a high level meeting between MHA and MoD (the meeting is documented and minuted) where it was rather unusually concluded that there could be no confusion between police and military ranks since police rank badges are silver in colour whereas military ranks are made of brass, and it was also decided that rank badges would not reflect the actual status comparison of military and police officers. This later resulted in the rank of DIG (then established by pay and by the MHA as being between a Lt Col and a full Colonel) wearing rank badges as worn by a Brigadier of the Army. So far so good. But this came to haunt the military years later when by forgetting the historical background of the issue, police officers started demanding status and pay equation by virtue of the rank badges worn. The skewed situation got adversely solidified when the 6th CPC commented about an ‘established relativity’ between a Brig and a DIG in all probability based on the equality of brass carried on the shoulders by the two ranks.

That being the backdrop, let’s now talk of the CPOs : Till the 5th CPC, there was no separate grade of Second-in-Command, instead there used to be two grades of the rank of Commandant in Central Police Organizations : Commandant (Ordinary Grade) and Commandant (Selection Grade). The so called rank of Second-in-Command was in the same grade as Comdt (OG). The point to be noted here is that both were in the Non-Functional Selection Grade pay scales and NOT in Junior Administrative Grade. Comdt (OG) (as also 2IC where it existed) was an officer in the NFSG scale of Rs 4100-5300 while Comdt (SG) was in Rs 4500-5700. Comdt (OG) with NFSG scale who used to wear the State Emblem with one Star was usually equated with a Lt Col for functional reasons in organizations such as Assam Rifles though the Army still maintained that the parity of Lt Col was with Comdt (SG) and not Comdt (OG). Both NFSG scales and ranks of Comdt (OG) and Comdt (SG) were merged by the 5th CPC and granted the scale of Rs 14300-18300 and another junior rank called Second-in-Command was created by the same Pay Commission in the Junior Administrative Grade of Rs 12000-16500 (erstwhile Rs 3700-5000). Now this junior rank was ordained to wear the former rank badges of Comdt (OG). Hence, the erstwhile NFSG Comdt (OG) – functionally considered equivalent to a Lt Col was granted the scale of Rs 14300-18300 and the Second-in-Command was a new junior rank created by the 5th CPC for internal Cadre Management of CPOs. The appointment of 2IC also existed in certain CPOs prior to 5th CPC but it was the same grade as Comdt (OG) and all such existing 2ICs were also upgraded to the new NFSG of Rs 14300-18300 while new 2IC appointees after the 5th CPC were granted a lower rank of JAG in the scale Rs 12000-16500. The above mentioned can be explicitly seen from Paras 70.19 & 70.21 of the 5th CPC dealing with CPOs. How can one then say that by creation of a new junior rank for CPOs (2IC) below the erstwhile rank of Comdt (OG) for their own management, the rank of Lt Col also stands degraded by a one level ?. The military is not to follow the system of CPOs and has nothing to do with their organizational tinkering. It is the CPOs which introduced a junior rank in the JAG – would it automatically have an adverse impact on the military, absolutely NOT. If Commandants start wearing the ranks of a full Colonel, would it mean that they have now become equivalent to Colonels ? No I would say. One also keeps hearing that there has to be a parity between Commandants and full Colonels since both command Battalions and that an officer is promoted to the rank of full Colonel in about 15 years which is similar to Commandants of CPOs. This is incorrect too since most Infantry Battalion Commanders are actually Substantive Lt Colonels holding the acting rank of Colonel but in the pay of Lt Col. Army officers are promoted to the rank and pay of substantive Colonel after 20 years service, that is, if at all promoted. Though preferably, the system of rank badges should have been made parallel to actual status in the 1950s itself, it did not happen but it should also not lead to false perceptions of grandeur. Can a non-gazetted Inspector of Central Excise (who wears three stars without a cloth band) be equated with a gazetted Group-A Assistant Commandant of the CPOs only because of similarity of rank badges ?. Can an Inspector of Bihar Police who now wears One Star without cloth band compare himself with an IPS Probationer because they share the brass on their respective shoulders ? Or can a Shatabadi Train Ticket Checker claim equivalence with a Wing Commander of the Air Force because they both wear three full stripes on their shoulders ?. What is worn on the shoulders by officers of the CPOs by virtue of their in-house/MHA orders has no relevance or effect on MoD or on what is worn by military officers.

The Indian Navy-Coast Guard Equation : While the MoD could not have controlled the upgradation of rank badges by organizations under the MHA, in-house relativities as far as Coast Guard is concerned, were kept more realistic. Commandant (SG) in the scale of Rs 14300-18300 of the Coast Guard still wears Three Stripes akin to a Naval Commander (Lt Col) while a DIG in the scale of Rs 16400-20000 is equated with a Colonel and wears Four Stripes akin to a Naval Captain (Full Colonel). A DIG is allowed to wear the rank stripes of a Commodore only after some set years of service as is the case in the Navy. Mind You, a naval Commodore strictly speaking is not equivalent to a Brigadier of the Army. Naval Captains after three years of service are constituted (not promoted) as Commodores which is basically an appointment and not a rank, though traditionally they are treated at par in status with Brigadiers in Military circles. Commodores when granted command of a ship are reverted back to four stripes of a Captain.

Any thoughts ???


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