Why in news?

• The Supreme Court is set to hear the dispute over the expansion of the Border Security Force (BSF) jurisdiction in Punjab.
• In October2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification expanding the jurisdiction of the BSF in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.
• This was challenged by the Punjab government the following December.

What’s in today’s article?

• BSF (about, background, Operations)
• News Summary (recent notification, legal backing, earlier notifications, necessity of this step, controversy)

Border Security Force (BSF)

• About
  • It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India and was raised in December 1965.
    • It was raised in the wake of the 1965 War to ensure the security of the borders of India.
  • It is the only CAPF which has its own Water Wing, Air Wing and other ancillary units.
  • The Force Headquarters is in New Delhi.
  • It works under the administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs.
  • Its operational responsibility is spread over 6,386.36 km of International Border with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
• Operations:
  • Peace Time Role
    • Prevent trans-border crimes, unauthorized entry into or exit from the territory of India.
    • Prevent smuggling and any other illegal activity.
  • War Time Role
    • Protection of vital installations particularly air-fields
    • Limited aggressive action against Para military or irregular forces of the enemy within the overall plan of the Armed forces
    • Assistance in control of refugees
  • Overseas Deployment:
    • BSF contributes its personnel every year for UN Missions.
    • It is handling the security issues on the famous Kartarpur Corridor.
  • Other roles
    • It is also deployed on Line of Control (LoC) in J&K under the Operational control of the Army.
    • At the time of natural disaster/calamities, BSF provides assistance in areas of deployment such as:
      • Kashmir flood in 2014,
      • Kerala flood in 2018 and
      • Kedarnath Tragedy in 2013.
  • Power to arrest, search and seize
    • BSF is empowered to arrest, search and seize under a number of laws, such as the Criminal Procedure Code, the Passports Act 1967, the Passport (Entry into India) Act 1920, and the NDPS Act, to name a few.

Background: Expansion of the jurisdiction of BSF

• Earlier, the BSF could exercise its powers within 15 kilometres of the border in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.
• Later, through a notification issued in October 2021, the Centre expanded this to within 50 kilometres of the border.
  • The notification states that, within this larger 50-kilometre jurisdiction, the BSF can only exercise powers under the Criminal Procedure Code, the Passport (Entry into India) Act and the Passports Act.
  • For other central legislations, the 15-km limit remains.

From which law the Centre draws its authority to take such step?

• Section 139 of the Border Security Force Act, 1968, empowers the Centre to notify the area and extent of border force’s operational mandate.
  • Every order (notification) made under Section 139 of this act must be subsequently laid before each house of Parliament.
• Using this act, Centre issues notification revising the ‘Schedule’ specifying the border stretch where BSF would have powers of search, seizure and arrest.

Need for such step

• To improve operational efficiency and crack down on smuggling rackets
  • Punjab has the problem of drugs and arms smuggling. Similarly, Assam and West Bengal face the issue of cattle and fake currency smuggling.
  • These borders are also prone to illegal migration.
• To counter the security challenges
  • This expansion was in response to the increased use of drones and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
  • These technologies have long-range capabilities and enable surveillance and the smuggling of arms and fake currency.
• To make jurisdiction of BSF uniform across states
  • The notification makes the BSF jurisdiction uniform across states, as the 50-kilometre limit was already in place in Rajasthan.
  • The same notification reduced the jurisdiction in Gujarat from 80 km to 50 km.

News Summary: The issue of expansion of BSF jurisdiction

• The state of Punjab filed an original suit against the central government in the Supreme Court in December 2021 against the expansion of the jurisdiction of the BSF.
  • The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in disputes between the central government and states under Article 131 of the Constitution.
  • This means cases of this kind can only be heard for the first time at the SC to the exclusion of any other court.
• The Punjab govt claimed that expanding the jurisdiction would compromise the state’s exclusive powers to legislate on matters involving the police and public order.
  • These powers are provided in Entries 1 and 2 of the State List under Article 246 of the Constitution.
• They also claimed that the notification was issued without consulting with any of the states concerned.