The Border Security Force (BSF) is an institution, specifically a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), operating under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It was formally established on December 1, 1965, following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. The force was created to solve the problem of inadequate border protection, which was previously handled by disparate State Armed Police battalions whose limitations were exposed by Pakistani incursions in the Rann of Kutch.
The BSF is governed by the Border Security Force Act, 1968, which, in Section 4(1), constitutes it as an armed force of the Union for ensuring the security of India's borders. Its peacetime mandate is to guard the international borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, prevent trans-border crimes like smuggling, and instill a sense of security in border populations. In wartime, the BSF passes under the operational control of the Indian Army. The Act also provides for the establishment of Security Force Courts under Section 64 for internal discipline.
An informed reader should know that the BSF is distinct from other border-guarding CAPFs, such as the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which guards the China border, and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which guards the Nepal and Bhutan borders.
The BSF's operational mechanism was recently changed in October 2021 when the MHA modified its jurisdiction. The area within which the BSF can exercise powers of search, seizure, and arrest was increased from 15 km to 50 km from the international border in Punjab, West Bengal, and Assam, while it was reduced from 80 km to 50 km in Gujarat. This change, made under the Border Security Force Act, 1968, was defended by the Centre to curb cross-border crimes but was challenged by the State of Punjab in the Supreme Court under Article 131 of the Constitution. The BSF's power in this extended area is limited to the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), the Passport (Entry into India) Act of 1920, and the Passport Act of 1967.