IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION No. OF 2011

(Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India)

IN THE MATTER OF:

Articles 14, 21 and 32 of the Constitution of India; and

AND IN THE MATTER OF:

Rule 3(3)(ii)(iii) of the All India Services Conduct Rule 1968

AND IN THE MATTER OF:

Implementation of the recommendations of the following:i. Committee on Civil Service Reform (Hota Committee) on

Civil Service Reform, ii. Second Administrative Reforms Commission, Central

Staffing Scheme, iii. Committee on Prevention of Corruption (Santhanam

Committee Report), iv. Economic Administration Reforms Commission (Jha

Commission)

IN THE MATTER OF:

1. T.S.R. SubramanianFormer Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India, ‘Guru Kripa’, 74, Sector 15 A, NOIDA - 201 301

2. Dr. Abid HussainFormer Ambassador of India to United States of America237, Sector 15 A, NOIDA - 201 301

3. T. S. Krishna Murthy

2Former Chief Election CommissionerFlat No.9, Gokul Tower (Next to Mookambika Complex) No.7, Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Road, Alwarpet, Chennai - 600 018

4. N. Gopalaswami Former Chief Election Commissioner of India,Flat no.5, 'Leo Madhuram', 39, Giri Road, T.Nagar,Chennai - 600 017

5. Ved Prakash MarwahFormer Governor of Manipur, Mizoram and Jharkhand, A-2 Hira Mahal, 44 Amrita Shergill Marg, New Delhi – 110003

6. Bhure LalFormer Secretary to the Government of India,Former Chairman of the Environment Pollution (Prevention) Control Authority (EPCA)67, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi – 110003

7. N.C. SaxenaMember, National Advisory Commission68 Friends Colony West, New Delhi – 110065

8. Jagdish Chandra Pant Former Secretary to the Government of IndiaMinistry of Health & Family Welfare Shraddha Kunj,159/I Vasant Vihar, Dehradun – 248006

9. Surendra Narain Mathur Former Managing Director, Indian Railway Finance Corporation 706, ‘Nanda’, Kaushambi Apartments, Sahibabad (Dist. Ghaziabad) – 201010

310. Arvind Varma

Former Secretary, Ministry of Chemicals and Petroleum, Government of IndiaK 67 A, Hauz Khas Enclave, New Delhi – 110016

11. Prem Narain MittalFormer Member (Investigation) Central Board of Direct TaxesA-56, Retreat Apartments, 20, I. P. Extension, Delhi-110092

12. Keki DaruwallaFormer Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on International Affairs79 Mount Kailash, SFS Apartments, New Delhi -110065

13. R.L. NarayanFormer High Commissioner to CanadaD-71, I.F.S. Apartments, Mayur Vihar, Phase – I, Delhi – 110 091

14. Ajay PrasadFormer Secretary, Civil Aviation, Government of IndiaC-622, Ground Floor, New Friends Colony, New Delhi-110025

15. Sharad Chandra BeharFormer Chief Secretary, Madhya PradeshE-4 /12, Arera Colony, Bhopal – 462016

416. Nirmala Buch

Former Secretary to the Government of IndiaMinistry of Rural DevelopmentE-4/17, Arera Colony, Bhopal – 462016

17. Arundhati Ghose Former Ambassador to United Nations Offices in Geneva and to the Conference on DisarmamentC 1903 Palam Vihar, Gurgaon - 122017

18. Amitabh ChandraFormer Principal Secretary, Medical Education & Drugs Department, Government of MaharashtraC 601 Blossom Boulevard, South Main Road, Koregaon Park, Pune - 411 001

19. Nripendra MisraFormer Chairperson, Telecom Regulatory Authority of IndiaA-222(FF), New Friends Colony, New Delhi -110065

20. Sivaramakrishnan S. NatarajanFormer Chairman, Ordinance Factory Board & Director General, Ordinance Factories, Ministry of Defence, Department of Defence ProductionC - 3, Ramaswamy Apartments, 41, Warren Road, Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004

21. Joginder Singh Former Director,Central Bureau of Investigation123-124, Now Sansad Vihar,CGHS, Sector 22, Plot No. 4,Dwarka, New Delhi -110077

22. Bahukutumbi Raman

5Former Additional Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of IndiaA-2/3, Bharathi Dasan Colony, K.K. Nagar, Chennai – 600078

23. B. K. Ratnakar Rao I.P.S.Former Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India 425, 10th Main, Banashankari II Stage, Bangalore – 560070

24. Arun BhagatFormer Director Intelligence Bureau, Government of IndiaD-84, Gulmohar Park, New Delhi-110049

25. Sushil TripathiFormer Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India 27, Sector 15 A, Noida – 201 301

26. Rajinder Jit KhuranaFormer Chairman, Joint Intelligence Committee, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of IndiaFormer Secretary to the Government of IndiaE-1/202, Arera Colony, Bhopal – 462016

27. Krishna V. RajanFormer Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of IndiaB-73, IFS Apartments, Mayur Vihar, Phase-1, Delhi-110091

28. Rakesh K. MittalFormer Social Welfare Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh 1/14, Vishwas Khand,

6Gomti Nagar, Lucknow – 226010

29. Amar Nath RamFormer Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of IndiaD-73, IFS Apartments, Mayur Vihar Phase-1, Delhi-

110091

30. Raj K. BhargavaFormer Home Secretary, Government of IndiaC-390, Defence Colony, New Delhi 110024

31. Kewal Ram BhatiFormer Vice Chairman Uttarakhand Public Services Tribunal, Dehradun25, Navyug Enclave, Indirapuram III, GMS Marg, Dehradun

32. Dr. S. ChakravarthyFormer Member, Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practice Commission, Government of India6-3-864/2/B, Sadat Manzil, Begumpet, Hyderabad 500016

33. Shailaja ChandraFormer Chairperson, Public Grievances Commission and Appellate Authority under Delhi Right to Information Act, 2001, Government of NCT of DelhiF 6/3 Vasant Vihar, New Delhi - 110057

34. Francis Thomas Raphael ColasoFormer Director General of Police, Karnataka 3, Gitanjali Apartments, 16, Moyenville Road,Langford Town, Bangalore - 560025

35. Ravindra GuptaFormer Secretary Heavy Industries and Public EnterprisesH-50, Sector 39, NOIDA - 201301

7

36. Siddharth Kak Former Member Customs Central Board of Excise and Customs (Spl. Secretary)Sector-27, District Gautam Budh Nagar, Noida - 201301

37. Ajit Kumar Former Finance Secretary, Government of IndiaA-13, IFS Apartments, Mayur Vihar Phase-1, Delhi-110091

38. Dr. Jagdish KhattarE – 16, Sector – 40, Noida – 201 301, Former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Government of IndiaChairman and Managing Director, Carnation Auto India Pvt. Ltd.Studio 205, IHDP, Plot No. 7, Sec. 127, Noida-201301

39. Mano Ranjan Former Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Government of IndiaC-62, GF, Sector 14, Noida - 201 301

40. Pravin Chandra Sharma Former Member Board of Revenue Uttar PradeshFormer Chairman, Uttar Pradesh State Roads CorporationB-35, Sector C, Aliganj, Lucknow 226024

41. H.H. VishwanathanFormer High Commissioner of India to Nigeria J 041, Windsor Park, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad -201014

42. Sarita PrasadFormer Secretary,

8Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of IndiaC-622, Ground Floor, New Friends Colony, New Delhi-110025

43. N.K. SabharwalFormer Director, Cooperation for Development Bureau for Asia and the Pacific at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)85-M, Greater Kailash-I, New Delhi 110048

44. Varghese Alexander ValiaparampilFormer Adviser Transport, Planning Commission of IndiaBethel Bhavan, Chettimukku, Maramon (Kerala) - 689549

45. P. Venkatarama VenkatakrishnanFormer Chairman, Pollution Control Board, ChennaiFormer Member, Central Administrative Tribunal2D, Front Block, Sri Sai Subodaya Apartments, 66 East Coast Road, Tiruvanmiyur, Chennai-600041

46. K. Aggarwal Former Principal Advisor, Planning Commission, Government of India281, Tower 4, Supreme Enclave, Mayur Vihar Phase –I, Delhi-110091

47. Kamal Nain BakshiFormer Ambassador of India to ItalyA-24, IFS Apartments, Mayur Vihar-1, Delhi-110091

48. Bhagirath Lal Das Former Secretary, Department of Steel, Government of India1102, Vindhyachal, Kaushambi, Ghaziabad - 201010

49. Jai Paul GuptaFormer Financial Commissioner, Punjab

9H.No. 81, Sector 19-A, Chandigarh - 160019

50. Swatantra V. S. Juneja

Former Special Secretary, Ministry of FinanceFormer Director General, Asian Development Bank, ManilaFounder Member Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations214, Sector 15A, Noida – 201 301

51. D.V.KapurFormer Secretary to the Government of India Ministries of Power, Heavy Industry and Chemicals & Petrochemicals405 Aradhana Apts., Sector-13 R K Puram, New Delhi-110066

52. Bishambar Makhija Former Principal Advisor, Planning Commission, Government of India307, Shalaka, Mah. Karve Road, Mumbai 400021.

53. Ravindra MathurFormer Secretary to the Government of India Former Chief Secretary, Uttar PradeshB-2/1, Vipul Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow – 226010

54. Mahesh Prasad Former Chairman Indian Trade Promotion Organisation20, Sector 14A,Noida – 201 301

55. L.V. SaptharishiFormer Secretary to the Government of IndiaFormer Election Observer, Chapra parliamentary Constituency in Bihar for General Elections 2004M-88, Greater Kailash -II, New Delhi – 110048

56. Ram Updesh Singh

10Former Chairman, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Former Vigilance Commissioner 1, Aniket IAS Colony, Kidwaipuri, Patna-800001

57. Ishwar. C Srivastava Former Chairman & Managing Director,Rajasthan Minerals Development Corporation, JaipurPresident, Transparency International (Rajasthan Chapter)4-Ka, 26, Jawahar Nagar, Jaipur - 302004

58. Dr. Gopalan SundaramFormer Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of IndiaA 601, “Dugar Apartments” Keshav Perumal Puram,Greenways Road, Chennai - 600028

59. R.P. AgrawalFormer Secretary, Higher Education,Government of India31, Greenwoods Society Phase II, Sector Omega I, Pocket P-II, Greater Noida – 201308

60. Anil Baijal Former Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of IndiaE-524, Greater Kailash, Part II, New Delhi, 110048

61. Kulbir SinghFormer Chief Administrative Officer, Northern Railway (Ministry of Railways)64, Jacaranda Marg, DLF City, Phase II, Gurgaon – 122002

62. Dipak ChatterjeeFormer Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Government of IndiaFormer Ambassador of India to European Union, Belgium & Luxembourg

11A-001 Belvedere Tower, DLF Phase-2, Gurgaon 122002

63. Arun Bongirwar Former Chief Secretary, MaharashtraFormer Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust10A, Nyay Sagar, Near Guru Nanak Hospital, Kalanagar, Bandra East, Mumbai 400051

64. Deepak Dasgupta Former Chairman, National Highways Authority of India C-604, Central Park, DLF Golf Course Road, Sector - 42, Gurgaon - 122002

65. D.S. BaggaFormer Chief SecretaryGovernment of Uttar Pradesh46-B, Green View Apartments,Sector 15-A, Noida – 201 301

66. Harsh Gupta Former Chief Secretary,Himachal Pradesh2910/ C-1, Sushant Lok, Phase-1, Gurgaon 122009

67. S.K. AroraFormer Ambassador of India to Iran13, Sector 15A,Noida – 201 301

68. D.R. KaarthikeyanFormer Director of the Central Bureau of InvestigationFormer Director General of the National Human Rights Commission Former Special Director General, Central Reserve Police Force102, Anand Lok,

12New Delhi - 110049

69. Kura Ram LakhanpalFormer Chief Secretary, PunjabAddress - House No - 638, Sector - 16 D, Chandigarh – 160016

70. Mr. Jagmohan L. BajajFormer Chairman UP Electricity Regulatory Commission 184, Sector 15A,Noida – 201 301

71. B.S. SialFormer Director General of Police, NSG198, Sector 15A,Noida – 201 301

72. Raghubar Dayal

Former Managing Director, Container Corporation of IndiaB-100, Defence Colony, New Delhi-110024

73. Manohar SubrahmanyamFormer Joint Secretary Department of Food, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Government of IndiaC-77 Indira Nagar, Lucknow 226016

74. P.P.KhannaFormer Development Commissioner, Small Scale Industries, Government of India213, Sector 15-A, NOIDA - 201 301

75. N.N. Vasudev Former Vice-Chairman Railway Claims Tribunal338B, Sector 15A,Noida – 201 301

76. Proloy BagchiFormer Additional Secretary, Department of Posts and Telegraphs, Government of India1, Chinar Lake, Ridge Apartments,

13Ridge Road, Idgah Hill, Bhopal – 462 001.

77. Mr. Vijay Kumar Former SecretaryMinistry of External Affairs7, Sector 15A,Noida – 201 301

78. Dr. S. NarayanFormer Secretary to the Prime MinisterFormer Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister64, ABM Avenue, Chennai – 28

79. S. RegunathanFormer Chief Secretary, Government of DelhiA-61, Gulmohar Park, New Delhi – 110047

80. Surendra Singh PangteyFormer Administrative Member, Board of Revenue, Lucknow25 F, Neembuwala, Garhi Cantt. Dehradun 248003

81. Anand SarupFormer Chairman, National Book Trust of IndiaFormer Education Secretary, Government of India15D, Golf View Apartments, Saket, New Delhi-110017

82. Surjit Kishore DasFormer Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand66, New Moti Bagh, New Delhi – 110023

83. Bhalachandra N. BhagwatSecretary, Ministry Human Resource Development, Government of India8, Priya, Worli Sea-Face, Mumbai - 4000 30

..Petitioners

Versus

1. Union of India

14Through the Cabinet SecretaryCabinet SecretariatRashtrapati BhavanNew Delhi - 110004

2. State of Andhra PradeshThrough the Chief Secretary Government of Andhra PradeshC-Block, Secretariat, Hyderabad -500022

3. State of Arunachal PradeshThrough the Chief Secretary Government of Arunachal PradeshBanquet Hall, Niti Vihar, Itanagar – 791 111

4. State of AssamThrough the Chief Secretary Government of AssamAssam Secretariat (Civil), Block – C, 3rd Floor, Dispur, Guwahati – 781 006

5. State of BiharThrough the Chief Secretary Government of BiharMain Secretariat, Patna, 800015

6. State of ChattisgarhThrough the Chief Secretary Government of ChattisgarhDKS Bhawan, Mantralaya, Raipur - 492001

7. State of GoaThrough the Chief Secretary Government of GoaSecretariat, Porvorim, Goa – 403521

8. State of GujaratThrough the Chief SecretaryGovernment of GujaratNew Sachivalaya,Gandhinagar - 382 010

9. State of HaryanaThrough the Chief SecretaryGovernment of Haryana

15Room No. 4, 4th Floor Haryana Civil Secretariat, Sector-1,Chandigarh - 160001

10. State of Himachal PradeshThrough the Chief Secretary Government of Himachal PradeshHP Secretariat, Shimla - 171002

11. State of Jammu & KashmirThrough the Chief Secretary Government of Jammu & KashmirR. No. 2/7, 2nd, Floor Main Building, Civil Secretariat, Jammu, 180001

12. State of Jharkhand Through the Chief Secretary Government of JharkhandProject Building, Dhurwa Post Office, Ranchi – 834004

13. State of KarnatakaThrough the Chief Secretary Government of KarnatakaRoom no. 320, 3rd Floor, Vidhan Soudha, Bangalore - 560001

14 State of KeralaThrough the Chief SecretaryGovernment of KeralaGovernment Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram - 695001

15. State of Madhya PradeshThrough the Chief Secretary Government of Madhya PradeshMantralaya, Vallabh Bhawan, Bhopal – 462004

16. State of MaharashtraThrough the Chief SecretaryGovernment of Maharashtra

16Mantralaya, Mumbai 400032

17. State of ManipurThrough the Chief Secretary Government of ManipurOld Secretariat, South Block, Imphal – 795001 (Manipur)

18. State of MeghalayaThrough the Chief Secretary Government of MeghalayaMeghalaya Civil Secretariat, Shillong - 793001

19. State of MizoramThrough the Chief SecretaryGovernment of MizoramNew Secretariat Complex, Aizawl, 796001

20. State of NagalandThrough the Chief Secretary Government of NagalandNagaland Civil Secretariat, Kohima - 797004

21. State of OrissaThrough the Chief SecretaryGovernment of OrissaOrissa Secretariat, Bhubaneswar – 751001

22. State of PunjabThrough the Chief Secretary Government of Punjab Punjab Civil Secretariat, Sector - 1 Chandigarh-160017

23. State of Rajasthan Through the Chief SecretaryGovernment of RajasthanGovernment Secretariat, Jaipur-302005

24. State of SikkimThrough the Chief Secretary Government of Sikkim Gangtok, Sikkim -737101

25. State of Tamil Nadu

17Through the Chief Secretary Government of Tamil Nadu Secretariat, Fort St. George, Chennai, Chennai-600009

26. State of TripuraThrough the Chief Secretary Government of TripuraNew Secretariat Complex, Post Office Kunjavan, Agaratala-799006

27. State of UttarakhandThrough the Chief SecretaryGovernment of UttarakhandUttarakhand Secretariat, 4, Subhash Road, Secretariat, Dehradun-248001

28. State of Uttar PradeshThrough the Chief Secretary Government of Uttar PradeshLal Bahadur Shastri Bhawan, Secretariat, Lucknow-226001

29. State of West BengalThrough the Chief SecretaryGovernment of West BengalSecretariat, Writers Building, Kolkata-700001

30. Union Territory of Andaman& NicobarThrough the Chief SecretaryAndaman & Nicobar (UT) AdministrationSecretariat, Port Blair - 744101

31. Union Territory of ChandigarhThrough the Advisor to the Administrator (Chandigarh)UT Secretariat, Sector 9, Chandigarh -160009

32. Union Territory of Daman & Diu Through the AdministratorDaman and Diu (UT) Administrator Secretariat, Moti Daman,

18Secretariat, 396220

33. Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli Through the Administrator Dadra & Nagar Haveli (UT)Secretariat, Silvassa- 396230

34. National Capital Territory (NCT)of DelhiThrough the Chief SecretaryGovernment of NCT Delhi, Delhi Secretariat, I.P. Estate, New Delhi- 110002

35. Union Territory of LakshadweepThrough the Administrator Union Territory of LakshadweepKavaratti, Lakshadweep - 682555

36. Union Territory of PuducherryThrough the Chief SecretaryPuducherry AdministrationChief Secretariat, 1, Beach Road, U.T. of Puducherry, Puducherry- 605001 ...Respondents

WRIT PETITION UNDER ARTICLE 32

OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

TOTHE HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA AND HIS HON’BLE COMPANION JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE PETITIONER ABOVE NAMED

MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH:

191. The Petitioners herein, are citizens of India are preferring

the present writ petition, which is by way of public

interest litigation are senior civil servants who have

retired after attaining the senior-most ranks of the

higher Civil Services. They are, amongst others, a

Cabinet Secretary, a Governor, Chief Election

Commissioners, Chief Secretaries to various State

Governments, Secretaries to the Government of India,

Ambassadors and High Commissioners, Heads of Police /

Paramilitary forces/ Investigative Agencies at the Centre

and in the States, Heads of Departments, Commissions

and Tribunals, Advisors to the Government of India and

have served at senior levels in various international

organizations, including the United Nations. The

Petitioners have all served in the civil services for long

periods of time and between them have more than two

thousand five hundred man–years of hands-on

experience of public administration. They have thus

acquired intimate knowledge of the capabilities,

strengths and weaknesses of the administrative

machine. Further, they represent officers who entered

service over a twenty - two year time span (ranging from

the 1950 to the 1972 batches) and have thus witnessed

both the evolution as well as the deterioration in the

standards of the civil services. They seek no personal

gain or benefit from this Petition, but instead, as insiders

20hope to use the insights gained through long years of

experience to suggest effective measures of systemic

administrative reform.

2. That it is widely acknowledged, including by the

Government of India, that poor implementation and

weak oversight have distorted and reduced the

effectiveness of Government policies and programmes.

Thus, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission

(ARC) acknowledged that “governance is admittedly the

weak link in our quest for prosperity and equity.

Elimination of corruption is not only a moral imperative

but an economic necessity for a nation aspiring to catch

up with the rest of the world. Improved governance in

the form of non-expropriation, contract enforcement,

and decrease in bureaucratic delays and corruption can

raise the GDP growth rate significantly” (Second ARC,

Fourth Report on Ethics in Governance). The Tenth Five

Year Plan noted that “people’s welfare is largely

determined by the efficiency of public delivery

mechanisms. The best plan cannot compensate for poor

implementation; accountability and efficiency in all our

public institutions is the key to unlocking the potential of

our country and to sustained social development.”

3. That weak governance has adversely impacted

performance and resulted in unacceptably poor

21outcomes in a large number of critically important

sectors. While the official estimates of poverty in India

range from 28% (Planning Commission), to 37.2%

(Suresh Tendulkar Committee), to at least 50% (NC

Saxena Committee), to as high as 77% (Sengupta

Committee), it is clear that well over a quarter of our

population still lives below the poverty line. The

persistence of large-scale poverty and illiteracy, the lack

of employment, shelter, clean drinking water, basic

sanitation and health care, food and nutrition, are all

manifestations of serious failures of national

governance. Despite its high growth rate, India scores

poorly in virtually all international rankings of countries

based on indices of social development (India ranked

134 out of 182 countries surveyed in the UNDP’s widely

recognized annual Human Development Index for 2009).

On the other hand, there is little doubt that clean and

efficient governance within the democratic framework

would transform the social, economic and political life of

our people and build a strong, prosperous and vibrant

nation.

4. That since the implementation of Government policies

and programmes is the responsibility of the permanent

civil service, the lacunae and fault lines in this regard

can be traced back directly to the civil servant. While

22proximate causes can always be identified for under-

performance in individual sectors, the consistent failure

to achieve targets, across the board and over time,

clearly indicates that the basic problem underpinning

each failure lies in implementation arising out of poor

governance. Any attempt to improve administration

must therefore necessarily focus on the micro–issue of

civil service reform, which in turn affects all aspects of

service delivery and implementation. The Petitioners are

of the opinion that addressing this fundamental issue will

directly and significantly improve the quality of delivery

and implementation of Government policies and

programmes and thus the quality of governance in

general.

5. That the Petitioners further submit on the basis of

credible Government documents in the public domain,

that poor governance has been the main cause of these

poor outcomes. As the tenth five year plan states:

“Successful implementation of development

programmes requires adequate funds, an appropriate

policy framework, the formulation of suitable plans and

an effective delivery machinery. However, past

experiences suggest that availability of funds is no

panacea for tackling the problems of poverty,

backwardness and low human development in India.

23Funds may be necessary, but they are not a sufficient

condition; the determining factor seems to be the

capability of the funding Ministries/State Governments to

formulate viable schemes and of the delivery system to

implement these schemes on the ground. There are

serious deficiencies in both respects and they can be

regarded broadly as due to ‘poor governance’”.

6. That structurally, public administration in the country is

compromised by (a) corruption within the administration,

(b) a ‘spoils system’, previously recognized by this

Hon’ble Court, that has meant an irresolute system of

tenure, transfers and promotions, (c) political

interference and pressure on civil servants, leading to

wrongful decisions manifestly not in the public interest

and engendering both corruption and the ‘spoils

system’; and finally, (d) the non-implementation of

consistently recommended reforms for institutional

change. These interlocking phenomena have been

repeatedly addressed by numerous Government-

appointed committees, as being primarily responsible for

the poor state of governance in India. There is an urgent

need to make the civil servant accountable, sensitive

and responsive; if this is achieved, there will be across-

the-spectrum benefits. Since the civil servant at all

levels, from the village to the block/thana to the tehsil,

24district, and state secretariat is directly in touch with the

citizen, an improvement in the quality of his/her output

will surely positively impact the overall quality of

governance. It is imperative to address the micro-causes

which have rendered the civil servant apathetic, callous,

ineffective and corrupt. There is an urgent need to usher

reforms on the above lines.

7. That the Union Government as well as the State

Governments have set up numerous Committees which

have studied and made recommendations with regard to

administrative and civil service reforms. All these

Committees have concurred on the need to protect the

civil servant from extraneous pressures and make

him/her independent so that he/she can render his/her

considered advice freely and frankly, without fear or

favour. Although many of the recommendations of

these Committees have been broadly similar, they have

not been accepted or implemented. In this context, the

Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2006-2008)

noted that

“it is ironical that there has been no sincere attempt to restructure the Civil Service although more than six hundred Committees and Commissions have looked into different aspects of public administration in the country…The Indian reform effort has been

25unfailingly conservative, with limited impact…Civil service reform in India has neither enhanced the efficiency nor the accountability of the Civil Service in any meaningful manner.”

8. That in 1997, the Conference of Chief Ministers of States,

convened by the Government of India to consider ways

of improving performance and integrity of the public

service, had recommended that the existing rules and

regulations should be amended within six months to

enable exemplary prosecution and removal of corrupt

officials and the weeding out of staff of doubtful integrity

and that at the same time, a suitable mechanism should

be worked out to reward employees who do good work.

Since then, the Central Fifth Pay Commission (1997), the

Geethakrishnan Commission on Expenditure Reforms

(2001), the Surinder Nath Committee on Performance

Evaluation (2003), the P.C. Hota Committee on Civil

Service Reform (2004) and the Second Administrative

Reforms Commission (2006-08) have all produced

voluminous Reports and recommendations on the

subject.

9. That these Reports contain many valuable

recommendations. While recommendations, especially

those relating to emergent operational matters have

indeed been accepted by the Government, the core

26recommendations, which have been studied, discussed

and commended for implementation by successive

Commissions and Committees have not been acted upon

in letter and spirit. Were this to be done, the Petitioners

are confident that there would be a substantial

improvement in the quality of governance in India.

10. That the Hota Committee and the Santhanam

Committee have recognized corruption as a major

problem in the civil services. That much of the

deterioration in the standards of probity and

accountability within the civil service can be traced to

the practice of issuing and acting on verbal instructions

or oral orders which are not recorded. It should be made

incumbent on every civil servant to formally record all

such instructions / directions / orders / suggestions

pertaining to the discharge of his/her official duties

which he/she receives, not only from his/her

administrative superiors but also from political

authorities, legislators, commercial and business

interests and other persons / quarters having interest or

wielding influence. The Santhanam Committee (1962)

has specifically recommended that “…there should be a

system of keeping some sort of record all interviews

granted to accredited representatives…”. Rule 3(3) of

the All India Services Rules 1968 specifically mandates

27that the direction “of the official superior shall ordinarily

be in writing. Where the issue of oral direction becomes

unavoidable, the official superior shall confirm it in

writing immediately thereafter”. This practice needs to

be expanded and a written record kept of all orders,

instructions, directions and suggestions from whichever

quarters they emanate to ensure accountability in the

functioning of civil servants. True copy of the relevant

extracts of Santhanam Committee Report dated nil,

1963 is annexed herewith as Annexure P-1 (Page

Nos. 51 to 76 ). True copy of the relevant extracts of

All India Services Rules 1968 is annexed herewith as

Annexure P-2 (Page Nos. 77). True copy of the

relevant extracts of Hota Committee Report dated nil,

July 2004 is annexed herewith as Annexure P-3 (Page

Nos. 78 to 93 ).

11. That the preservation of the integrity, fearlessness and

independence of the civil servant is an essential

condition of the parliamentary system of Government.

While the formulation of Government policy is the

legitimate task of the Minister, the Civil Servant is

expected to advise him/her freely, frankly and fearlessly

at the stage of policy formulation. The Minister in turn

should not interfere in purely service matters such as

postings and transfers and should avoid any departures

28from the approved policies to accommodate individual

cases as a result of political or other considerations.

12. That at present, the system of transfers, postings,

promotions, disciplinary and other personnel matters

pertaining to the higher civil services are ad-hoc and

non-transparent. Transfers are often used as

instruments of reward and punishment, with officials

being frequently transferred on the whims and caprices,

as well as the personal needs, of local politicians and

other vested interests. Officers, especially those in the

All India Services serving in State Governments, have no

stability or security of tenure. Changes of Government

invariably lead to new rounds of transfers as the

incoming group of political leaders seeks to reward

supporters and put its "own" staff in key positions.

Moreover, the ‘transfer industry’ is backed by

entrenched and powerful vested interests, as frequent

transfers generate huge amounts of black money for

corrupt officials and politicians, both directly and

indirectly.

13. That all Commissions and Committees dealing with

administrative reform have stressed the need for

transfers at all levels to be handled in a non-political,

non-partisan, open and transparent manner. A rational

transfer policy should eliminate the ‘transfer industry’,

29do away with politicized transfers, curb the overall

incidence of transfers, remove uncertainty and imbibe

officers with a certain security of tenure in every post

and should be seen as being fair, objective and leading

to career development. The key element and indeed, the

only effective solution, is a guaranteed minimum and

fixed tenure for officers of the higher civil services. The

Hota Committee had identified the absence of a fixed

tenure of officials as one of the most important reasons

for tardy implementation of government policies and

programmes, lack of accountability, waste of public

money and large-scale corruption. “Good administration

is not possible without continuity and intelligent

administration is not possible without local knowledge.”

The Economic Administration Reforms Commission (Jha

Commission, 1986) also recommended fixed tenure for

civil servants, especially for the appointments at the

senior level. True copy of the relevant portion from the

Jha Commission dated nil 1986 is annexed herewith as

Annexure P-4 (Page Nos. 94 - 95).

14. That the Central Staffing Scheme of the Government of

India provides for a stipulated tenure for all officers on

deputation to the Government of India. The periods of

tenure have been prescribed for different levels; 3 years

for Under Secretaries, 4 years for Deputy Secretaries, 5

years for Directors and Joint Secretaries, and 3 years

30from the date of appointment as Additional Secretary,

subject to a minimum of 5 years and maximum of 7

years of combined tenure as Joint Secretary / Additional

Secretary. While there is no fixed tenure for Secretaries

in general, the Cabinet Secretary, Foreign Secretary,

Home Secretary, Defence Secretary and the Directors of

IB and RAW have a minimum tenure of 2 years each.

True copy of the relevant extract from the Central

Staffing Scheme dated nil, 1996 is annexed herewith as

Annexure P-5(Page Nos. 96 - 98).

15. That the Conference of Chief Ministers (1997) had

observed that frequent and arbitrary transfer of public

servants affects the ability of the system to deliver

services effectively to the people. It recommended the

constitution of Civil Services Boards in different States

presided over by the respective Chief Secretaries to

assist the political executive and streamline the policy of

transfers and promotions based on identifiable criteria.

Subsequently, some States have set up Civil Services or

Establishment Boards with the Chief Secretary as the

Chairman and other senior officials of the State as

Members. However, as the Hota Committee has

observed, these Boards set up by executive order in

different States have failed to inspire confidence as,

more often than not, they have merely formalized the

wishes of their Chief Ministers in matters of transfer of

31officials. Therefore the Petitioners seek direction for

establishment of such independent, neutral Civil

Services Boards, particularly for the States, which will be

able to function without outside interference, keeping in

view the paramount importance of preserving the

integrity, fearlessness and independence of the civil

servant. Direct political control or direction in the

management of transfers, postings, promotions,

inquiries, disciplinary proceedings, rewards and

punishments has adversely affected the morale,

capability, efficacy and morality of the civil services.

These matters need to be de-politicized and entrusted to

independent Civil Service Boards, which will closely

monitor and ensure accountability at all stages; regulate

transfers in a transparent and rational manner; protect

the honest civil servant; and identify and recommend

punishments for those who betray the public trust. This

can best be achieved by including in the Board retired

civil servants and outside individuals of eminence and

unimpeachable integrity. While the Board will function in

an advisory capacity to the Chief Minister, its

recommendations should normally be binding; if they

are not accepted, a detailed order should be recorded

and presented to the concerned Legislature. True copy

of the statement adopted at the Conference of Chief

Ministers on Effective and Responsive Administration

32held on 24 May, 1997 is annexed herewith as Annexure

P-6 (Page Nos. 99 to 103).

16. That the Hota Committee was firmly of the view that the

Civil Services Board / Establishment Board, both in the

States and at the Centre, should be made statutory in

character by enacting a Civil Services Act. That when

there is a move to prematurely transfer an officer, a

summary administrative inquiry should be held to

ascertain if the transfer is justified as a matter of public

policy. This should be conducted expeditiously by an

officer designated by the Civil Services Board. On receipt

of the report, the Civil Services Board shall advise the

Chief Minister regarding the justification for the transfer.

Ordinarily the Chief Minister is expected to agree with

the recommendations of the Board as transfer is a

routine administrative matter. However, if he/she does

not do so, he/she shall be required to record his/her

reasons in writing. An Annual Report on all premature

transfers shall be laid before the State Legislature. As

Hota Committee report states “We are conscious that we

are recommending a statutory barrier to frequent

transfer of senior officials but the matter has come to

such a pass that it requires a statutory remedy.”

17. That the Petitioners are of the view that there should be

an independent, high-powered and statutory Civil

33Services Board in each State which should process all

proposals of postings and transfers. The

recommendations of such a board must normally be

binding on the Government. If, for any reason, the

Government decides not to implement the

recommendations, it must pass a self-contained order on

the subject and place a statement before the

Legislature. The Board may be chaired by the Chief

Secretary with senior retired officers, and other eminent

persons as members. Secretary (Services) of the General

Administration Department may serve as the Secretary

of the Board. The Secretary and the Head of the

Department of each Department may be permanent

invitees at the meetings of the Board at which their

proposals are considered. The transfer policy should

ensure that an officer has a fixed term of 3 to 5 years,

depending on his/her seniority, and is thus assured of

stability of tenure.

18. That at least for higher ranks of the civil services e.g.

Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP),

postings may be made contractual for a fixed period,

and officers be monetarily compensated if they are

removed before the period of the contract without their

consent or explanation. Whenever the Cabinet Secretary

or Chief Secretary or DGP is proposed to be shifted

34peremptorily before completion of his/her term and/or

retirement, a statement giving reasons should be

recorded on the file and placed on the table of the

legislature/parliament.

19. That the powers of transfers of all Class II officers should

be with the Head of Department and not assumed, as is

currently the case in many State Governments, by

Secretariat Departments acting at the behest of their

Ministers. Government should deal with transfers of only

(Head of Departments) HODs and Additional HODs, or at

the most of Class I officers. The Government’s role is

policy making and objective impact assessment and to

ensure that the transfer policy as laid down is followed in

the field offices. That the Petitioners request this Hon’ble

Court to issue a direction to the Union Government to

introduce a rational and transparent policy on transfers,

appointments, promotions and other personnel matters

and to make it binding on the State Governments. In

addition to the constitution of an independent Civil

Services Board, the policy should stipulate that transfer

should not be ordered as punishment; if an employee is

found remiss in his/her duties, he /she should be

proceeded against departmentally.

20. That the implementation of civil service reforms and

institution of a rational and transparent policy on

35transfers would go a long way in insulating civil servants

from wrongful and extra-legal pressure from the political

establishment. In addition, an effort should be made to

imbibe civil servants with the core values of integrity,

objectivity, merit and excellence which form the basic

framework of the permanent civil service. In this context,

both the Hota Committee and the Second Administrative

Reforms Commission had recommended that this could

best be done by Statute through the adoption of a

comprehensive Civil Services Act which would allow the

Legislature to unambiguously articulate the core

principles and standards of public service, ethical values

and culture expected of the Civil Service. A similar

recommendation has been given by the Fifth Central Pay

Commission. True copy of the relevant extract 10th

Report of the Second Administrative Reforms

Commission dated nil is annexed herewith as Annexure

P-7(Page Nos. 104 - 119).

21. That the Petitioners propose some immediate specific

measures as a starting point:-

a. The management of transfers, postings, inquiries, the process of promotion, reward, punishment, and disciplinary matters relating to civil servants needs to be de-politicized. All the above functions need to be entrusted to an independent Civil Service Board or Commission, both at the Centre and in the

36States. Direct political control or direction in these matters has played havoc on the morale, capability, efficacy and morality of the civil services. The proposed Board/ Commission will also closely monitor accountability at all stages, which is an imperative for good governance. The proposed Board / Commission should be independent of direct influence from the political machinery. Towards this, it should comprise of, apart from senior serving officials, retired civil servants of impeccable integrity [based on recommendations by the Hota Committee, 2004 (para 5.09, para 5.11, Main Recommendations No.38); the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission, 2008 (10th Report, para 9.8); the statement adopted at the Conference of Chief Ministers on Effective and Responsive Administration, 1997];

b. All civil servants at all levels need to be given a fixed tenure of minimum three years in each post, to foster freedom and independence in action (consistent with accountability and performance). Any premature transfer should specifically be authorized by the Civil Service Board/ Commission, on specific circumstances to be brought out in writing[based on recommendations by Jha Commission 1986 (para 7.2); Central Staffing Scheme 1996 (para 17.01, para 17.02, para 17.03, para 17.12), the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission, 2008 (10th Report, para 8.7, para 9.8, para 17.5); Hota Committee Report, 2004 (Main Recommendations No.39)];

37c. Much of the deterioration in the standards of

probity and accountability within the civil service can be traced to the practice of issuing and acting on verbal instructions or oral orders which are not recorded. It should be made incumbent on every civil servant to formally record all such instructions / directions / orders / suggestions which he/she receives, not only from his/her direct administrative superiors but also from political authorities, legislators, commercial and business interests and other persons / quarters having interest, wielding influence or purporting to represent those in authority. This should be made obligatory by amending service rules or through legislation [based on the principles recognised by Rule 3(3)(ii)(iii) of the All India Services Conduct Rule 1968 and as implicitly recognized by the Santhanam Committee Report, 1962 (section 6, sub-para 33[iii])].

22. That the Petitioners aver that the proposals stated above

are unexceptionable in principle; these are normally

taken for granted in a well-functioning democracy. These

very recommendations have been made in one form or

another by successive administrative reforms

commissions/ committees. The proposal to establish a

Civil Service Board reportedly is under the consideration

of the Central Government, in respect of the Centre. It is

not only essential to get this implemented in the Centre

at an early date, but also create similar mechanisms in

38each State. These Boards / Commissions should be made

fully independent, and allowed to function freely,

without external interference - independent membership

of knowledgeable, experienced persons in such bodies is

a sine qua non.

23. That the recommendation on stability of tenure has been

recommended by successive committees which have

gone into administrative reforms. The proposal relating

to formal recording of oral instructions from higher

authorities is already implicitly accepted under Rule 3(3)

(ii)(iii) of the All India Services Conduct Rule 1968, which

read:

“3(3) (ii) The direction of the official superior shall ordinarily be in writing. Where the issue of oral direction becomes unavoidable, the official superior shall confirm it in writing immediately thereafter.

(iii) A member of the Service who has received oral direction from his official superior shall seek confirmation of the same in writing, as early as possible and in such case, it shall be the duty of the official superior to confirm the direction in writing.”

The existing provision relates to oral instructions/

directions from direct official superior; the present

proposal, taking current practices into account,

merely extends the concept to cover informal control

39mechanisms which currently subvert the process of

good administration.

24. That the Petitioners have approached the current

Cabinet Secretary, Secretary Personnel, the Chief

Vigilance Commissioner, as well as Law Minister to

highlight these issues and the response received from

them has been a series of proposed cosmetic measures

without any time bound commitment. Therefore the

Petitioners are approaching this Hon’ble Court as the last

resort. True copies of the letters dated 17.5.2010,

30.6.2010, 25.8.2010 between Petitioner No.1 and

Cabinet Secretary, Government of India is annexed

herewith as Annexure P-8(Colly) (Page Nos. 120 -

142 ). True copies of the letters dated 17.5.2010,

09.7.2010, 25.8.2010 between Petitioner No.1 and

Secretary Personnel, Government of India is annexed

herewith as Annexure P-9(Colly) Page Nos. 143- 169

). True copy of the letters dated 17.5.2010 and

2.8.2010 between Petitioner No.1 and Chief Vigilance

Commissioner (CVC), Government of India is annexed

herewith as Annexure P-10(Colly). (Page Nos. 170 -

183 ). True copy of the letters dated 17.5.2010 and

24.5.2010 between the Petitioner No.1 and Union Law

Minister, Government of India is annexed herewith as

Annexure P-11 (Colly) (Page Nos. 184 - 194 )

40

25. That the Cabinet Secretary and the Secretary Personnel

in their responses have mentioned the proposed ‘Civil

Services Standards, Performance and Accountability Bill

2010’ which envisages the establishment of Central Civil

Services Authority as recommended by the Second

Administrative Reforms Commission (2nd ARC).

However, there is no time-bound commitment about the

implementation of these proposals. It is not clear

whether this proposed law provides for the

establishment of an independent Civil Services Authority

at the State level.

26. That it is imperative that such an independent Authority

has to be established in each State, where the need is

much greater than at the Centre. Indeed the Authority

needs to have full control over all matters relating to

transfer, postings, inquiries and all service matters of

officers at all levels, except the senior most level.

27. That the Cabinet Secretary has indicated that the Union

Government has issued notifications to providing two

years minimum tenure for all IAS Cadre posts in respect

of only 13 States which have agreed with this proposal.

The Cabinet Secretary expresses the limitation faced by

the Union in implementing these reforms at the State

level. He states: “since State Governments control

41administrations within their jurisdiction in a federal

polity, the Government of India can only play an

advisory role. We have been endeavouring to persuade

the States to ensure the stability of tenure for officers

with mixed results. While in some States there is positive

forward movement, other States have not been

enthusiastic.”

28. That various Committee Reports have highlighted the

fact that the civil servants are enticed or coerced to

meet the private needs of the politician. This malaise is

even more strongly prevalent in the States, than in the

Centre; the field officers being more vulnerable than the

secretariat officials. Unless the reforms are implemented

at the State level any step by the Union would be purely

cosmetic, and would not contribute to stemming the

continuing steep decline in governance standards. The

Government of India will have to ensure minimum

tenure, not just in the Centre but also more importantly,

in the States. This is a key necessity, to loosen the day-

to-day control exercised by the politicians on the

implementation decision-making process of the field

officials, without which governance will not improve.

Unless the Centre finds a viable solution in this regard,

much of the exercise will be superficial, and lacking in

substance. This recommendation is at least 50 years old,

42and has been repeated by almost every reform

Commission/Committee.

29. That the Petitioners are of the view that these steps will

go a long way in creating confidence in the public mind

that the government is indeed committed to eradicating

corruption.

30. That no other petition has been filed in any High Court or

this Hon’ble Court challenging the resolution and the

order impugned herein.

31. That the Petitioner files the present Writ Petition on the

following amongst other grounds which are without

prejudice to one another and to the submissions already

made herein above.

GROUNDS

i. For that the gravity of problems arising from poor

governance and non-implementation of reforms is

enormous, as has been demonstrated by the Petitioners,

being experienced persons in various sectors of public

administration and governance in this country, through

the documents placed on record and submissions made

above, underscoring the need for reform of governance

in key areas.

43ii. For that the submissions contained hereinabove and the

documents annexed herewith provide a workable

blueprint for achieving significant strides in

administrative reform and improvement in governance.

iii. For that the following recommendations have already

been recognized in principle and recommended by

various committees established by the Government:

creation of an independent Civil Service Board or Commission, both at the Centre and in each State. [based on recommendations by the Hota Committee, 2004 (para 5.09, para 5.11, Main Recommendations No.38); the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission, 2008 (10th Report, para 9.8); the statement adopted at the Conference of Chief Ministers on Effective and Responsive Administration, 1997];

fixed tenure for civil servants ensuring stability.[based on recommendations by Jha Commission 1986 (para 7.2); Central Staffing Scheme 1996 (para 17.01, para 17.02, para 17.03, para 17.12), the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission, 2008 (10th Report, para 8.7, para 9.8, para 17.5); Hota Committee Report, 2004 (Main Recommendations No.39)];

requirement by every civil servant to formally record all such instructions / directions / orders / suggestions which he receives, not only from his administrative superiors but also from political

44authorities, legislators, commercial and business interests and other persons / quarters having interest, wielding influence or purporting to represent those in authority.[based on the principles recognised by Rule 3(3)(ii)(iii) of the All India Services Conduct Rule 1968 and as implicitly recognized by the Santhanam Committee Report, 1962 (section 6, sub-para 33[iii])].

iv. For that the prayers sought in the present Petition

essentially seek implementation of previous judgments

of this Hon’ble Court and recommendations made by

high-powered Committees set up to examine the

problems in areas of governance, and are as such within

the powers of this Hon’ble Court.

v. For that the Petitioners have sought to identify

significant recommendations made repeatedly by

different Commissions/ Committees with regard to each

of these elements and highlight the most necessary,

urgent and achievable measures of administrative

reform.

vi. For that this Hon'ble Court has previously taken

cognizance of the imperative need for good governance.

This Hon’ble Court has declared in Dev Dutt v Union of

India (2008) 8 SCC 725 that transparency in public

administration and good governance are new

45components of natural justice. Further, in State of Bihar

v Upendra Narayan Singh, (2009) 5 SCC 65, this Hon’ble

Court has recognized and proceeded against the

phenomenon of the ‘spoils system’ in the context of

public employment, especially within the domain of the

Public Service Commissions.

vii. For that this Honorable court in Prakash Singh v Union of

India (2006) 8 SCC 1, took cognizance of the

phenomenon of the non-implementation of

recommendations of Commissions. The Court noted that

given the urgent need for the preservation and

strengthening of the rule of law, various commissions

and committees had made the same or similar

recommendations, and that total uncertainty as to when

police reforms would be introduced, and given that they

had not been implemented, framed guidelines that

would stay in place till appropriate legislation was

passed.

viii. For that the petitioners seek that this Hon’ble Court

direct the implementation of specific recommendations

of the Hota Committee, the Santhanam Committee and

the Second Administrative Reforms Report, Conference

of Chief Ministers, and the Economic Administration

Reforms Commission, which would thereby entail much

46needed and recommended reforms in the context of

public administration.

ix. For that Article 32 read with Article 142 of the

Constitution empowers this Honorable Court to issue

such directions, as may be necessary to do complete

justice.

x. For that this Hon’ble Court has issued mandamus

through guidelines where no statutory framework exists.

In Vineet Narain v. Union of India (1998) 1 SCC 226 it

was observed

“ it is the duty of the executive to fill the vacuum by executive orders because its field is coterminous with that of the legislature, and where there is inaction even by the executive, for whatever reason, the judiciary must step in, in exercise of its constitutional obligations under the aforesaid provisions to provide a solution till such time as the legislature acts to perform its role by enacting proper legislation to cover the field.” (pr.52)

xi. For that this Hon’ble Court has issued similar guidelines

in several cases where there was no statutory

framework. In Lakshmi Kant Pandey v. Union of India,

(1984) 2 SCC 244 guidelines for adoption of minor

children by foreigners were laid down. In Vishaka v.

State of Rajasthan, (1997) 6 SCC 241 guidelines were

laid down to set up a mechanism to address the issue of

47sexual harassment at the workplace. In Vineet Narain v.

Union of India, (1998) 1 SCC 226 directions were issued

to ensure the independence of the Vigilance

Commission. In Erach Sam Kanga v. Union of India WP

No.2632 of 1978 a Constitution Bench laid down certain

guidelines relating to the Emigration Act. This Hon’ble

Court issued guidelines to maintain the independence of

judiciary in K. Veeraswami v. Union of India, (1991) 3

SCC. In Union Carbide Corporation v. Union of India,

(1991) 4 SCC 584 guidelines were issued for

disbursement of amounts in compensation. In Delhi

Judicial Service Assn. v. State of Gujarat, (1991) 4 SCC

406 guidelines were laid down to be followed in case of

arrest and detention of a Judicial Officer. In Common

Cause v. Union of India, (1996) 1 SCC 753 directions

were issued for revamping the system of blood banks in

the country. This Hon’ble Court in Supreme Court

Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India;

(1993) 4 SCC 441 laid down guidelines and norms for the

appointment and transfer of High Court judges. In

Vishwa Jagriti Mission v. Central Government, (2001) 6

SCC 577 guidelines were laid down to curb ragging in

educational institutions. Recently, in Destruction of

Public & Private Properties v. State of A.P., (2009) 5 SCC

212 detailed guidelines were issued to assess damage to

public property during demonstrations and for the

48effective implementation of the Prevention of

Destruction and Loss of Property Act. In 2010 this

Hon’ble Court directed the Central Government to set up

an Armed Forces Grievances Redressal Commission to

look into grievances by serving or former members of

Armed Forces or their widows or family members and

also to frame and recommend the Central Government a

scheme for proper rehabilitation of ex-armed forces

personnel who retired at a relatively young age. This

Hon’ble Court laid down in detail the composition, term,

and seat of this Commission.

xii. For that these reforms need to be implemented with

urgency at the State level as the malaise of political

intervention in the functioning of civil servants is more

strongly prevalent in the States and there is a need to

insulate the civil servants from all political influences.

xiii. For that the Cabinet Secretary has highlighted the

limitations faced by the Union to implement these

reforms at the State level. Unless the reforms are

implemented at the State level any step by the Union

would be purely cosmetic, and would not contribute to

stemming the continuing steep decline in governance

standards. This Hon’ble Court may direct the

implementation of these specific recommendations at

the State level.

49

xiv. For that there is a well-documented connection between

an efficient, responsive and sensitized system of

governance and the quality of life of citizens on various

parameters, including education, health, income levels,

economic and political accountability.

xv. For that the civil service is the principal instrument of

governance and implementation of various policies and

programmes and that the distinction between the role of

elected representatives and the political establishment

in framing laws and policies and that of the permanent

civil service in implementing them has become blurred

and distorted in practice.

xvi. For that the current situation and practices have severe

adverse effects on the quality of governance. Bad

governance impacts the quality of life which has been

recognised to be a part of the right to life guaranteed

under Article 21 of the Constitution.

xvii. For that poor governance results in the restriction and

denial of the Rights of citizens, including Fundamental

Rights and those envisaged under the Directive

Principles of State Policy.

xviii. For that the space for arbitrariness in governmental

action which impacts the functioning of the bureaucracy

50violates Article 14. And that fairness and transparency

in the context of public administration is integral to the

equality demands of equality as protected by the

Constitution.

xix. For that reform in the governance and administration

would directly strengthen the fundamental rights of the

people and in large measure achieve the vision set forth

in the Directive Principles of State Policy that are meant

to guide and inform the process of governance.

PRAYER

In the premises set forth above, the Petitioner prays that this

Hon’ble Court may be pleased to:

i. Issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any

other appropriate writ, order or direction requiring the

Respondents to create an independent Civil Service

Board or Commission, both at the Centre and the

State based on recommendations by the Hota

Committee, 2004 (para 5.09, para 5.11, Main

Recommendations No.38); the 2nd Administrative

Reforms Commission, 2008 (10th Report, para 9.8);

the statement adopted at the Conference of Chief

Ministers on Effective and Responsive Administration,

1997;

51ii. Issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other

appropriate writ, order or direction requiring the

Respondents to fix tenure for civil servants ensuring

stability based on recommendations by Jha

Commission 1986 (para 7.2); Central Staffing Scheme

1996 (para 17.01, para 17.02, para 17.03, para

17.12), the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission,

2008 (10th Report, para 8.7, para 9.8, para 17.5);

Hota Committee Report, 2004 (Main

Recommendations No.39);

iii. Issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any

other appropriate writ, order or direction requiring the

Respondents to mandate that every civil servant

formally record all such instructions / directions /

orders / suggestions which he/she receives, not only

from his/her administrative superiors but also from

political authorities, legislators, commercial and

business interests and other persons / quarters having

interest, wielding influence or purporting to represent

those in authority based on the principles recognised

by Rule 3(3)(ii)(iii) of the All India Services Conduct

Rule 1968 and as implicitly recognized by the

Santhanam Committee Report, 1962 (section 6, sub-

para 33[iii])

52iv. Pass any other or such further order or orders as

may be deemed fit and proper in the facts and

circumstances of the present case.

DRAWN BY: MENAKA GURUSWAMY

FILED BY

NIKHIL NAYYARADVOCATE FOR THE PETITIONER

DRAWN ON: 1.2.2011FILED ON: .2.2011.

53IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTIONWRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. OF 2011

T.S.R. Subramanian & Others ..Petitioners

Versus

Union of India & Others .. Respondents

AFFIDAVIT

I, .T.S.R. Subramanian s/o T.S. Sitapati, aged 72 years, resident of “Gurukripa”, 74, Sector 15-A, NOIDA-201301, presently at New Delhi do hereby solemnly affirm and state as under:

1. That I am Petitioner No.1 and as such am conversant with the facts and circumstances of the case and am competent to swear to this affidavit.

2. That the contents of the List of Dates from pages B to T and those of paras 1-7, 11-12 and 21-30 of the writ petition are facts true to my knowledge, and those of paras 8-10 and 13-20 are based on information which I believe it to be true and correct and those of para 31 are grounds are based on legal advice received and believed to be true and correct.

3. That the annexures filed along with Writ Petition are true copies of their respective originals.

DEPONENT

VERIFICATION

54Verified at New Delhi on this 2nd day of February 2011

that the contents of the present affidavit are true and correct and nothing material has been concealed therefrom.

DEPONENT

ANNEXURE P-1

RELEVANT EXTRACT FROM SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE

PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION, 1962 (K. SANTHANAM

COMMITTEE)

Section 4:

1. The existing rules governing the conduct of Government

servants did not make any radical changes in the rules

that were in force prior to the commencement of the

Constitution with the result that in respect of many

matters the rules were either silent or inadequate.

2. The rules pertaining to integrity should be uniform.

3. The more important changes recommended are:

(1) A duty has been cast on Government servants holding

supervisory posts to keep a watchful eye on the integrity

of the staff working under them.

(2) Every Government servant should take full responsibility

for his actions and orders, except where he acts under

the directions of his official superior.

(3) The conduct expected of every Government servant in

case of conflict between public duty and private interest

55has been clearly stated in Rule 3(A) which brings out

some of the points that were hitherto implied but left

unsaid.

(4) Rule 10 deals with the question of receipt of gifts and

states the position more precisely and also liberalizes

the existing rules so as to prevent too much interference

in private life. The financial limits have been suitably

modified.

(5) Government servants should submit periodically a

complete statement of their assets and liabilities instead

of the annual immovable property statements which

have been found to serve no useful purpose. In these

periodical statements the value of movable property

except articles of daily use, like clothes, utensils,

crockery and books should be stated including the value

of jewellery.

4. The need for continuance of the exemptions granted in

1959 to industrial employees drawing a pay of Rs. 5001-

or less and holding non-gazetted posts may be re-

examined and in the meantime the exemptions may

continue to be in force.

565. The rules may apply to Government servants appointed

to any civil service or post in connection with the affairs

of the Union.

6. While the manner of promulgation of the rules is a

matter of detail any modification or liberalization of the rules

should be made only in consultation with the Central

Vigilance Commission and with the concurrence of the

Ministry of Home Affairs.

Section 5

7. The Constitutional protection given to Government

servants by Article 311 which limits the doctrine of

pleasure was first given only by the Government of India

Act, 1935.

8. Judicial interpretation of Article 311 of the Constitution

has resulted in making disciplinary proceedings highly

involved.

9. The latest amendment of Article 311 has not improved

the position. It would not be an unreasonable

classification to treat disciplinary proceedings involving

charges of bribery, corruption and lack of integrity as a

separate category and to provide for a simplified

procedure. Article 314 should not come in the way of

dealing effectively with members of the former

57Secretary of States Services. In such cases the

jurisdiction of courts should be limited.

Another clause somewhat on the following lines may be

added as Clause (4) to Article 311:-

"Notwithstanding anything contained in Parts 111,

IV, VI and XIV of the Constitution, Parliament may,

by law, regulate all matters relating to

maintenance of integrity and honesty in the

services and posts under the Union and States,

including the jurisdiction of Courts in respect of

such matters".

The power to legislate in this behalf should be added as

an item in List I of Schedule VII of the Constitution.

10. In view of the Constitutional requirements and judicial

pronouncements it is not possible to radically simplify

the procedure unless the Constitution is suitably amended.

11. The more important of the recommendations contained

in the interim report dated August 23, 1963 (Annexure

IV) are:-

(i) There should be only one set of Discipline and Appeal

Rules in respect of Government servants serving in

connection with the affairs of the Union or appointed by

the Union Government. The definition of the term

58“Government servant” has therefore been enlarged to

include members of the All India Services;

(ii) The President may impose any of the prescribed

penalties and institute disciplinary proceedings against

any Government servant including a member of the All-

India Service (Rule 8) or direct a disciplinary authority to

institute such proceedings [Rule 9(1)];

(iii) The Central Government may institute proceedings

against a member of an All-India Service if the

circumstances of the case are such that the Central

Government is satisfied that it would be in public

interest to institute such proceedings provided that

before doing so the Central Government shall consult

the State Government;

(iv) The power to institute departmental proceedings has

been given to the President, specified disciplinary

authorities and such other authorities as may be

empowered by the President by general or special order.

(This last recommendation was made in view of the

recommendation of the Committee that the Directorate

of Vigilance of the Central Vigilance Commission should

have the power to determine the nature of disciplinary

proceedings to be initiated and to initiate, conduct and

complete such proceedings. Though in the scheme of

59the Central Vigilance Commission, as accepted by the

Government, the power to

initiate, conduct and complete such proceedings has not

been given to the Central Vigilance Commission, the

provisions made in the rules may be allowed to stand).

(v) The penalties of withholding or withdrawing in full or in

part the pension which can now be imposed under Civil

Services Regulation 351(A) and Rule 8 of the All India

Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958

have been included in the categories of penalties

prescribed under Discipline and Appeal Rules and the

procedure for imposing such penalties has been made

part of the

Discipline and Appeal Rules.

(vi) The requirement of the accused officer submitting a

written statement of defence after the framing of

charges has been dispensed with.

(vii) The rules relating to suspension, regulation of the period

of absence from duty after reinstatement of an officer

who had been dismissed, removed or suspended provide

for removal of certain difficulties that have arisen out of

some recent pronouncements of the courts.

(viii) The requirement of submitting an appeal or a memorial

through the authority which passed the order which is

60subject matter of the appeal or memorial has been

dispensed with to minimize delay.

12. The Government should have the power to compulsorily

retire a Government servant who has completed 25

years of qualifying service or has attained 50 years of

age without giving any reason and without any liability

for special compensation. There should be a committee

with the Central Vigilance Commissioner as the

Chairman and two Secretaries to Government as

members to review the cases of all gazetted officers who

are due to complete 25 years of qualifying service or to

attain 50 gears of age during the ensuing year and

recommend the names of the officers who are to be

compulsorily retired.

There should be one or more committees, State-wise or

Department-wise, as may be convenient, with a nominee

of the Central Vigilance Commissioner as the Chairman

of each Committee to review such cases in regard to

non-gazetted employees and make appropriate

recommendations.

13. The Central Government should have the power to take

action under Rule 17 (as amended in May 19'63) and

Rule 20 of the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement

Benefits) Rules; 1958, after consultation with the State

Government concerned.

61

Section 6:

14. Preventive measures, administrative, legal, social,

economic and educative, should be carefully planned

and effectively implemented.

15. A systematic and thorough review of the laws, rules,

procedures and practices should be undertaken for the

purpose of listing (a) discretionary powers (b) levels at

which such powers are exercised (c) the manner of

exercise of such powers (d) the control exercised within

the hierarchy over the exercise of such powers (e) the

points at which citizens come into contact with the

Ministry/Department and the purposes for which they do

so.

16. A thorough study should be made in respect of each

Ministry/ Department/undertaking of the extent, the

possible scope and modes of corruption, preventive and

the remedial measures prescribed, if any, and their

effectiveness. Such studies should be started on a

priority basis in respect of each

Ministry/Department/undertaking and the Central

Vigilance Commission should also pay attention to this

important piece of work for which purpose Government

may provide the necessary staff and other facilities.

6217. Serious thought should be given as to how trade

associations or their representatives could be associated

in the matter of granting licenses and allocation of

scarce goods. Membership of a recognized trade

organization should be a necessary condition of

eligibility for obtaining a license or a permit. The

organization should screen the capacity of the

applicants, their past performance and conduct and

make recommendations to the licensing authority. These

organizations may also be usefully associated in

investigating modes of misuse and mis-utilisation of

goods obtained under license and modes of

manipulation of prescribed rules, procedures and forms

for obtaining undeserved advantage.

18. Administrative delay must be reduced to the utmost

extent possible and firm action should be taken to

eliminate all such causes of delays as provide scope for

corrupt practices.

(a) Each Ministry/Department/undertaking should

immediately undertake a review of all existing

procedures and practices to find out the cause of delay,

the points at which delay occurs and to devise suitable

steps to minimise thepossibility of delay.

63(b) Time-limits should be prescribed, if not already done, for

dealing with receipts, files etc., and these should be

strictly enforced. Superior officers should consider it

their responsibility to find out whether in any particular

matter there has been any avoidable delay and call the

persons responsible for the delay to account.

(c) All notings at the level lower than that of Under

Secretaries should be avoided. The responsibility of the

Section should be only that of putting up previous

papers and precedents. This procedure should be strictly

observed in Ministries/Departments which have to deal

with the grant of licenses or permits of various kinds.

(d) The levels at which substantive decision could be taken

should be prescribed and any attempt to involve as

many as possible should be discouraged and dealt with

severely, if found to be persisted in.

19. In all those fields where Government interferes to

regulate and control there is scope for abuse. It would be

desirable for each Ministry/Department to undertake a

review of the regulatory functions which are its

responsibility and also examine whether all of them are

necessary and whether the manner of discharge of those

functions and of the exercise of powers of control are

capable of improvement.

64

20. Discretionary powers are exercised by different

categories of Government servants all of whom are not

endowed with a high sense of dedication and integrity in

equal measure. While it would not be possible to

completely eliminate discretion it should be possible to

devise a system of administration which would reduce to

the minimum, even if there is a seeming loss of

perfection, the need for exercise of personal discretion

consistently with efficiency and speedy disposal of public

business. Various methods of control devised in the

more advanced countries should be studied and a

suitable system of control should be devised keeping in

view the difficulties that may arise on account of the

vastness of our country and the basic principles which

are enshrined in our Constitution and jurisprudence.

21. As many of the citizens of our country who have to seek

the help of the administration in many matters are not

equipped or trained, they find it necessary to seek the

assistance of touts and intermediaries. A serious attempt

should be made to educate the citizens in regard to such

matters and also make suitable arrangements which

would provide an easy access to administration without

the intervention of touts and intermediaries.

6522. It may be worthwhile in the country’s interest to

examine whether the categories of officials who have to

exercise considerable discretion in matters relating to

taxation, issue of valuable permits and licenses, or

otherwise deal with matters which require high degree

of integrity, should not be given special attention

regarding status and emoluments. Undue economy in

the number of officers is not desirable. It would be

worthwhile to review the proportion of direct recruits and

promotees in the various services as there is a general

belief (we do not fully endorse any sweeping

generalization on this point) that the standard of

integrity of direct recruits is comparatively higher.

23. Housing and medical facilities for the Government

servant and his family and facilities for the education of

his children should be provided. Till such time as

Government is able to construct the required

accommodation houses should be requisitioned or taken

on lease and let to the Government servants.

Accommodation should, to the extent possible, be in

colonies.

24. Informal codes of conduct for different categories of

Government servants working in Ministries/Departments

dealing with the economic affairs of the country and

which spend large sums of monies on construction and

66purchases should be compiled regarding participation in

entertainment and availing themselves of other facilities

from those who may have or are likely to have official

dealings with them. The example must be set by

superior officers.

25. Every officer of superior status under whom a number of

Gazetted officers are working directly should take steps

to ascertain personally whether there is any reason to

doubt or suspect the integrity of any of these officers.

26. Some of the other preventive measures are:-

(i) Great care should be exercised in selecting officers for

appointment to high administrative posts. Only those

whose integrity is above board should be appointed to

these posts.

(ii) At the time of making selections from Non-Gazetted to

Gazetted ranks for the first time all those whose integrity

is doubtful should be eliminated.

(iii) Every officer whose duty is to sponsor a name for

promotion should be required to record a certificate that

he had seen the record of service of the Government

servant! and he is satisfied that the Government servant

is a man of integrity.

67(iv) Exigencies of public service require grant of extension or

re-employment of Government servants who have

attained the age of' superannuation and are about to

retire or retired. Such servants are also employed in the

public sector undertakings. We recommend that an

essential condition for the grant of extension or re-

employment should be that the person concerned has

had a good reputation for integrity and honesty. If this

condition is not fulfilled the person concerned should not

be considered eligible for grant of extension or re-

employment.

(v) A good deal of harm is done by vague talk about

Corruption. This can be reduced only if there are

agencies which a person with a genuine complaint can

approach for redress, with the assurance that he will be

fully protected and that prompt and adequate action will

be taken where found justified. The Central Vigilance

Commission and the Vigilance organization should be

able to meet this need in matters relating to complaints

of corruption, harassment. etc. It is essential that bona

fide complainants should be protected from harassment

or victimization. The Ministry of Home Affairs should

consider itself as having a special responsibility in this

regard.

68(vi) Enquiry-cum-Reception Offices should be established in

all Ministries/ Departments which deal with licenses/

permits and to which members of the public frequently

go. All visitors should enter their names and the purpose

of their visit in a register to be kept at the Reception

Office.

(vii) Steps should be taken to prevent sale of information.

One of the causes of this type of corruption is the undue

secrecy maintained in regard to all types of matters in

respect of which it is not necessary to do so. A clear

distinction should be made as to what information

should be treated as “secret” and what should be made

freely available to the public. Any member of the public

who wants to have information of the latter category

should be able to approach some specified officer in

each Ministry/Department/undertaking for that purpose

and get what he wants.

27. Difficulties are experienced in obtaining the necessary

forms required to be submitted for obtaining

licenses/permits etc. Arrangements should be made for

easy supply of forms whether free or on payment.

28. There is a column in the annual confidential report

regarding every public servant where the superior officer

has to comment on his integrity. In cases where the

reporting officer is not in a position to make a positive

69report about integrity he should leave the column blank

and submit a secret report if he has reasons to doubt the

integrity of the officer on whom he is reporting stating

the reasons for his suspicions, The Government or the

heads of Department who receive such secret reports

should take suitable steps to find out the correctness or

otherwise of the report.

29. There should be a complete ban against Government

servants accepting private commercial and industrial

employment for two years after retirement. Reasons

have been given in the interim report dated 20ih

December, 1963 (Annexure V).

30. The existence of large amounts of unaccounted black

money is a major source of corruption.

31. There is no justification to treat income-tax returns and

assessments as secret. Publication of such returns and

assessments would have a salutary effect on those

persons in business and professions who are inclined to

take advantage of secrecy provisions to evade income-

tax.

32. To buy and sell properties at prices much greater than

those recorded in the conveyance deeds has become a

common method of cheating the Central Government of

income-tax and other taxes and the State Government

of the stamp duty and a convenient method of

transferring black money. If, in some manner, the

70Central and State Governments, or some special

corporations set up for the purpose can be empowered

to step in and acquire such properties at the stated

value, or even at a small premium when it is considered

that the properties have been deliberately under-valued,

it will strike a blow against black money. The habit of

charging “pugri” or “premium” for renting houses and

flats is a similar source of corruption for which some

drastic steps have to be taken.

33. (i) No official should have any dealings with a person

claiming to act on behalf of, a business or industrial

house or an individual unless he is properly accredited,

and is approved by the Department, etc. concerned.

Such a procedure will keep out persons with unsavoury

antecedents or reputation. There should, of course, be

no restriction on the proprietor or manager, etc. of the

firm or the applicant himself approaching the authorities.

(ii) Even the accredited representatives should not be

allowed to see officers below a specified level-the level

being specified in each organization after taking into

consideration the functions of the organization, the

volume and nature of the work to be attended to, and

the structure of the organization. However, care should

be taken to limit permissible contacts to levels at which

the chances of corruption are considered to be small.

71This would often mean that no contact would be

permitted at the level of subordinate officers.

(iii) There should be a system of keeping some sort of

record of all interviews granted to accredited

representatives.

(iv) There should be a fairly senior officer designated in

each Department to which an applicant etc. may go if his

case is being unreasonably delayed. It is necessary that

a proper procedure should be devised in consultation

with the Central Vigilance Commission for accrediting

arid approval by the Department. Before granting

approval the antecedents of the person proposed to be

accredited should, if possible, be verified. In any case no

person who is not definitely employed by an established

undertaking, who will be responsible for his contact and

actions, should be approved.

34. Officers belonging to prescribed categories who have to

deal with these representatives should maintain a

regular diary of all interviews and discussions with the

registered representatives whether it takes place in the

office or at home. The general practice should be that

such interviews should be in the office and if it takes

place at home, reasons should be recorded. Any

business or discussion which is not so recorded should

72be deemed to be irregular conduct, of which serious

notice should be taken by the superiors.

35. Companies and businessmen should be obliged to keep

detailed accounts of the expenditure in their expense

account. Whenever an income-tax officer feels that

amounts have been spent for entertaining high officials,

or other purposes for which satisfactory explanation is

not forthcoming, it should be his duty to refer the matter

to the Chief Vigilance Officers in the department

concerned. If there is any legal difficulty for passing on

such information, under the present law, it should be

removed.

36. It will be desirable to create a special cell in the Home

Ministry consisting of representatives from All India

Radio, Press Information Bureau and the Films Division

to evolve effective propaganda and publicity measures.

Representatives of the press may also be associated.

The general principles to be followed are: -

There should be no publicity at the time of investigation

or during departmental inquiry, but effective and

widespread publicity to cases resulting in dismissal,

removal or compulsory retirement. should be given. In

cases of prosecutions before courts, important cases will

in the ordinary course be given publicity by the press.

What is required is to ensure that true facts and

73arguments are available to those who edit the cases.

The Cell proposed should offer to provide the necessary

assistance. A periodical summary, say once in three

months, of important cases dealt with either by

departmental inquiries or prosecutions in courts should

be supplied to the press. It may also be hoped that the

report of the Vigilance Commission which will be placed

before Parliament will attract wide publicity.

Section 7

37. The Indian Penal Code does not deal in any satisfactory

manner with acts which may be described as social

offences having regard to the special circumstances

under which they are committed, and which have now

become a dominant feature of certain powerful sections

of modern society. Such offences may broadly be

classified into:-

(1) Offences calculated to prevent or obstruct the economic

development of the country and endanger its economic

health;

(2) Evasion and avoidance of taxes lawfully imposed:

(3) Misuse of their position by public servants in making of

contracts and disposal of public property, issue of

licenses and permits and similar other matters;

(4) Delivery by individuals and industrial and commercial

undertakings of goods not' in accordance with agreed

74specifications in fulfillment of contracts entered into with

public authorities;

(5) Profiteering, black-marketing and hoarding;

(6) Adulteration of foodstuffs and drugs;

(7) Theft and misappropriation of public property and funds;

and

(8) Trafficking in licenses, permits etc.

38. Some of these offences have been made punishable by

special enactments. It is desirable to add a new chapter

to the Indian Penal Code bringing together all the

offences in such special enactments and supplementing

them with new provisions so that all social offences will

find a prominent place in the general criminal law of the

country. Government may consider whether this work

should be undertaken by a special legal committee or

referred to the Law Commission.

39. Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code should be amended

as stated below:

(i) The words ‘public servant’ should be defined to mean

‘every person in the service or pay of the Government, a

local authority or a Corporation established by a Central

or State Act, or a Government Company as defined in

Section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 and/or who is

remunerated by fees or commission for the performance

of any public duty.

75

(iii) Every Minister including Ministers of State, Deputy

Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries holding such

office in the Union or State Governments.

(iii) The words ‘engaged in any trade or industry’ may be

deleted from the twelfth clause of Section 22 of the

Indian Penal Code.

(iv) Any person entrusted with adjudicatory functions in

the course of enforcement of any law for the time being

in force. (A revised draft incorporating the above

amendments is given.)

40. Offering of bribe or attempt to offer bribe should be

made a substantive offence and not merely an

abetment as at present by adding a new Section in the

terms suggested as Section 161A.

41. Offences under Chapter IX of the Indian Penal Code

should be made non-bailable.

42. The presumptions enunciated in Sections 4(1) and 4(2)

of the Prevention of Corruption Act should be made

available in respect of Sections 5(1) and 5(2).

(The Committee is suggesting extensive amendments to

Section 5),

7643 (i) The words ‘in the discharge of his duty’ should be

deleted from Section 5 of the Prevention of Corruption

Act.

(ii) Possession of assets by a public servant

disproportionate to his known sources of income for

which he cannot satisfactorily account should be brought

within the definition of criminal misconduct and treated

as a substantive offence.

(iii) Habitual corrupting of public servants or abetment

of such conduct should be made a substantive offence

by the addition of a new sub-section.

A draft of Section 5 incorporating the above suggestions

is given.

44. Section 5A of the Prevention of Corruption Act may be

amended so as to authorize all Police Establishment and

such officers of similar rank of the Anti-Corruption

agencies of the State Governments to be specified by

the respective State Governments by general or special

orders to make investigations without obtaining the

permission of a Magistrate.

45. Section 4(p) of the Criminal Procedure Code or Section 5

of the Delhi Police Establishment Act may be amended

to include Officers of the Special Police Establishment of

the rank of a sub-Inspector, an Inspector and a Deputy

Superintendent of Police within the definition of ‘an

77officer in charge of a Police Station’ so that they may be

able to exercise, in the discharge of their functions, in

any area in a State any of the powers which an officer in

charge of a Police Station can exercise under the Code of

Criminal Procedure.

46. Section 94 of the Criminal Procedure Code and Section 5

of the Bankers’ Book (Evidence) Act should be suitably

amended to enable the Officers of the Special Police

Establishment and/or of the State Anti-Corruption

agencies and/or any other officer notified in this behalf

by general or special order by the Central or State

Government, as the case may be, to obtain certified

copies of the accounts and of all other documents

relevant to the entries in the books of accounts relating

to any person in respect of whom an inquiry or an

investigation is being made whether under the

provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure or any

other law or rule for the time being in force or in any

other manner whatever.

47. Section 222(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure may

suitably be amended so as to cover offences under

Section 5(l) (c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and

dishonest misappropriation of movable property other

than money.

7848. Sub-section (6) of Section 251A may be amended to

make it obligatory for the accused to file a list of

witnesses and documents he proposes to rely upon in his

defence immediately after the charge is framed. There

is, however. no objection if such a list is furnished at a

subsequent stage but on the closing of the evidence for

the prosecution.

49. A proviso may be added to sub-section (1A) of Section

344 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to provide that

adjournment or postponement of trial or inquiry need

not be granted or made only on the ground that a party

to the proceedings intends to take up in revision before

a higher Court the legality, propriety or correctness of an

order passed by the Court.

50. A proviso may be added to Sections 435 to 439 to

provide that higher courts may not grant stay of

proceedings without giving a reasonable opportunity to

the opposite party to show cause against grant of stay

and to require that reasons should be recorded to show

that it is not necessary in justice to stay the proceedings.

51. Section 435 of the Criminal Procedure Code may be

amended to provide that the records of the lower court

should not be requisitioned without hearing the opposite

party or in cases where the purpose could be served by

the filing of certified copies.

79

52. Section 492 of the Criminal Procedure Code should be

amended to empower the Central Government to

appoint Public Prosecutors, in any case, or in any

specified class of cases.

53. Section 540 A(2) may be amended to enable the court,

in its discretion, to proceed with the trial or inquiry and

to record evidence even in the absence of the accused

subject to the right of the accused to recall the

witnesses for cross-examination.

54 Section 198B of the Criminal Procedure Code may be

amended by-

(i) deleting subsection (13);

(ii) deleting the words ‘other than the offence of

defamation by spoken words’ in clause (1);

(iii) casting the burden of proving the truth of

imputation on the accused: and

(iv) requiring the accused to prove that he acted in good

faith and in public interest.

55. (i) Section 5 of the Imports and Exports (Control) Act,

1947, may be amended so as to raise the punishment

provided for there under to 2 years rigorous

imprisonment and a! so to make it obligatory to pass the

minimum sentence of six months imprisonment except

where the court, for reasons to be recorded in writing,

80considers that a sentence lesser than the minimum

should be imposed.

(ii) A provision may also be made to the effect that the

principal office bearers would also be liable for

punishment for offences committed by a company or

partnership concern or any incorporated body or an

association of individuals and that the burden of proving

their innocence should lie on them.

56. Sections 7 and 8 of the Essential Commodities Act may

be so amended by the Act by adding the words ‘or any

direction given under any order made there under’ after

the words ‘any order made under Section 3’.

57. Article 311 of the Constitution may be amended by

adding the following clause as clause (4):

“Notwithstanding anything contained in Parts 111, IV, VI

and XIV of the Constitution. Parliament may by law

regulate all matters relating ti0 maintenance of integrity

and honesty in the Services and posts under the Union

and States including the jurisdiction of Courts in respect

of such matters.”

The power to make such legislation should be added as

an item in List I of Schedule VII of the Constitution.

58. Powers to summon and compel attendance of witnesses

and production of documents should be conferred on the

81inquiring authorities in departmental proceedings by

suitable legislation.

59. The need for continuing the provisions prescribing a

period of limitation for initiation of any proceeding for

any thing done or ordered to be done under the powers

given by special enactments such as the Central Excise

and Salt Act. 1944, should be examined and if possible

be totally done away with; if it is not possible to do so

the period of limitation should be enlarged and it should

start running from the date of knowledge of the act or

order and not from the date of accrual of the cause of

action.

TRUE COPY

82ANNEXURE P-2

Relevant clause of the All – India Services (Conduct) Rules,

1968

Rule 3(3)(ii)(iii) of the All India Services Conduct Rule 1968:

3(3) (ii) The direction of the official superior shall

ordinarily be in writing. Where the issue of oral

direction becomes unavoidable, the official superior

shall confirm it in writing immediately thereafter.

(iii) A member of the Service who has received oral

direction from his official superior shall seek

confirmation of the same in writing, as early as

possible and in such case, it shall be the duty of

the official superior to confirm the direction in

writing.

TRUE COPY

83ANNEXURE P-3

MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE P.C. HOTA COMMITTEE

ON CIVIL SERVICE REFORM

1. To mould young entrants for the higher civil

service through training, government may go back to

the period from 1948 till 1971 when the age of eligibility

was 21-24 years for general candidates (as against 21-

30 years for general candidates at present) with five

years age concession for members of the Scheduled

Castes/Scheduled Tribes. Age concession for candidates

of the Other Backward Classes may be three years as at

present.

2. As no competitive examination will be proof

against selection of a few unsuitable candidates,

Directors of Training Academies may invoke the

Probation Rules to weed out unsuitable officer-trainees.

3. Officers must have Annual Performance Plan.

Invariably an Annual Performance Plan will be a

component of the Action Plan/Vision Statement of the

Department/Ministry and its strategic long-term plan.

Wherever possible, performance targets must be

quantified. If it is not possible to quantify the targets,

some other mode of target setting be done to ensure

84that an officer is held strictly accountable for

performance.

4. After 15 years of service, a rigorous review be

carried out of performance of civil servants based on the

earlier quinquennial review of performance. If an officer

is not honest and performance-oriented, he be weeded

out of service on completion of 15 years on

proportionate pension. An officer should also have the

option to retire on proportionate pension after 15 years

of service. A similar review be carried out subsequently

at periodic intervals to determine if performance level of

an officer has fallen sharply/if there are allegations

against an officer’s integrity.

5. Each Department/Ministry should be required to

identify the points of citizen interface, benchmark the

quality of services and strengthen the existing grievance

redressal mechanism.

6. Officers of the higher Civil Service must

supervise work of junior functionaries by regular visits

and inspections. All officers of the higher Civil Service

must put on the website/print media their contact

telephone numbers during office hours. Every Ministry/

Department/Office having large public interface must

have a few toll free telephone numbers with voice mail

facility.

85

7. Junior officers at the cutting edge level of

administration should be given training in customer

service, attending to phone calls and resolving public

grievances.

8. Rules under the Freedom of Information Act

2002 be notified immediately. The implementation of the

Act be reviewed after three/four years by an

independent Task Force.

9. The Official Secrets Act be modified to cover

only the essential minimum requirements of national

security, public order and individual privacy.

10. All officers having a public interface to wear

name badges while on duty.

11. The duties, functions and responsibilities of all

senior posts be laid down and publicized.

12. After every five to seven years in service, a

civil servant should spend at least two months with a

non-government organization, academic institution or

the private sector.

13. ISO 9000 be introduced for government offices.

8614. A full time officer should be posted in the

Information and Facilitation Centre and each Department

should attend to public grievances.

15. Annual Property Return of all public servants be

put on the website.

16. Rules be framed under the Benami

Transactions (Prohibition) Act. 1988 for

attachment/forfeiture of benami/ill-gotten property of

corrupt public servants.

17. Article 311 of the Constitution be amended to

enable President/Governor to dismiss/remove public

servants summarily in case of corrupt practice/having

assets disproportionate to known source of income. The

officer concerned may be given post-decisional hearing

to prove his innocence. To ensure natural justice, such

post-decisional hearing has been held to be

constitutionally valid by the Supreme Court of India.

18. Under the overall control of the Central

Vigilance Commission, committees of experts be set up

in various Departments to scrutinize cases of officers

before initiating departmental action for corrupt

practices/launching prosecution against them under the

Prevention of Corruption Act 1988. Such a reform will

87encourage honest officers to take bold commercial

decisions in the public interest without the lurking fear of

a vigilance/CBI inquiry.

19. Section 13 (1) (d) (iii) of the Prevention of

Corruption Act 1988 be amended so that civil servants

are not incriminated for taking bona fide commercial

decisions in the public interest.

20. Every programme of government should

specify the deliverables in terms of services. Functioning

of government offices having large interface with the

common man should be assessed once in three/four

years by independent organizations.

21. Citizen Centres should be set up to build

capability for analyzing and suggesting changes in

government policies. The civil service training institutes

should perform the nodal role in this behalf.

22. Each Department of the Government should

develop an internal evaluation mechanism on the basis

of clearly laid down parameters. The result of such

evaluation should be part of the Annual Administration

Report. Departments should be held accountable for

88outcomes and there should be a sharp focus on service

delivery.

23. A State of Governance Report should be

brought out evaluating the performance of each State on

the basis of a set of parameters of good governance.

24. Points of public interface in government should

be identified for focused attention and improvement.

Within a period of two years the procedures in the areas

of public interface should be simplified and electronic

service delivery for the common people be introduced.

Each Department/Ministry may lay down a time schedule

to extend service delivery through electronic means.

25. To provide a clean, honest and transparent

government, antiquated rules and procedures in

Government must be discarded and new simplified ones

be put in place. Such an exercise is absolutely essential

for introduction of e-governance.

26. E-Governance can augment efficiency and

ensure transparency in government. The Andhra

Pradesh experiment of identifying officers as Chief

Information Officers to be trained in the Indian Institute

of Management, Ahmedabad, in e-governance is a

89noteworthy initiative. New entrants to the Civil Service

have adequate hands – on experience with computers

and the internet and they could be sent periodically for

further training in application of e-governance.

27. Each Department should identify skill gaps

keeping in view its functions and take steps to train the

required number of people.

28. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) should

function as a vehicle for disseminating best practices

across the country.

29. Officers posted as Chief Executive of e-

governance projects should be given reasonable tenure

and held accountable for results.

30. The administrative and financial flexibility

required for introducing innovative e-governance

measures should be identified and operationalized.

31. The Minimum Agenda for e-governance should

be carried forward and each Department is required to

identify specific activities which will be enabled in the

next 12 months.

32. Departmental examination should include a

practical test on the ability to use and apply computers.

9033. Each Department/Ministry should have its own

website of basic information relating to the

Department/Ministry and the website be available for

registering public grievances.

34. Each Department/Ministry should undertake a

review of the particular service of which it is the Cadre

Controlling Authority to ensure that officers of the

service are used optimally, promotion prospects for

them are adequate and skill levels of officers upgraded

periodically. Each Department/Ministry should undertake

a skill needs assessment to identify required skills and

upgraded skill levels.

35. Civil servants should be encouraged to move

laterally to non-government organizations.

36. Government should actively support and

encourage outstanding work done by civil servants

through National/State awards and commendations.

37. The initiative taken by the Department of

Personnel and Training to provide funds to the Indian

Institute of Management, Bangalore to develop a two-

year course for officers of the IAS at mid-career level is

worthwhile experiment. Similar training programmes be

devised for the Indian Police Service, the Indian Forest

Service and other Central Services.

91

38. In the proposed Civil Service law, the highest

political executive shall continue to be the final authority

to order transfer of any officer before his tenure is over,

but he will be expected to give due consideration to

Report of the Administrative Inquiry/views of the Civil

Service Board/Establishment Board and record reasons

on the need for premature transfer of an officer. It is

reiterated that the political executive shall have the final

authority ton transfer an officer at any stage in public

interest. An officer aggrieved by order of premature

transfer can agitate the matter before a three-Member

Ombudsman, who may, where suitable, award monetary

compensation to be aggrieved officer. The constitution

of the Ombudsman will be the same as the Ombudsman

proposed for the Disputes Redressal Council as at para

6.19 of this Report. The President/Governor shall receive

reports from the Ombudsman and shall lay an Annual

Report on such transfers on the table of the Legislature.

There should be a suitable provision in the law to enable

States to adopt it and make it applicable in the States

without going through the long process of drafting a law

and get it passed in the Legislature.

39. The proposed comprehensive law on the Civil

Service shall incorporate, inter alia, a Code of Ethics and

a statutory minimum tenure in a post to an officer.

92Under the proposed law, if an officer is sought to be

transferred before his tenure, there would be an

expeditious administrative inquiry by a designated

senior officer to be earmarked for this purpose. This can

be dispensed with if the transfer is on

promotion/deputation/foreign training. In all other cases,

the Report of Inquiry with the views of the Civil Service

Board/Establishment Board would be put up to the Chief

Minister if officers of the All India Service/other civil

services work in the States, or the Appointments

Committee of the Cabinet if the officers work under the

Central Staffing Scheme. For the officers of the other

Central Services working in Ministries/Departments but

not under the Central Staffing Scheme, the new law will

prescribe a tenure with a provision for administrative

inquiry before an officer is sought to be transferred

except on specified grounds.

40. The recommendation of the Surinder Nath

Committee (July 2003) for increasing the domain

knowledge of IAS officers be implemented. Similar

exercise be undertaken to increase domain knowledge

of officers of the other two All India Services and officers

of then C4entral Services.

41. Officers of the All India Service on deputation to

their home State must invariably report back to their

93parent cadres on expiry of their periods of deputation.

Only one term of deputation for an officer of the All India

Service be allowed to the home State and that too to

attend to urgent personal problem. The exemption at

present available for officers of the North-East/Jammu &

Kashmir cadres in matters of deputation may continue.

Any violation of this stipulation will attract a major

penalty proceeding and also be taken into account while

considering the officer’s empanelment/promotion. Such

a stipulation would also be applicable to officers of the

Central Service who go on deputation to different State

Governments and to officers who go on deputation to

international agencies/foreign governments.

42. Introduction of sophisticated technology alone

would not make the administration people friendly

unless higher civil servants have a pro-active attitude

and reach out to the common people. They must spend

much more time in field visits, inspections, tours and

night halts in remote and rural areas.

43. As officers of State Services appointed to All

India Services by promotion also have to play leadership

roles, they should face an Interview by the Selection

Board. The Interview will not be a test of knowledge but

will be only a test of leadership qualities. The selection

for promotion to All India Service will be made on an

94overall assessment of suitability of officers on basis of

record of service and the Interview Test.

44. Not more than 50% of the officers in a batch

should make it to the Senior Administrative Grade. 30%

should be the upper limit for Higher Administrative

Grade and 20% for the highest grade of Secretaries to

Government of India.

45. As there are large number of senior officers of

the All India Service in different cadres, in selected

districts, senior officers of the rank of

Commissioners/Deputy Inspector Generals of

Police/Conservators of Forests may be considered for

posting as District Magistrates/Senior Superintendents of

Police/Divisional Forest Officers. The practice of posting

very senior /Commissioner level officers in districts was

prevalent before Independence and even for a few years

after Independence. It is still prevalent in some states.

46. If the Establishment Board, after giving the

views of the Minister in charge, who is a Member of the

ACC. Its utmost consideration. Fails to change its original

recommendation regarding the posting of an officer

under the Central Staffing Scheme, the Cabinet

Secretary may send the proposals of the Board with

observations of the Minister in charge through the Home

95Minister. Who is a Member of the ACC. To the prime

Minister. Who heads the ACC for a final decision.

47. Steps be taken to reduce the number of officers

who are empanelled for senior posts under the Central

Staffing Scheme.

48. A member of the higher Civil Service would be

debarred from being appointed as a Private Secretary or

Officer on Special Duty to a Cabinet Minister/ Minister of

State in Government of India or in a state subject to

certain stipulations. Ministers may have one of the

officers of the civil service in their Department/ Ministry

to function as Private Secretary for a continuous period

of two years only. The stipulation that no officer of a Civil

Service can be Private Secretary of Minister in the States

or in the Central Government for more than two years

may provide for an exception in case of the prime

Minister and the Chief Ministers.

49. Members of the All India Services and the

Central Services. Who are regular recruits through

competitive examinations and who are unable to get

promoted to the higher levels in their respective service

due to non-availability of posts. May be allowed the next

higher grade as personal to them a year before

retirement on super-annuation. Such up-gradation shall

96be available only to officers with proven record of

efficiency and integrity.

50. Suspension from service of All India Service

officers by the State Government will be invalid if not

confirmed by the Government of India within a period of

60 days.

51. Under the new Civil Service law, a member of

the higher civil service should not be appointed to any

statutory commission or a constitutional authority after

his retirement on super-annuation. To insulate him from

the temptation of post- retirement assignment, he

should be appointed to such statutory bodies/

Constitutional Authority only when he is not over 55

years of age so that he can demit office from these

Commissions and Authorities after serving for five to six

years.

52. There is a case for better compensation

package for members of the higher civil service. Such

compensation must bear a reasonable comparison with

compensation for executives in the private sector. Issues

related to a better package of compensation to the

higher Civil Services may be referred to the next Central

pay Commission.

9753. There should be a cooling off period of at least

two years after resignation / retirement before a civil

servant can join a political party and contest elections to

any political office. No civil servant can be appointed to

the high constitutional office of Governor of a State

unless a period of two years elapses between his

resignation / retirement and his appointment as a

Governor.

54. The recommendations of the National police

Commission relating to tenure of senior police officers,

independent review of the work of police departments

and streamlining the powers of arrest should be

implemented. The recommendations of the Malimath

Committee on criminal justice system be also

implemented.

55. The procedure for reimbursement of medical

expenses of civil servants should be simplified so that

quality medical services are available from recognized

private hospitals without having to report to the CGHS

on each occasion of ailment. The facilities available at

the CGHS hospitals also need to be strengthened.

56. To increase the representation of women in the

civil service, it is proposed that within 15 years, at least

25 percent members of the higher civil service should be

98women as against 12 to 13 percent women at percent.

Women in the higher civil service be given four years of

leave with full pay in their entire service career over and

above the leave due to them under the normal leave

rules. Such facility will enable them to balance their roles

as officers with their roles as mothers / housewives.

57. To eliminate delay in disposal of a disciplinary

inquiry, the Union public / Service Commission need not

be consulted in case of a civil servant facing charges of

corrupt practice and whose case has been referred to

the Central Vigilance Commission for the first stage /

second stage advice. If however the officer is penalized

in the inquiry and prefers an appeal, the case may be

referred to the UPSC for advice on the appeal petition.

58. Where minor disciplinary proceedings are

sufficient to meet the end of justice, major penalty

proceeding which are lengthy and time-consuming

should not be initiated.

59. An Inquiry Officer should be relieved from his

normal duties for a sufficient period to enable him to

complete the departmental inquiry expeditiously and

submit the report.

60. A database on disciplinary cases should be

maintained to keep track of their progress.

99

61. An Employees Health Insurance Scheme on the

pattern of defense forces should be introduced for the

civil service.

62. A high level Selection Committee having a

representation of the Chairman, Union public service

Commission be established to prepare a panel of two

names for appointment of one of them as a member of

the State public Service Commission by the Governor of

a state. Similar High Level Selection Committee be

constituted to recommend a panel of two names for

appointment of one of them as a Member of the Union

public Service Commission by the president. Similar

Committees be constituted to recommend panel of

suitable names for other high level statutory and

constitutional appointments such as Securities and

Exchange Board of India, Telecom Regulatory Authority

of India, Insurance Regulatory Authority, the Election

Commission , the Comptroller & Auditor General to

which retired civil servants are usually appointed.

63. To minimize litigation on service matters, in

every Department / Ministry there would be a Dispute

Resolution Council (DRC) comprising a retired official as

chairman and two serving officers as members. The

decision of the DRC shall be invariably implemented. In

100case of disagreement, orders of Core Group of

Secretaries / Cabinet Secretary be obtained before

DRC’s report is acted upon. Similar Dispute Redressal

Councils be set up by State Government.

To ensure that the issues relating to the civil service get

focused attention at the highest political level, the

Empowered sub-Committee Governance of the National

Development Council should go into the policy issues of

civil service and make suitable recommendations.

TRUE COPY

101ANNEXURE P-4

RELEVANT EXTRACT FROM THE ECONOMIC ADMINISTRATION REFORMS COMMISSION (JHA COMMISSION) 1986

Reforms of Performance Appraisal System

7.1 Given a clear specification of the task and the vesting of

real authority, the next important prerequisite for

ensuring individual accountability is a proper system for

appraisal of performance. To start with, the role of the

individual official within an organization will have to be

concretely and clearly related to the objective of the

organisation. The appraisal should be of total

performance and it should be on a continuing basis. It

should have in-built elements for comparative gradation

of different officials performing identical or similar tasks,

so that the appraisal system can be geared to the

system of rewards and punishments. The performance

appraisal which prevails in the Government hardly' fulfils

any of these requirements. The appraisal is done once a

year. It is qualitative and impressionistic. It is very often

a general assessment of a person rather than that of the

performance of a task by him. There is little evidence of

objective criteria for the comparative gradation of

achievement. We believe that there is need for a drastic

overhaul of the performance appraisal system. We are of

course assuming that the system will operate and will be

seen to operate objectively.

102

Stability of tenure

7.2 Another important factor related to performance is the

question of stability of tenure. It is not possible to hold

anyone accountable for a given norm of achievement if

he is not allowed sufficient time to develop the

necessary grip on the job and translate his ability into

performance. This is more so in regard to the more

senior appointments where the task involved is complex

and the results are necessarily a function of et minimum

period of time. It follows that officials, particularly at

senior levels, should be given a reasonable length of

time to show results and that this should be facilitated

by some flexibility regarding tenures.

Need for change in the attitude of watch dog bodies

7.3 Lastly, we should like to stress the need to bring about a

corresponding change in the attitude of the watch-dog

bodies entrusted with enforcing accountability in public

servants. What we have today in our system is

essentially accountability for error and wrong.

TRUE COPY

103ANNEXURE P-5

RELEVANT EXTRACT FROM THE CENTRAL STAFFING SCHEME,

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC

GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS (DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL &

TRAINING) NEW DELHI, JANUARY, 1996

THE CENTRAL STAFFING SCHEME:

3. The Central Staffing Scheme has been in operation now

for over 30 years. It provides a systematic arrangement

for the selection and appointment of officers to senior

administrative posts at Centre, excluding posts which

are specifically encadred within the organised Group 'A'

services or filled by recruitment through the Union Public

Service Commission. Some posts of Deputy Secretary

and Under Secretary under the Central Government are

shown as numbers, without specifying individual posts,

in the cadre strength of the Central Secretariat Service.

These posts are filled in accordance with the rules of the

CSS, and when so filled, stand outside the Central

Staffing Scheme. Appointments to all other posts of the

rank of Under Secretary and above in the Government of

India are filled under the Central Staffing Scheme, by

borrowing officer from the All India Services and

participating Group 'A' services; the cardinal principle

being that all officers who are so borrowed will serve the

Government of India for a stipulated tenure on

deputation and, thereafter, return to their parent cadre.

104Their growth, development and career prospects will be

mainly in their own Service.

Tenure:

17.01 The fixed tenure of deputation of posting under the

Central Government is the heart of the Central

Staffing Scheme. Rotation between the Centre and

the States, Central Ministries and parent cadres, and

headquarters and the field, provide a certain degree

of pragmatism to policy formulation and programme

implementation from the Central Ministries. Based on

the experience gained so far, the periods of tenure at

the different levels have been prescribed as under:-

Under Secretary 3 years

Deputy Secretary 4 years

Director 5 years

Joint Secretary 5 years

17.02 An officer holding the post of Joint Secretary or

equivalent, when appointed to a post under the

Government of India at the level of Additional

Secretary, would have a tenure of 3 years from the

dateof appointment as Additional Secretary subject to

a minimum of 5 years and maximum of 7 years of

combined tenure as Joint Secretary Additional

Secretary. Where an officer remains on leave (either

from the Centre or from his Cadre authority or both)

105on the expiry of his tenure as Joint Secretary till his

appointment as Additional Secretary, the leave period

shall be counted as tenure deputation. Additional

Secretary 4 years, except for cases covered under the

previous heading. Secretary No fixed tenure.

17.03 Every officer shall revert at the end of his tenure as

indicated above on the exact date of his completing

his tenure. He will, however, have a choice to revert

to his cadre on the 31st May previous to the date of

the end of his tenure in case personal grounds such

as children's education etc., necessitate such

reversion. No extension after completion of the full

tenure would be allowed.

17.12 (a) Officers of the Indian Foreign Service appointed to

posts under the Central Staffing Scheme would have a

tenure of three years. They shall not normally be

relieved, except with the approval of the

appointments Committee of the Cabinet from a

Central Staffing Scheme post before their tenure.

TRUE COPY

106ANNEXURE P-6

CONFERENCE OF CHIEF MINISTERS STATEMENT

DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY FOR TRANSPARENT AND

EFFICIENT GOVERNMENT* Statement adopted at the

conference of Chief Ministers on Effective and Responsive

Administration held on 24 May, 1997 in New Delhi

There is an urgent need to ensure responsive,

accountable, transparent and people-friendly administration

at all levels. The Conference of Chief Ministers held recently,

discussed an action plan for effective and responsive

government at the Central and State levels. Inaugurating the

conference, the Prime Minister referred to Pt. Jawaharlal

Nehru's statement that "belief in fair play and integrity" was

the basis of a good administration. He said that the Action

Plan document provided a good diagnosis and that it had to

be followed up by a credible and implementable therapy. The

resolution adopted at the conclusion of the conference stated,

"The States welcomed the initiatives taken by the Prime

Minister towards more effective and responsive administration

and stated that these initiatives are important and timely. It

was agreed that each State would work for the

implementation of the Action Plan, making appropriate

allowance for variation on local circumstances. Necessary

political will to implement these will be essential."

Accountable and Citizen Friendly Government

107Under the Action Plan, the Central and State

Governments have decided to formulate Citizen’s Charters for

Departments and Offices, starting with those which have a

large public interface. These Citizen’s Charters would specify

standards of service and time limits that the public can

reasonably expect, avenues of grievance redressal and a

provision for independent scrutiny with the involvement of

citizen and consumer groups. These Citizen’s Charters would

be widely publicised and will be made operational in the next

few months. All Departments will publicise facilities at various

levels for the prompt and effective redressal of public

grievances from the secretariat downwards to the villages.

Review of existing systems of redressal of public grievances

and institution of measures for streamlining them with a built-

in-system for independent monitoring, is envisaged to be in

place soon. The Central and State Governments have decided

to work together for the simplification of existing laws,

regulations and procedures, repeal of obsolete laws, reform of

laws operating against the weaker sections and steps to

reduce the time and cost of the disposal of cases in civil and

criminal courts. The entire process of approvals, sanctions and

issue of permits would be made simpler, transparent and

single- window based. A priority agenda will be adopted and

implemented over the next one year for this purpose. To fulfil

the need of greater decentralisation and devolution of

administrative powers at all levels, immediate steps will be

108initiated by the State Governments, to strengthen people’s

participation in Government. Steps will also be taken to

ensure adequate devolution of powers and resources to the

elected local bodies in rural and urban areas. The Central and

State Governments are trying to encourage and sustain

people’s participation and dedicated voluntary agencies in all

the schemes for the delivery of basic services.

Transparency and Right to Information

It is found that secrecy and lack of openness in transactions is

largely responsible for corruption in official dealings, and is

also contrary to the spirit of an accountable and democratic

governments. To bridge this lacuna, the Government has

decided to take immediate steps, in consultation with State

Governments, for examining the report of the Working Group

on Right to Information. A legislation for Freedom of

Information and amendments to the relevant provisions of the

Official Secrets Act, 1923 and the Indian Evidence, will also be

introduced in the Parliament before the end of 1997.

Computerised information and facilitation counters are being

opened in all the Central and State Government offices with

large public interface so that information and assistance is

available to the public on essential services and approvals to

the benefit of population such as land, records, passports,

investigation of offences, administration of justice, tax

collection and administration, issue of permits and licences

109etc. The on-going efforts are being speeded up with the help

of the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

Improving the Public Services

It is noted that people-friendly and effective administration

depends on cleansing of civil services at all levels, adherence

to ethical standards, commitment to basic principles of the

Constitution and clear understanding of the relationship

regulating the politicians and the civil servants. Elimination of

corruption in the public services requires prevention,

surveillance and deterrent prosecution. The instances of

politician-civil servant - criminal nexus also needs to be dealt

with ruthlessly. Check on politicisation of the civil services will

certainly minimise its impact not only on the morale and

motivation of services, but also on the sustained flow of

responsive services to the public and efficient execution of

schemes. The existing rules and legal provisions will be

amended every six months and government employees, doing

good work will be encouraged by rewards. The investigation

agencies and vigilance machinery is being strengthened with

the provision of adequate staff, powers, resources and

independence. The existing procedures for departmental

enquiries and vigilance proceedings of Government

employees will be revamped within three months on the basis

of a study of detailed proposals worked out by the

Government. The role and powers of audit in the identification

110and pursuit of financial and procedural irregularities, would be

strengthened with the help of various agencies like Lok

Ayukta, CBI, vigilance machinery, income tax authorities,

enforcement directorate and Comptroller and Auditor General.

The State Governments have been asked to formulate and

enforce a Code of ethics for State Services similar to the draft

Code being considered for introduction at the Central level. To

enable objective and transparent decisions on postings,

promotions and transfers of officials, particularly those

working in key areas, institutional arrangements will be

evolved to ensure stability of tenure and de-politicised

postings at all levels.

Implementation Arrangements

A Committee will be set up under the Cabinet Secretary

including some of the Chief Secretaries as well as senior

officials of the Government of India to elaborate the different

elements of the Action Plan in terms of operational content

and to work out the decisions required at Central and State

levels. The Committee would draw up a time-bound agenda

for legal and regulatory reforms in priority areas including a

statutory scheme for Freedom of Information and also

consider steps to secure widespread acceptance and feedback

from different sections of the public and elicit the cooperation

of the people for responsive administration. The Conference of

Chief Ministers recognised that as the country completes 50

111years of independence, and as the people are assailed by

growing doubts about the accountability, effectiveness and

moral standards of administration, Central and State

Governments should join together to justify the trust and faith

of the people in the Government by taking up the

implementation of the Action Plan in a time bound manner.

TRUE COPY

112ANNEXURE P-7

RELEVANT EXTRACT FROM THE 2ND ADMINISTRATIVE

REFORMS COMMITTEE REPORT

2nd ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS COMMISSION

10TH REPORT – REFURBISHING OF PERSONNEL

ADMINISTRATION – SCALING NEW HIGHTS

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS (RELEVANT EXTRACTS)

13. ( Para 8.7) Placement at Middle Management Level

a. In posting officers in Government of India, the primary

consideration should be to select the most suitable

person for the post that is on offer.

b. Domains should be assigned by the Central Civil

Services Authority (the Commission has recommended

the constitution of this Authority in paragraph No 9.8 of

this Report) to all officers of the All India Services and

the Central Civil Services on completion of 13 years of

service.

c. The Central Civil Services Authority should invite

applications from all officers who have completed the

minimum qualifying years of service, for assignment of

domains. The applications should specify the academic

background of officers, their research accomplishments

113(if any) and significant achievements during their career,

relevant to the domain applied for. A consultative

process should be put in place where the officers should

be interviewed and their claims to specific domains

evaluated. The Authority should thereafter assign

domains to the officers on the basis of this exercise. In

case some domains do not attract applicants, the

Authority should assign these domains to officers with

the relevant knowledge and experience.

d. All vacancies arising at the level of Deputy

Secretary/Director during a financial year should be

identified well before the beginning of that financial

year, by the Department of Personnel and Training

(DOPT). The Ministries concerned should also give a brief

job description for these positions. All these posts and

their job description should be notified to the cadre

controlling authorities of the concerned All India Services

and Central Services. On receipt of nominations from the

cadre controlling authorities, the DOPT should try to

match the requirements of various positions with the

competencies of the officers in the ‘offer list’. The DOPT

should then seek approval for the entire list from the

Competent Authority.

e. The Central Civil Services Authority should be charged

with the responsibility of fixing tenure for all civil service

114positions and this decision of the Authority should be

binding on Government.

f. Officers from the organized services should not be given

‘non-field’ assignments in the first 8-10 years of their

career.

g. State Governments should take steps to constitute State

Civil Services Authorities on the lines of the Central Civil

Services Authority.

14. (Para 9.8) Placement at Top Management Level

a. The present empanelment system for short listing

officers for posting at the SAG level and above should be

replaced by a more transparent and objective placement

procedure.

b. At higher levels in government, it is necessary to ensure

that the tasks assigned to a public servant match his/her

domain competence as well as aptitude and potential.

c. Ministries should classify all of their SAG level posts

according to their relevant functional domains.

d. There is need to introduce competition for senior

positions in government (SAG and above) by opening

these positions in Government (including attached and

subordinate offices) to all Services. This principle would

apply to all posts including those that are presently

encadred with the organized

115Group ‘A’ Services. In order to operationalise this,

government should make the continued participation of

any of the organised civil services in the Central Staffing

Scheme, contingent upon the implementation of this

principle in those Departments/Cadres.

i. For the positions at the Joint Secretary/SAG level

and above, the Central Civil Services Authority would

invite applications from amongst all the eligible

officers from the All India Services and Group ‘A’

Central Services which are participating in the

scheme.

ii. For positions at the HAG level and above, the

Central Public Service Authority would, in

consultation with Government, earmark positions

for which outside talent would be desirable.

Applications to fill up these posts would be invited

from interested and eligible persons from the open

market and also, from serving eligible officers.

iii. While carrying out this exercise, the Central Civil

Services Authority would stipulate the eligibility

criteria, the required domain expertise as well as

the requirements of qualifications, seniority and

work experience. The Authority would conduct

interviews to short-list suitable officers for these

116posts. Government would make the final selection

on the basis of this shortlist.

e. A Central Civil Services Authority should be constituted

under the proposed Civil Services Bill. The Central Civil

Services Authority shall be a five-member body

consisting of the Chairperson and four members

(including the member-secretary). The Authority should

have a full time Member-Secretary of the rank of

Secretary to Government of India. The Chairperson and

members of the Authority should be persons of

eminence in public life and professionals with

acknowledged contributions to society. The Chairperson

and members of the Authority shall be appointed by the

President on the recommendations of a Committee

consisting of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the

Opposition in the Lok Sabha. (Explanation:- Where the

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha has not been

recognized as such, the Leader of the single largest

group in the Opposition in the Lok Sabha shall be

deemed to be the Leader of the Opposition).

f. The Central Civil Services Authority should deal with

matters of assignment of domains to officers, preparing

panels for posting of officers at the level of Joint

Secretary and above, fixing tenures for senior posts,

deciding on posts which could be advertised for lateral

117entry and such other matters that may be referred to it

by the Government.

g. A similar procedure should be adopted for filling up

vacancies at SAG level and higher in the central police

agencies. For example, in the Central Para-Military

Forces the senior positions should be opened to

competition from officers of the CPMFs, IPS and the

Armed Forces (including those completing their Short

Service Commissions). Similarly for the intelligence

agencies officers from the armed forces as well as the

CPOs with experience in the field of intelligence should

be considered for postings at higher levels in the

intelligence agencies…

…18. (Para 13.4) Accountability

a. A system of two intensive reviews – one on completion

of 14 years of service, and another on completion of 20

years of service - should be established for all

government servants.

b. The first review at 14 years would primarily serve the

purpose of intimating to the public servant about his/her

strengths and shortcomings for his/her future

advancement. The second review at 20 years would

mainly serve to assess the fitness of the officer for

his/her further continuation in government service. The

118detailed modalities of this assessment system would

need to be worked out by government.

c. The services of public servants, who are found to be

unfit after the second review at 20 years, should be

discontinued. A provision regarding this should be made

in the proposed Civil Services Law. Besides, for new

appointments it should be expressly provided that the

period of employment shall be for 20 years. Further

continuance in government service would depend upon

the outcome of the intensive performance reviews.

19. (Para 14.6) Disciplinary Proceedings

a. In the proposed Civil Services law, the minimum

statutory disciplinary and dismissal procedures required

to satisfy the criteria of natural justice should be spelt

out leaving the details of the procedure to be followed to

the respective government departments. The present

oral inquiry process should be converted into a

disciplinary meeting or interview to be conducted by a

superior officer in a summary manner without the

trappings and procedures borrowed from court trials.

This would require that the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965 be

repealed and substituted by appropriate regulations.

b. No penalty of removal and dismissal should be imposed,

except by an Authority, which is at least three levels

119above the post which the government servant is holding.

Other penalties – apart from dismissal and removal –

may be imposed by an Authority which is at least two

levels above the current post of the government servant.

No penalty may be imposed, unless an inquiry is

conducted and the accused government servant has

been given an opportunity of being heard.

c. The two-stage consultation with the CVC in cases

involving a vigilance angle should be done away with

and only the second stage advice after completion of the

disciplinary process, should be obtained. In addition, for

cases involving a vigilance angle, no consultation with

the UPSC should be required.

d. Consultation with the UPSC should be mandatory only in

cases leading to the proposed dismissal of government

servants and all other types of disciplinary cases should

be exempted from the UPSC’s purview.

20. (Para 15.6) Relations between the Political Executive and

Civil Servants

a. There is a need to safeguard the political neutrality and

impartiality of the civil services. The onus for this lies

equally on the political executive and the civil services.

This aspect should be included in the Code of Ethics for

Ministers as well as the Code of Conduct for Public

Servants.

120

b. The Commission would like to reiterate its

recommendation made in its Report on “Ethics in

Governance” while examining the definition of

corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988,

wherein it has been recommended that “abuse of

authority unduly favouring or harming someone” and

“obstruction of justice” should be classified as an offence

under the Act.

c. It is essential to lay down certain norms for recruitment

in government to avoid complaints of favouritism,

nepotism, corruption and abuse of power. These norms

are:

i. Well-defined procedure for recruitment to all

government jobs.

ii. Wide publicity and open competition for

recruitment to all posts.

iii. Minimisation, if not elimination, of discretion in the

recruitment process.

iv. Selection primarily on the basis of written

examination or on the basis of performance in

existing public/board/university examination with

minimum weight to interview.

These principles could be included in the ‘Civil Services

Bill’ as recommended by the Commission in Chapter 17.

12121. (Para 16.17) Civil Services Code

a. ‘Civil Services Values’ and the ‘Code of Ethics’ should be

incorporated in the proposed Civil Services Bill.

b. Conduct Rules for civil servants need to be redrawn

based on the values and code of ethics as outlined in

this Chapter (Chapter 16).

22. (Para 17.5) The Civil Services Law

A new Civil Services Bill may be drafted. The following

salient features may be included in the proposed Bill:

I. Title of the Bill: The Bill may be called ‘The Civil Services

Bill’.

II. Definitions: “Civil Services” shall comprise of all

personnel holding civil posts under the Union.

III. Civil Service Values: The Civil Services and the Civil

Servants shall be guided by the following values in

addition to a commitment to uphold the Constitution, the

discharge of their functions:

i. Absolute integrity at all times

ii. Impartiality and non-partisanship

iii. Objectivity

iv. Dedication to public service

v. Empathy towards weaker sections

The Heads of Departments shall be responsible for promoting

these values in their organizations. The Central Civil Services

122Authority may from time to time review the adoption,

adherence to and implementation of the Civil Service Values

in the departments or organizations under the Union.

IV. Code of Ethics: The following should be included in the

Code of Ethics for civil servants:

i. Integrity: Civil servants should be guided solely by

public interest in their official decision making and not

by any financial or other consideration either in respect

of themselves, their families or their friends.

ii. Impartiality: Civil servants in carrying out their official

work, including functions like procurement, recruitment,

delivery of services etc, should take decisions based on

merit and free from any partisan consideration.

iii. Commitment to public service: civil servants should

deliver services in a fair, effective, impartial and

courteous manner.

iv. Open accountability: civil servants are accountable

for their decisions and actions and should be willing to

subject themselves to appropriate scrutiny for this

purpose.

v. Devotion to duty: civil servants should maintain

absolute and unstinting devotion towards their duties

and responsibilities at all times.

vi. Exemplary behaviour: civil servants should treat all

members of the public with respect and courtesy and at

123all times should behave in a manner that upholds the

rich traditions of the civil services.

vi. Recruitment and conditions of service: Recruitment and

conditions of service of persons appointed to the ‘Public

Services’ shall be governed by Rules made under this

Act. The following principles of recruitment should be

included for all appointments not routed through the UPSC

or SSC:

i. Well-defined merit based procedure for

recruitment.

ii. Wide publicity and open competition for

recruitment to all posts.

iii. Minimisation, if not elimination, of discretion in the

recruitment process.

iv. Selection primarily on the basis of written

examination or on the basis of performance in

existing public/board/university examination with

minimum weight-age to interview.

An independent agency should audit the recruitments

made outside the UPSC and SSC systems and advise the

government suitably. This audit should be conducted

under the supervision of the UPSC.

124VI. New Conditions of Appointment: (1) A civil servant, not

being a civil servant recruited or inducted for a short-

term appointment, shall hold office for twenty years

from the date of initial appointment. (2) The relationship

between the Civil Servant and the Government of India

during the time he/she holds office shall also be

governed by the rules made in this regard. All public

servants shall be subjected to two intensive reviews on

completion of 14 years and 20 years of service

respectively. Their further continuance beyond 20 years

will depend on the outcome of these reviews. It should

be expressly provided that all new recruitments shall be

for a period of 20 years and their continuance beyond 20

years would depend on the outcome of the intensive

reviews.

VII. Appointment to Senior Positions in Government: All

positions in Government (including in the attached and

subordinate offices) at the level of Joint Secretary and

above would constitute the ‘Senior Management Pool’.

This would apply to all posts including those that are

presently encadred with the organised Group A Services.

All appointments to positions in this pool shall be made

on the recommendations of the Central Civil Services

Authority, which would go into the past performance and

also evaluate the future potential of an officer. The

125Central Civil Services Authority should recommend a

panel of officers suitable for a position in the

Government and Government should choose an

officer/person from this panel.

VIII. Fixation of Tenures: All senior posts should have a

specified tenure. The task of fixing tenures for various

posts may also be assigned to this independent agency -

Central Civil Services Authority.

IX. Widening the Pool of Candidates for Selection to Senior

Positions: Candidates outside the government system

should be allowed to compete for certain posts at senior

levels (Additional Secretary and above). The task of

identifying these posts should be entrusted to the

Central Civil Services Authority.

X. Dismissal, Removal etc. of Civil Servants: After the

repeal of Articles 310 and 311 (as recommended in the

Report on ‘Ethics in Governance’), safeguards against

arbitrary action against government servants should be

provided in the new law. These safeguards should

include:

i. No penalty of removal and dismissal should be

imposed, except by an authority, which is at least three

levels above the post which the government servant is

holding.

126ii. Other penalties – apart from dismissal and removal -

may be imposed by an authority which is at least two

levels above the current post of the government servant.

iii. No penalty may be imposed, unless an enquiry is

conducted and the accused government servant has

been given an opportunity of being heard.

iv. The Head of an organization should have powers to

lay down the details of the enquiry procedure, subject to

the general guidelines which may be issued by the

Government from time to time.

XI. A performance management system should be

mandatory for every organization in the government.

XII. Constitution of the Central Civil Services Authority:

i. The Central Government shall, by notification in the

Official Gazette, constitute a body to be known as the

Central Civil Services Authority to exercise the powers

conferred on, and to perform the functions assigned

to it, under this Act.

ii. The Central Civil Services Authority shall be a five-

member body consisting of the Chairperson and four

members (including the member-secretary). The

Authority should have a full time Member- Secretary

of the rank of Secretary to Government of India. The

Chairperson and members of the Authority should be

persons of eminence in public life and professionals

127with acknowledged contributions to society. The

Chairperson and members of the Authority shall be

appointed by the President on the recommendations

of a Committee consisting of the Prime Minister and

the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

(Explanation:- Where the Leader of the Opposition in

the Lok Sabha has not been recognized as such, the

Leader of the single largest group in the opposition in

the Lok Sabha shall be deemed to be the Leader of

the Opposition).

XIII. Functions of the Central Civil Services Authority: The

Central Authority shall discharge the following functions:

i. Review the adoption, adherence to and

implementation of the Civil Service Values in the

departments or organizations under the Central

Government and send reports to the Central

Government.

ii. Assign domains to all officers of the All India

Services and the Central Civil Services on

completion of 13 years of service.

iii. Formulate norms and guidelines for

appointments at ‘Senior Management Level’ in

Government of India.

128iv. Evaluate and recommend names of officers for

posting at the ‘Senior Management Level’ in

Government of India.

v. Identify the posts at ‘Senior Management Level’

in Government of India which could be thrown

open for recruitment from all sources.

vi. Fix the tenure for posts at the ‘Senior

Management Level’ in Government of India.

vii. Submit an annual report to Parliament.

XIV. Creation of Executive Agencies in Government:

Government should be authorized to create or

reorganize some or all of existing Departments into

‘Executive Agencies’. The role of the Ministries should

primarily be on policy formulation while implementation

should be left to the Executive Agencies.

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129ANNEXURE P-8 (COLLY i)

17.5.2010T.S.R. Subramanian “Guru Kripa”

74, Sector 15 ANoida - 201 301Phone 0120-2512865

E-mail: tsrsubramanian@gmail.com

During the last ten years, I have been interacting with a

fairly large number of retired civil servants who have

occupied some of the senior – most positions in the

Government, both at the Centre and in the States. A

common and repeatedly expressed concern has been

the sharp and progressive deterioration which has taken

place in the quality of governance and public

administration in India. For those of us who joined

service in the first three decades after independence,

this decline is tragic and precipitous, pervasive across

the spectrum in practically every sector and too obvious

to need repetition. Indeed, as reported in the press, you

have yourself had occasion to write a number of letters,

in your capacity as the Head of the Civil Service,

highlighting the decline in standards of probity and

commitment to core values among the higher Civil

Services.

2. You would agree that the preservation of integrity,

fearlessness and independence of the civil servant is an

130essential condition of a parliamentary system of

Government. While the formulation of Government

policy is no doubt the legitimate task of the Minister, the

Civil Servant is expected to advise him freely, frankly

and fearlessly at the stage of policy formulation. The

Minister in turn should not interfere in purely service

matters such as postings and transfers and should avoid

any departures from the approved policies to

accommodate individual cases as a result of political or

other considerations. However, in practice we see that

the ability of the senior Civil Service to act as an

effective advisory body has been increasingly

compromised. For instance, in many States, the formally

constituted machinery of governance has been bypassed

and the Chief Minister’s Secretariat reigns supreme. At

the Centre, the Special Assistant rules the roost in many

Ministries, acting at the behest of the Minister and

cutting into the legitimate domain of the Secretary and

other senior officials. Indeed, the rise of the Prime

Minister's Office in terms of power, prestige and

capability of intervention has been palpably in evidence

since the 1980’s. All this is not merely a subversion of

due process, but has also adversely impacted the

substance of governance. Traces of the Mogul way of

functioning have crept into the system, with the trusted

henchman being allowed to do whatever he wants, so

131long as he remains loyal, pays tribute and does

whatever is asked of him.

3. The results are self - evident and indeed writ large in our

developmental experience. Weak governance has

manifested itself in poor service delivery, excessive

regulation, whimsical interventions governed by

considerations of personal benefit, uncoordinated and

wasteful public expenditure, inadequate transparency

and lack of accountability; it has reduced the

effectiveness of government policies and impinged

adversely on growth and development. Despite our high

growth rate, India scores poorly in virtually all

international rankings of countries based on indices of

social development. While there are divergent official

estimates of poverty, it is beyond dispute that well over

a quarter of our population still lives below the poverty

line. Indeed, many credible recent estimates place the

number of really poor at or over 50%. The persistence of

large-scale poverty and illiteracy and the lack of access

to employment, shelter, clean drinking water, basic

sanitation and health care, food and nutrition for wide

swathes of our population are all manifestations of

serious failures of national governance.

4. None of this is new or surprising. Indeed, Government' of

India, not to mention the State Governments, have over

132the years set up a large number of Committees and

Commissions to study and make recommendations on

administrative and civil service reforms. While these

reports have dealt with the structural improvement of

the administrative machine and more efficient methods

of personnel management, they have uniformly stressed

the need to preserve the integrity and independence of

the Civil Services and to insulate them from undue

interference from the political establishment. In 1997,

the Conference of Chief Ministers of States, convened by

the Government of India to consider ways of improving

the performance and integrity of the public service, had

recommended that the existing rules and regulations

should be amended within six months to enable

exemplary prosecution and removal of corrupt officials

and the weeding out of staff of doubtful integrity and

that, at the same time, a suitable mechanism should be

worked out to reward employees who do good work.

Since then, the Central Fifth Pay Commission (1997), the

Geethakrishnan Commission on Expenditure Reforms

(2001), the Surinder Nath Committee on Performance

Evaluation (2003), the P.C. Hota Committee on Civil

Service Reform (2004) and the Second Administrative

Reforms Commission (2006-08) have all produced

voluminous Reports and recommendations on the

subject.

133

5. Although many of these recommendations have been

broadly similar, they have not been accepted or

implemented. While incremental reforms have no doubt

been made over the years, these relate largely to

operational matters like recruitment, training, acquisition

of domain knowledge, etc. Most of the core

recommendations which have been studied, discussed

and commended for implementation by successive

Commissions and Committees have not been acted upon

in letter and spirit. These game – changing

recommendations would help to address the pressing

issues of probity, integrity and accountability of the Civil

Service, as well as the preservation of its core values

and independence and enable it to play its appointed

role of impartial adviser and faithful implementer of

policies arrived at in a transparent and rational manner,

after due consideration of the pros and cons and keeping

in view the paramountcy of the public interest.

6. To list a few of these recommendations:

a) The Santhanam Committee on Prevention of

Corruption (1962) had recommended that the

annual immovable property statements, which

have been found to serve no useful purpose,

should be replaced by a periodic complete

statement of the assets and liabilities of each

134Government servant. The Hota Committee had

recommended that the Annual Property Return of

all public servants be put on the website. Indeed,

there is no reason why the assets of all public

servants (civil and political) should not be made

public each year and allowed to be freely accessed

under the RTI Act.

b) Government should be empowered to confiscate

the property of public servants who have

unaccounted wealth by enacting the Corrupt Public

Servants (Forfeiture of Property) Bill as suggested

by the Law Commission (Second ARC). This. will be

fully in keeping with the observations of the

Supreme Court in a number of cases. To this end,

Rules should be framed under the Benami

Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, for

attachment/forfeiture of benami / ill-gotten

property of corrupt public servants. (Hota

Committee, Second ARC).

c) The Santhanam and Hota Committees had both

opined that Article 311 of the Constitution

unjustifiably protracts disciplinary proceedings

against civil servants by mandating a series of

government approvals which lead to frustrating

delays. Disciplinary proceedings involving charges

135of bribery, corruption and lack of integrity should

be treated as a separate category under a

simplified procedure (Santhanam). Prior sanction

should not be necessary for prosecuting a public

servant who has been trapped red-handed or in

cases of possessing assets disproportionate to the

known sources of income (Second ARC). Article 311

of the Constitution should be amended to enable

the President / Governor to dismiss / remove public

servants summarily in case of corrupt practice /

having assets disproportionate to known source of

income. The officer concerned may be given a

post-decisional hearing to prove his innocence

(Hota); the Supreme Court has affirmed the

Constitutional validity of this procedure.

d) Politicians should be treated as public servants,

subject to judicial checks and administrative and

financial disciplines similar to those applicable to

bureaucrats. The Santhanam Committee had

recommended this way back in 1962 and the

Second ARC has recently suggested that suitable

amendments be effected to the Constitution to

provide that the immunity enjoyed by MPs and

MLAs does not cover corrupt acts committed by

them in connection with their duties in the House

or otherwise. While the Supreme Court has also

136upheld this view, in practice there has been very

little accountability of the political class in terms of

the laws of the land.

e) Much of the deterioration in the standards of

probity and accountability within the civil service

can be traced to the practice of issuing and acting

on verbal instructions or oral orders which are not

recorded. It should be made incumbent on every

civil servant to formally record all such

instructions / orders / suggestions which he

receives, not only from his administrative superiors

but also from political authorities, legislators,

commercial and business interests and other

persons / quarters having interest or wielding

influence.

f) A comprehensive and tough anti-corruption

strategy should be put in place, including the

following elements:

(i) Immediate compulsory retirement of officials

whose record and reputation is tainted, and

prosecution of those against whom there is

evidence of corruption (Hota);

(ii) Strengthening of powers of the state

Vigilance Departments, Lok Ayukta and the

Anti-Corruption branch of the State police

137enabling them to effectively initiate and

pursue investigations independently of

government direction (Hota, Second ARC);

(iii) Guaranteed protection of civil servants who

expose corrupt practices (Second ARC) and

institution of annual awards for whistle-

blowers in recognition of their contribution in

exposing wrong-doings in the government;

(iv) Action against corrupt officers cannot be

initiated in many states as the power to

sanction prosecution is vested in state

governments. This should be declared a semi-

judicial process, and the powers to sanction

prosecution should be vested with a

designated authority, which should pass a

time - bound speaking order on receipt of

complaint from CBl or other agencies.

g) A State of Governance Report should be brought

out evaluating the performance of each State on

the basis of a set of parameters of good

governance (Hota).

h) The Prevention of Corruption Act should be

amended to provide for a special offence of

'collusive bribery'; if it is established that the

interest of the state or public has suffered because

138of an act of a public servant, then the court shall

presume that the public servant and the

beneficiary of the decision committed an offence of

'collusive bribery' (Second ARC).

i) Both the Hota Committee and the Second ARC had

recommended that a new civil service law should

be enacted incorporating a statement of values

and a code of ethics for civil servants with

reference to political impartiality, ethical standards

and accountability for actions.

j) Practically all Commissions and Committees

dealing with administrative reform have stressed

the need for transfers at all levels to be handled in

a non-political, non-partisan, open and transparent

manner. A rational transfer policy should eliminate

the 'transfer industry', do away with politicized

transfers, curb the overall incidence of transfers,

remove uncertainty and imbue officers with a

certain security of tenure in every post and should

be seen as being fair and objective. Transfers

should not be ordered as punishment; if an

employee is found remiss in his duties, he should

be proceeded against departmentally.

139The Conference of Chief Ministers (1997) had

recommended the constitution of Civil Services Boards in

different States presided over by the respective Chief

Secretaries (on the pattern of the Establishment Board

of the Government of India presided over by the Cabinet

Secretary) to assist the political executive and

streamline the policy of transfers and promotions based

on identifiable criteria. While some States have

subsequently set up such Boards by executive order,

they have failed to inspire confidence as, more often

than not, they have merely formalized the wishes of

their Chief Ministers in matters of transfer of officials.

Several Committees, including Hota and the Second

ARC, have stressed that a guaranteed minimum tenure

for Secretaries to Government, Heads of Departments

and other senior officials is the only effective solution.

Indeed, the Hota Committee had recommended a

statutory barrier to frequent transfer of senior officials

through the establishment of a Civil Services Board /

Establishment Board, both in the States and at the

Centre, under a Civil Services Act. The recommendations

of such a Board must normally be binding on the

Government. If, for any reason, the Government decides

not to implement the recommendations, it must pass a

self-contained order on the subject and place a

140statement on the Table of the Legislature. Similarly, the

Second ARC had recommended the creation of a Central

Civil Services Authority which would, inter alia, formulate

norms and guidelines and recommend names of officers

for posting at 'Senior Management Levels' in the

Government.

7. My purpose in writing this rather long letter to you is

essentially to ascertain whether and what progress is

being / has been made in implementing some of these

key reforms, which would undoubtedly help to boost the

morale of the higher Civil Services and arrest the decline

in standards of administration and governance which

has so sadly become the norm rather than the

aberration today. In his recent Budget Speech in

Parliament, the Finance Minister had frankly and

correctly identified weaknesses in government systems,

structures and institutions at different levels of

governance and in particular, the bottleneck of our

public delivery mechanisms, as the key factor that can

hold us back in realizing our potential as a modem

nation. He had also stated that, out of the 800

recommendations of the Second ARC which have been

identified for implementation, 350 have been

implemented so far and a further 450 are under

141implementation. This is indeed heartening. It would be

useful to know whether some of the core

recommendations of earlier Committees, as listed above,

are among those which the Government has taken up for

implementation.

I regret encroaching on your very valuable time, but am

doing so only since the issues, I have raised, are of

importance.

Yours sincerely, Sd/-

(T.S.R. Subramanian)

Shri K.M.Chandrasekhar,Cabinet Secretary,Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India,Rashtrapati Shawan,New Delhi - 110 004.Tel: 2301-6696/2301-1241

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142ANNEXURE P-8 (COLLY ii)

CABINET SECRETARYNEW DELHI

K.M.CHANDRASEKHARDear Sri Subramanian, DO No. 501/2/4/2009-CA.V June 30, 2010

Thank you for your letter dated 17th May 2010. Forgive

me for the delay in my response, which arose because I had to

collect material and also deal with many other issues during

the period.

2. Some recent initiatives that we have taken to improve

professionalism, standards of integrity and productivity

in Government are outlined below:

(a) In the matter of Civil Services, a Bill captioned 'Civil

Services Standards, Performance and

Accountability Bill 2010' has been prepared which

incorporates salient features, like Civil Services

Values, Code of Ethics and Conduct, Performance

Management System, etc. This is presently under

consideration of the Government. The Bill

envisages establishing a Central Civil Services

Authority as recommended by the 2nd

Administrative Reforms Commission and also

143establish a Performance Management System for

the Civil Servants.

(b) The Right to Information Act, which makes access

to files available to all citizens in most cases, has

led to remarkable increase in transparency and

probity. You would be aware that even file notings

are made available to applicants. This has resulted

in objectivity and adherence to fair play and due

observance of procedures and provisions in the

laws and rules in handling Government business.

(c) A Performance Monitoring & Evaluation System has

been introduced to evaluate and monitor the

performance of the Ministries/ Departments. In

order to take a comprehensive view and to

measure the deliverables of these Ministries/

Departments, a system of framing Results,

Framework Documents (RFD) for each Ministry/

Department has been introduced. According to this

system, at the beginning of each financial year,

each department is required to prepare a RFD

consisting of the priorities of the Ministry,

President’s Address, announcements/ agenda as

spelt out by the Government from time to time. At

the end of the year, all Ministries/ Departments are

144required to review and prepare a report listing the

achievements against the agreed results in the

prescribed format. In Phase-I of this system, 59

Ministries/ Departments have been covered. This

year, we have added another three Ministries /

Departments and we propose also to prepare a

Results Framework Document for the Cabinet

Secretariat. You may be interested to know that

some State Governments have also come forward

to introduce Performance Monitoring & Evaluation

Systems in their States. Maharashtra and Punjab

have already held workshops for this purpose in

which our Secretary (performance Management),

Cabinet Secretariat, participated.

(d) In the matter of stability of tenure of officers and to

prevent arbitrary transfers, notifications have been

issued providing 2 years minimum tenure for all

the IAS cadre posts excluding the post of Chief

Secretary in respect of around 13 States which

have agreed with the proposal and a monitoring

system is being proposed to be devised to evaluate

this tenure rule in respect of these States. In

respect of the remaining States, the matter is

presently under active consideration of the

Government. However, since State Governments

145control administrations within their jurisdiction in a

federal polity, the Government of India can only

play an advisory role. We have been endeavouring

to persuade the States to ensure stability of tenure

for officers with mixed results. While in some

States there is positive forward movement, other

States have not been enthusiastic. Your

suggestions on how stability of tenure can be

ensured in a federal polity would be most welcome.

(e) Also, the officers at regular intervals are put under

mid-career training programmes that have been

designed to train the officers with a view to make

them adapt to new & evolving technologies and

changing work environment. The Mid Career

Training is being carried out in three phases at

regular intervals which has been designed to take

care of the present day requirements of the

Government. For this purpose, institutional tie ups

with reputed institutions such as IIMs, Duke

University, Syracuse University and Harvard

University have been made. Further, a system of

intensive review of the performance of the officers

at the time of promotion both at Senior Time Scale

and Above Senior Time Scale levels is being

146considered so that inefficient officers are removed

by premature retirement.

(f) To improve accountability and to improve the

standards of the civil service, Performance

Appraisal Reports (in place of ACRs) have been

introduced. This is based on the Surendranath

Committee's recommendations and the

assessment of officers is now being done on a

quantitative basis with numerical gradings being

introduced for each aspect of assessment.

However, the performance appraisal system thus

introduced requires urgent review, since the results

obtained are not satisfactory. In fact, there is a

tendency for reporting officers to grade their

subordinates uniformly at 10 out of 10. This will

make objective assessment for empanelment or

promotion in later years extremely difficult and a

situation will come in which merit will no longer be

recognized. I am, therefore, extremely keen to

make changes in this system as quickly as possible

and would welcome suggestions from my senior

colleagues like you.

(g) The 6th Central Pay Commission has recommended

introduction of performance linked incentives and

147this has been accepted by the Cabinet. We are

working out modalities for implementation of a

system which will recognize performance through

suitable incentives. Since we have introduced the

performance monitoring and evaluation system,

out intention is to link performance related

incentives with results achieved and measured.

Any suggestions from you in this regard would be

helpful.

(h) Empanelment system has also been revamped with

the introduction of an initial detailed assessment

by Experts Panel comprising retired Secretaries

which are taken into account during the

empanelment process. This has facilitated detailed

assessment of the performance of each officer and

the removal of bias or assessments that deviate

markedly from the norm for the officer over the

years.

(i) Further, reforms in the Civil Services Examinations

are also on the anvil to take care of the present

requirements of the administrative system. The

present mode of preliminary screening is being

replaced with an aptitude test in keeping with the

international standards.

148(j) To suggest measures in order to expedite the

process involved in disciplinary / vigilance

proceedings, a Committee has been constituted

under the chairmanship of Shri P.C. Hota. This is

based on the 2nd ARC’s suggestion to complete the

disciplinary action within a one year time frame.

Here again, I would be grateful for suggestions, if

any.

(k) To deal with complaints against Secretaries /

Additional Secretaries of the Government of India

and CMDs/ Executive Directors of CPSUs / Banks,

two separate Committees have been constituted

under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary and

Secretary (Coordination), Cabinet Secretariat

respectively. Similarly, a permanent Committee

has been set up, headed by retired Secretary, Smt.

Rathi Vinay Jha, to look into cases of reported

harassment of women employees by officers of the

level of Secretary / Additional Secretary.

(l) A proposal to introduce a new chapter in the

Prevention of Corruption Act providing for

attachment, confiscation and the forfeiture of

property of corrupt public servants is presently

under consideration.

149

(m) A Bill for providing protection to whistleblowers

known as ‘Public Interest Disclosure and Protection

of Informers) Bill’ is also presently under

examination.

3. I am obliged to you for having taken time out for writing

a detailed letter to me. I would benefit from further

practical suggestions from you, based on your long

experience in administration.

With regards,Yours sincerely,

Sd/- (K.M. CHANDRASEKHAR)

Sri T.S.R. Subramanian'Guru Kripa'74, Sector 15ANoida-201 301.

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150ANNEXURE P-8 (COLLY iii)

T.S.R. SubramanianEx-Cabinet Secretary “Guru Kripa”to the Government of India 74, Sector 15 A

Noida - 201 301Phone : 0120 - 4334070

E-mail: tsrsubramanian@gmail.com

August 25, 2010

Dear Shri Chandrasekhar,

I thank you for your d.o. NO.501/2/4/2009-CA.V dated

June 30, 2010 in response to my earlier letter raising certain

issues regarding Civil Service Reforms. I appreciate the

trouble you have taken to reply in some detail. Since I had

been traveling the past month or so, I could not respond to

you earlier.

Many important points have been made in your letter. I

also note the earnestness with which some new measures are

being introduced. I would like to make some further comment

for whatever these are worth.

You have referred to the Right to Information Act. Indeed

the first initiative in this regard had been taken by me. I had

asked Late H.D. Shourie in 1997 to Chair a committee on this

subject. Based on this, the first draft of the proposed Act was

approved by the Cabinet, and was in fact sent to Parliament.

Meanwhile the government fell, and it was much later that RTI

151became law. I thought I would mention this, since I have a

nostalgic association with the evolution of this major step. You

have rightly referred to the RTI, which if used well, has

significant potential to introduce transparency in the system.

I notice that the thrust of the proposed reforms

mentioned by you refer to initiating steps to improve

performance, better monitoring, specialization and the like.

These are quite important, and are significant aspects

endogenous to the Civil Services, so to speak. However, the

real problem preventing good quality implementation relates

to the politician-bureaucrat interface, and to the pressures

brought on the Civil Servant to “toe the line” or to ensure that

he gives only the advice that suits the political executive. This

is the essence of the problem, somewhat exogenous to the

bureaucracy, however having a larger bearing on their

performance, efficiency and impartiality. Bureaucrats are,

through various means, enticed or coerced to meet the

private needs of the politician. This malaise is even more

strongly prevalent in the States, than in the Centre; the field

officers being more vulnerable than the secretariat officials.

Unless this core issue is addressed by the proposed civil

services law / authority, I believe that any change would be

purely cosmetic, and would not contribute to stemming the

continuing steep decline in governance standards.

152You had indicated that a Civil Services Bill is under

examination, with a provision for a Central Civil Services

Authority. This is necessary. However, it is important that such

an Authority has to be established in each state, where the

need is much greater than at the Centre. Indeed the Authority

needs to have full control over all matters relating to

transfers, postings, inquiries and all service matters of officers

at all levels, except the senior most levels. Naturally the

secretaries and heads of departments would be selected by

the political authority. However, full cadre management below

these levels needs to be totally insulated from all political

influences. This has to be the objective, however impractical

this may appear at first sight. Besides, the Civil Services

Authority both at the Centre and the State should not include

in its membership any elected representative and should

consist of serving and retired officials of integrity. This is

essential to ensure that political intervention in day-to-day

matters and implementation issues are kept to a bare

minimum, if not totally eliminated.

It is also imperative to ensure a minimum tenure of

three years in field jobs, preferably also in the secretariat. The

problem is acute in the States. The Government of India will

have to ensure minimum tenure, not just in the Centre but

also more importantly, in the States. This requires political

will. Since the All India Service officers are recruited by the

153Government of India, and sent on permanent secondment to

the States, this is a lever that can be used, though carefully

and judiciously, to ensure that it does not backfire. This is a

key necessity, to loosen the day-to-day control presently

exercised by the politicians on the implementation decision-

making process of the field officials, without which

governance will not improve. Unless the Centre finds a viable

solution in this regard, much of the exercise will be only for

show, without substance. This recommendation is at least 50

years old, and has been repeated by every reforms

commission/ committee.

I regret if you feel that I have been slightly long in my

above comments. I am sure that with your vast experience,

you would be able to help initiate meaningful steps which will

improve standards of governance.

With best wishes,Yours sincerely,

Sd/-(T.S.R. Subramanian)

Shri K.M. Chandrasekhar,Cabinet Secretary,Cabinet Secretariat,Rashtrapati Bhawan,New Delhi -110 004.

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154ANNEXURE P-9(Colly i)

CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE SECRETARY (PERSONNEL)

T.S.R. Subramanian “Guru Kripa”74, Sector 15 ANoida - 201301Phone 0120-2512865

E-mail: tsrsubramanian@gmail.com

May 17, 2010Dear Sri Consul,

Over the past few years, I have been exchanging notes

on an informal basis with a fairly large number of former

colleagues who have retired from the Government at senior

levels, both in the Centre and in the States. During these

discussions, a common and recurring theme has been the

sharp and progressive deterioration which has taken place in

the quality of governance and public administration in India.

For those of us who joined service in the first three decades

after independence, this decline is tragic and precipitous,

pervasive across the spectrum in practically every sector and

too obvious to need repetition.

Significantly, Government has itself acknowledged at

various levels that weak governance and inadequacies in

implementation have resulted in poor service delivery,

uncoordinated and wasteful public expenditure, and lack of

transparency and accountability which has in turn reduced the

effectiveness of government policies and impinged adversely

155on growth and development. In his recent Budget speech, the

Finance Minister had highlighted the weaknesses in

government systems, structures and institutions at different

levels of governance and, in particular, the bottleneck of our

public delivery mechanisms as the one factor that can hold us

back in realizing our potential as a modern nation in the

coming years. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had

famously and publicly acknowledged that only 17 paise out of

every rupee spent on Governmental programmes actually

reached the common man. In its Report on Ethics in

Governance, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission

has stated that “governance is admittedly the weak link in our

quest for prosperity and equity ... Improved governance in the

form of non-expropriation, contract enforcement, and

decrease in bureaucratic delays and corruption can raise the

GDP growth rate significantly.”

Since the civil service is the principal instrument of

governance and implementation of various Government

policies and programmes, the weaknesses and shortcomings

in this regard can be traced back directly to failures of the civil

service, regardless of whatever proximate causes are

identified for under-performance in individual sectors. Any

attempt to improve administration must therefore necessarily

focus on the micro – issue of civil service reform, which in turn

affects all aspects of service delivery and implementation.

156Addressing this fundamental issue will directly and

significantly improve the quality of delivery and

implementation and thus the quality of governance in general.

Indeed, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has consistently

stressed the priority and importance which he attaches to

administrative reform almost from the day he took over.

The Department of Personnel plays the nodal role in

acting as the formulator of policy and the watch-dog of the

Government in ensuring that certain accepted standards and

norms are followed by all Ministries/Departments, in the

recruitment, regulation of service conditions,

posting/transfers, deputation of personnel and other related

issues. The DoPT is also the repository of the collective

wisdom and the institutional memory of the Government of

India in regard to civil service reform.

Over the years the Government of India, as well as the

State Governments, have set up a large number of

Committees and Commissions to study and make

recommendations on administrative and civil service reforms.

These reports have dealt with the structural improvement of

the administrative machine and more efficient methods of

personnel management, and contain many valuable

recommendations. Although many of these recommendations

have been broadly similar, they have not been accepted or

157implemented. While incremental reforms have no doubt been

made over the years, these relate largely to operational

matters like recruitment, training, acquisition of domain

knowledge, etc. Most of the core recommendations which

have been studied, discussed and commended for

implementation by successive Commissions and Committees

have not been acted upon in letter and spirit. These game -

changing recommendations would, if implemented, swiftly

and dramatically improve implementation and service delivery

and the quality of governance in general.

For example, practically all Commissions and

Committees dealing with administrative reform have stressed

the need for transfers at all levels to be handled in a non-

political, non-partisan, open and transparent manner. A

rational transfer policy should eliminate the 'transfer industry',

do away with politicized transfers, curb the overall incidence

of transfers, remove uncertainty and imbue officers with a

certain security of tenure in every post and should be seen as

being fair, objective and leading to career development.

Transfers should not be ordered as punishment; if an

employee is found remiss in his duties, he should be

proceeded against departmentally. The key element and

indeed, the only effective solution, is a guaranteed minimum

and fixed tenure for officers of the higher civil services.

158The Conference of Chief Ministers (1997) had observed

that frequent and arbitrary transfer of public servants affects

the ability of the system to deliver services effectively to the

people. It recommended the constitution of Civil Services

Boards in different States presided over by the respective

Chief Secretaries (on the pattern of the Establishment Board

of the Government of India presided over by the Cabinet

Secretary) to assist the political executive and streamline the

policy of transfers and promotions based on identifiable

criteria. Subsequently, some States have set up Civil Services

or Establishment Boards with the Chief Secretary as the

Chairman and other senior officials of the State as Members.

However, these Boards set up by executive order in different,

States have failed to inspire confidence as, more often than

not, they have merely formalized the wishes of their Chief

Ministers in matters of transfer of officials.

The P.C. Hota Committee on Civil Service Reform (2004)

had identified the absence of a fixed tenure of officials as one

of the most important reasons for tardy implementation of

government policies and programmes, lack of accountability,

waste of public money and large-scale corruption. It noted

that there was “overwhelming evidence” that officials were

transferred frequently at the whims and caprices of local

politicians and other vested interests, who successfully prevail

upon the Chief Minister / Minister to order such transfers.

159Often Chief Ministers have to oblige powerful factions in their

own party by transferring senior officers who may be honest,

sincere and steadfast in carrying out government’s

programmes but are otherwise inconvenient as they do not

oblige local politicians.

The Hota Committee was of the view that the Civil

Services Board / Establishment Board, both in the States and

at the Centre, should be made statutory in character by

enacting a Civil Services Act. In a State, the Civil Services

Board, chaired by the Chief Secretary and comprising senior

officers, should perform the functions relating to transfer,

empanelment, promotion, and deputation of officers

performed by the Establishment Board of Government of India

/ Special Committee of Secretaries of Government of India,

both of which are chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. While the

Chief Minister, as the highest political executive, will be the

final authority for transfer of all senior officers serving in the

State, he shall be guided by the recommendations of the

Board and will have to record his reasons in writing in case of

disagreement. No Minister in a State Government shall have

any powers of transfer, although he can move the Civil

Services Board in this regard stating cogent reasons. Postings

of all Group 'B' officers in a State must be done by the

concerned Head of the Department with the same tenure rule

being given statutory backing.

160When there is a move to prematurely transfer an officer,

the Civil Services Board shall advise the Chief Minister

regarding the justification for the transfer after holding a

summary administrative inquiry. Ordinarily the Chief Minister

is expected to agree with the recommendations of the Board

as transfer is a routine administrative matter. However, if he

does not do so, he shall be required to record his reasons in

writing. An officer who is prematurely transferred can agitate

the matter before an Ombudsman. An Annual Report on all

premature transfers shall be laid before the State Legislature.

Similarly, the Second ARC had recommended the

creation of a Central Civil Services Authority as a statutory

body under a Civil Services Act. The Authority shall be a five-

member body consisting of persons of eminence in public life

and professionals with acknowledged contributions to society

appointed by the President on the recommendation of a

Committee consisting of the Prime Minister and the Leader of

the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The Authority would, inter

alia, formulate norms and guidelines and recommend names

of officers for posting at ‘Senior Management Levels’ in the

Government. It would fix tenure for all civil service positions

and this should be binding on the Government. State

Governments should take steps to constitute State Civil

Services Authorities on the lines of the Central Civil Services

Authority.

161

Since the primary consideration should be to select the

most suitable person for the post that is on offer, all vacancies

arising at the level of Deputy Secretary/Director during a

financial year should be identified by the DoPT, which should

thereafter try to match the requirements of the various

positions with the competencies of the officers nominated by

the cadre controlling authorities and then seek approval for

the entire list from the Competent Authority.

Both the Hota Committee and the Second ARC had

recommended that a new civil service law should be enacted

incorporating a statement of values and a code of ethics for

civil servants with reference to political impartiality, ethical

standards and accountability for actions.

Much of the deterioration in the standards of probity and

accountability within the civil service can be traced to the

practice of issuing and acting on verbal instructions or oral

orders which are not recorded. It should be made incumbent

on every civil servant to formally record all such instructions /

orders / suggestions which he receives, not only from his

administrative superiors but also from political authorities,

legislators, commercial and business interests and other

persons / quarters having interest or wielding influence.

In 1997, the Conference of Chief Ministers of States,

convened by the Government of India to consider ways of

162improving performance and integrity of the public service, had

recommended that the existing rules and regulations should

be amended within six months to enable exemplary

prosecution and removal of corrupt officials and the weeding

out of staff of doubtful integrity and that at the same time, a

suitable mechanism should be worked out to reward

employees who do good work. Since then, the Central Fifth

Pay Commission (1997), the Geethakrishnan Commission on

Expenditure Reforms (2001), the Surinder Nath Committee on

Performance Evaluation (2003), the P.C. Hota Committee on

Civil Service Reform (2004) and the Second Administrative

Reforms Commission (2006-08) have all produced voluminous

Reports and recommendations on the subject. In particular,

the Hota Committee, dubbed as the ‘Committee of

Committees,’ had studied and distilled the recommendations

made by preceding Committees, making its Report a useful

anthology of suggested Civil Service reforms. However, the

general and overwhelming impression is that all these Reports

have been dealt with in a routine manner, with cursory Action

Taken Reports being prepared, filed and forgotten. The

prodigious research and intellectual efforts of these

Committees, not to mention the administrative and financial

resources expended on them, have been largely wasted.

My purpose in writing this rather long letter to you is

essentially to ascertain whether and what progress is being /

has been made in implementing some of these key reforms,

163which would undoubtedly help to boost the morale of the

higher Civil Services and arrest the decline in standards of

administration and governance which has so sadly become

the norm rather than the aberration today. It would be useful

to know whether some of the core recommendations made by

successive Commissions and Committees set up by the

Government, as listed above, are among those which the

Government has taken up for implementation.

Yours sincerely,Sd/-

(T.S.R. Subramanian)Shri Shantanu Consul,Secretary (Personnel),Department of Personnel and Training,Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions,North Block, New Delhi.Tel: 2309-4848/2309-2056

TRUE COPYANNEXURE P-9(Colly ii)

D.O. No. 14062/13/2010-AIS-III

SHANTANU CONSULSecretary GOVERNMENT OF INDIATele : 23094848 DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL & TRAINING : 23093056 MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC Fax : 23094500 GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS

NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI-110001Website : http/www.persmin.nic.in

9th July, 2010

Dear Sri Subramanian,

164I am sorry I have taken this unduly long time in replying

to your letter. I notice that the Cabinet Secretary has already

addressed a detailed letter to you in which almost all the

issues raised by you have been dealt with. I am, therefore,

commenting on only a few issues in a note which is enclosed.

2. It was very thoughtful of you to have taken time to

address this letter to me and the other officers. I look forward

to receiving your advice and guidance in future also.

With ward regards.Yours sincerely,

Sd/-(Shantanu Consul)

Shri T.S.R. SubramanianFormer Cabinet Secretary“Guru Kripa”74, Sector 15ANoida - 201301

COMMENTS ON THE OBSERVATIONS CONTAINED IN THE LETTER OF SHRI T.S.R. SUBRAMANIAN

1. Formal recording of oral instructions from higher

authorities Rule 3 (3) (ii) and (iii) of the All India Services

(Conduct) Rules, 1968 envisage that:

(ii) The direction of the official superior shall ordinarily be in

writing. Where the issue of oral direction becomes

unavoidable, the official superior shall confirm it in

writing immediately thereafter

165

(iii) A member of the Service who has received oral direction

from his official superior shall seek confirmation of the

same in writing, as early as possible and in such case, it

shall be the duty of the official superior to confirm the

direction in writing.

The rule is amply clear. Strict implementation is

required.

2. Weeding out of officers of doubtful integrity

As regards the issue of weeding out inefficient officers in

the All India Services, the matter of amending rule 16 (3) of

AIS (OCRB) Rules, 1958 and revision of the general policy

guidelines regarding premature retirement proposals /

provisions taking into account the Supreme Court Judgment

in 2001 in the case of State of Gujarat Vs. Umedbhai M. Patel

has been under consideration. Rule 16(3) is currently being

re-examined in order to make it more stringent by introducing

a system of intensive review at the time of promotion both at

the Super-time and Above Super-time level.

3. Action taken on the recommendation of the

Surinderanath Committee report A Group was constituted in

December 2002, under the Chairmanship of Lt. Gen.(Retd)

166Surinder Nath, former Chairman of UPSC, to review the

present system of performance appraisal, promotions and

lateral movement in respect of the All India Services and other

Group A services and to make recommendations for

improvement.

The recommendations were examined by the

Government. With a view to improving the assessment of an

officer's performance and capabilities and to determine

capacity building needs and suitability for particular areas of

responsibility / assignments, the old system of writing of

Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) has been replaced with

the system of Performance Appraisal Report (PAR) for officers

belonging to All India Services. Accordingly, the Government

has notified the All India Service (Performance Appraisal

Report) Rules, 2007 on 14th March, 2007. The new system

prescribes an interactive method of evaluation in which the

officers being appraised and the Officer appraising, both are

involved. The broad. contours of the system include use of the

performance appraisal for career planning and training,

preparation of a work-plan, health check up, introduction of

numerical gradings, disclosure of the report, etc.

4. Action Taken on Recommendation of the Hota

Committee

167(i) Officers must have Annual Performance Plan

The revised All India Services (Performance Appraisal

Report) Rules, 2007 provide that the exercise of preparation

of a work plan is to be carried out at the beginning of the year

and finalized by 30th April, positively. The work plan is to be

reviewed during the month of September/October as a mid-

year exercise and finalized by 31st October every year. With

the introduction of Results Framework Documents for the

Department there will be greater integration of the

organisational goals with that of the individual performance.

(ii) Annual Property Returns of all public servants be put on

the website.

A proposal to place the Annual Property Returns of all the

members of the All India Services on the website is under

active consideration of this Department.

(iii) Suspension from service of All India Service officers by

the State Government will be invalid if not confirmed by the

Government of India within a period of 60 days.

Rule 3 of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules,

1969 has been amended in September, 2009 making a

provision that suspension of a member of the AIS shall not be

168valid if not confirmed by the Government of India within a

period of 45 days.

5. Action Taken on Recommendation of the 2nd

Administrative Reforms Commission

(i) Code of ethics and conflict of interest

Based on the recommendation of the 2nd Administrative

Reforms Commission in its 3rd Report on Ethics in Governance,

a set of guiding principles for the Civil Service Code of Ethics

and Conduct for civil servants and civil services in the

Government has been included in the proposed Civil Services

Standards, Performance and Accountability Bill, 2010. The

details in this regard are at Annexure-I.

(ii) Revamping the performance appraisal system

Based on the recommendation of the 2nd Administrative

Reforms Commission in its 10th Report, the performance

appraisal system for the members of the All India Services has

already been modified in 2007. The details in this regard are

at Annexure-II.

(iii) Enactment of a Civil Services Law

169The proposed Civil Services Standards, Performance and

Accountability Bill, 2010, incorporating the recommendation

of the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission is in an

advanced stage of finalisation.

170Annexure-I

Civil Service Values, Civil Services Code of Ethics and Conduct,

and Civil Services Management Code

3. Values of Civil Services; (1) The civil services and civil

servants shall be guided by the following values in the

discharge of their functions:,

(a) High ethical standards.

(b) Absolute integrity.

(c) Political neutrality.

(d) Promoting of the principles of merit, fairness and

impartiality without regard to caste, community, religion,

gender or class in the discharge of duties.

(e) Accountability and transparency.

(f) Responsiveness to the public, particularly to the weaker

section.

(g) Courtesy and good behaviour with the public.

(2) The Heads of Department or public authority shall be

responsible for promoting these values in their

organisations.

(3) The Central Civil Services Authority may from time to

time review the adoption, adherence to and

implementation of the values of Civil Services, in the

departments or public authority under the Central

171Government and send reports to the appropriate

Department of the Central Government.

4. Civil Services Code of Ethics and Conduct: (1) The

following shall be the guiding principles for the Civil

Service Code of Ethics and Conduct for civil servants and

civil services in the Government:

(i) Civil servants shall commit themselves to and uphold

democratic values and the supremacy of the

Constitution.

(ii) Civil servants shall, at all times, defend and uphold the

sovereignty, integrity, security and fair name of the

country.

(iii) Civil servants shall take decisions solely in terms of

public interest and use public resources efficiently,

effectively and economically.

(iv) Civil servants shall declare any private interests relating

to their public duties and take steps to resolve any

conflicts in a way that protects the public interest.

(v) Civil servants shall not place themselves under any

financial or other obligations to outside individuals or

172organizations that might influence them in the

performance of their official duties.

(vi) Civil servants shall not misuse their public positions to

take decisions in order to derive financial or material

benefits for themselves, their family or their friends.

(vii) Civil servants shall make choices, decisions and

recommendations on merit.

(viii) Civil servants shall act with fairness and impartiality and

shall not discriminate against anyone, particularly the

poor and the under-privileged.

(ix) Civil servants shall refrain from doing acts that are

contrary to extant laws, rules, regulations and

established practices.

(x) Civil servants shall be accountable for their decisions

and action in the discharge of public affairs to the

legitimate Government of the day, and through the

Government, to the public.

(xi) Civil servants shall maintain discipline in the discharge

of their duties and shall be liable to implement the

legitimate orders duly communicated to them.

173

(xii) Civil servants shall be liable to maintain confidentiality in

the performance of their official duties as required by

the extant laws in force, particularly with regard to

information, disclosure of which prejudicially affect the

sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic,

scientific or economic interests of the State, relation

with foreign countries or lead to incitement of an offence

or illegal or illegitimate gains to any person.

(xiii) Civil servants shall perform and discharge their duties

with the highest degree of professionalism and

dedication to the best of their abilities.

5. Breach of Civil Services Code of Ethics and Conduct :- (1)

The controlling authority or the disciplinary authority, as

the case may be, may, subject to the provisions of the

Act, impose any of the following sanctions on a civil

servant for breaching the civil services code of ethics

and conduct :-

I. Censure

II. Withholding of promotions

III. Recovery of pay of the whole or part of pecuniary

loss caused to the Govt

IV. Withholding of increment

174V. Reduction to a lower stage in the Pay Band

VI. Reduction to a lower Pay Band, Grade Payor Post

VII. Compulsory retirement

VIII. Removal from service

IX. Dismissal from service

(3) The general principles for initiating action for breach of

the Civil Services Code of Ethics and Conduct shall be

that –

(a) these must comply with basic procedural

requirements set out in the Constitution, and this

Act;

(b) these must have due regard to procedural fairness;

and

(c) civil servants in the Department or public authority,

shall have ready access to the documents

necessary during such action.

6. Civil Services Management Code: (1) There shall be a

Civil Service Management Code for the civil services.

(2) The following shall be the guiding principles for the Civil

Services Management Code for the civil services:

175(a) civil service is established as a highly professional,

merit based institution for promoting government

policies and good governance.

(b) Mechanisms and incentives will be put in place for

civil service to achieve and maintain high levels of

productivity, efficiency and excellence.

(c) Policies and structures Will be put in place which

will promote the viability and sustainability of civil

service keeping in view the finances of the

Government, and

(d) The interface between the political executive and

the civil service shall be clearly established based

on principles of political neutrality, professional

excellence and integrity.

176Annexure-II

The salient features of the performance appraisal system

under the All India Services (Performance Appraisal Report)

Rules, 2007

Only one reporting, reviewing and accepting authority -

Only one reporting, reviewing and accepting authority

for a given period of time. If more than one person

supervises the performance of the member of Service,

the Government to identify the person to report or

review well in advance of the relevant assessment year.

Disclosure of the full performance appraisal report.-

Disclosure of the full performance appraisal report,

including the overall grade and assessment of integrity

to the officer reported upon after finalisation by the

accepting authority. The officer reported upon has the

option to give his comments on the assessment in terms

of attributes, work output and competency. If the

comments are accepted, performance appraisal report

to be modified and the decision and final grading to be

communicated to the officer. The officer reported upon

may represent his case to the Referral Board, which shall

be confined to errors of facts. The decision of the

Referral Board shall be final.

177 Memorial.-The officer reported upon can prefer a

memorial to the President on the Performance Appraisal

Report.

Annual medical health check-up,- Regular annual

medical examination mandatory for all officers above

the age of 40. This may be totally dispensed with officers

below the age of 40, except in case of medical incident.

A copy of Part C of the health check up report is to be

attached to the PAR.

Work Plan.-The exercise of preparation of a work plan is

to be carried out at the beginning of the year and

finalized by 30th April, positively. The work plan to be

reviewed during the month of September/October as a

mid-year exercise and finalized by 31st October.

Training requirement.-The officer reported upon to

indicate specific areas in which he/she feels the need to

upgrade skills and attend training programs.

Numerical grading - Numerical grade in respect of work

output, personal attributes and functional competencies.

Integrity - Integrity is to be recorded not only in relation

to matters relating to financial integrity but the moral

and intellectual integrity of the officer is also to be

reported upon.

Pen picture - Pen picture on the overall qualities of the

officer including areas of strengths and lesser strengths,

performance, attitude towards weaker sections and

178recommendations relating to domain assignment and an

overall grade in the scale of 1-10 to be recorded by the

reporting and reviewing authority. The overall grade will

be based on the addition of the mean value of each

group of indicators in proportion to weightage assigned.

Domain assignment.- Recommendations relating to

domain assignment to be given by the Reporting

authority.

Schedule for completion of PARs - Schedule for

completion of PARs to be strictly followed and completed

PAR should reach the Cadre Controlling Authorities by

31st March of the following year. If PAR is not recorded by

31st of December of the year in which the financial year

ended the officer is to be assessed on the basis of the

overall record and self-assessment for the year. Cadre

Controlling Authority to prepare a list of PARs not

received and follow up with the Secretaries of the

concerned Ministries and Chief Secretaries of the

respective States. Secretary (Personnel) in the State and

the Establishment Officer in the Centre shall be the

Nodal officers to ensure that the PARs of the members of

Service.

Maintenance of personal dossier (CV)

179i. A CV to be updated annually on the basis of the

PAR / 5-yearly CV update submitted by the

appraisee

ii. PARs earned throughout the career

iii. Reports of medical check-up

iv. Certificates of training/academic courses/study

leave

v. Details of books / articles / publications

vi. Appreciation letters from Government / Secretary /

HOD / Special bodies / Commissions

vii. Copy of order of penalty and final result of inquiry

viii. Warnings/displeasure/reprimands of Government

Disclosure of PAR: - Annual PAR, including the overall

grade and assessment of integrity shall be disclosed

after finalisation by accepting authority. Appraisee may

give comments to the Accepting Authority within 15

days and the comments shall be restricted to specific

factual observations. Reporting/Reviewing Authority may

accept I modify the PAR after consideration of the

representation and the decision and final grading shall

be communicated with reasons for non-acceptance of

180the views of the Reporting/Reviewing authority. The

Appraisee may represent his case through Accepting

Authority the Referral Board within 1 month. The

Referral Board would consider the representation and

the decision of the Referral Board final. The Board may

“confirm or modify the performance appraisal report,

including the overall grade” with reasons are to be

recorded in case of upgradation or downgradation.

Thereafter, The PAR process would complete. Further

relief to the Appraisee is to submit a Memorial to the

President as provided under Rule 25 of the AIS

(Discipline and Appeal ) Rules, 1969

181ANNEXURE P-9(Colly iii)

T.S.R. SubramanianEx-Cabinet Secretary “Guru Kripa”to the Government of India 74, Sector 15 A

Noida - 201 301Phone : 0120 - 4334070

E-mail: tsrsubramanian@gmail.com

August 25, 2010

Dear Sri Consul

I thank you for your d.o. letter No. 14062/13/201O-AIS-III

dated 9th July 2010, in response to my earlier letter to you

raising certain issues relating to administrative reforms.

Indeed I thank you for the trouble you have taken in compiling

the reply. Since I have been traveling for the past month or

so, there has been a delay in responding to you.

I had also sent a similar letter in May 2010 to the

Cabinet Secretary, to which he had been kind enough to

respond in June 2010. I have replied to him today, and am

enclosing a copy of my reply, which covers many of the points

I wished to mention to you.

I also note that you now propose to bring the Annual

Property returns of all AIS officers on to a website. This is a

useful move. You may also consider including the property

returns of all relatives (as defined say for the Directors in

companies); and may also include moveable and immoveable

property returns.

182There is one other point on which I wish to comment.

You had referred to rule 3/3 (ii & iii) of AIS rules 1968 relating

to the directions being given by a superior to be in writing.

However, the reality is that instructions are conveyed to field

officials as also to secretariat officials on the phone or in a

conversation by the private secretary or a person close to the

minister; in the field the directions are given by local

politicians or businessmen close to the Chief Minister or an

important political functionary. This malaise is much on the

increase, and is playing havoc with the quality of governance.

Any official who does not take heed to such advice could get

transferred, or fall foul of the regime. This is a harsh reality we

all are aware of. Accordingly it will be necessary to amend the

rule to make it mandatory on the civil servant to bring any

advice, comment, direction, suggestion or prompting by any

official or non-official, through telephone or personal

conversation, relating to the discharge of his duties on record

in writing. While this may not totally eliminate the

malpractice, this could certainly help improve the present

dismal situation. You may like to look into this -I make the

suggestion for whatever it is worth.

I note that you are anxious to improve the quality of

governance. I wish you all luck in this regard.

Yours sincerely,Sd/-

(T.S.R. Subramanian)Shri Shantanu Consul,SecretaryMinistry of Personnel,

183Public Grievances and Pensions,North Block, New Delhi-110001.

TRUE COPY

184ANNEXURE P-10(COLLY i)

CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CHIEF VIGILANCE COMMISSIONER

T.S.R. Subramanian “Guru Kripa”74, Sector 15 ANoida - 201301Phone 0120-2512865

E-mail: tsrsubramanian@gmail.com

May 17, 2010

Dear Sri Sinha,

As a civil servant, I was privileged to have occupied

senior positions in the Government, both at the Centre and in

the State of my allotment. Informal discussions with a fairly

large number of former colleagues who retired at senior levels

have brought out the common and deeply regretted concerns

at the sharp and progressive deterioration in the quality of

governance and public administration in India. For those of us

who joined service in the first three decades after

independence, this decline is tragic and precipitous, pervasive

across the spectrum in practically every sector and too

obvious to need repetition.

The frequency and size of frauds which are being

reported in the press have grown exponentially and severely

dented the developmental process. The failure to effectively

curb corruption and the growth of the black economy are

manifestations of pervasive policy failure and poor

185governance which have in turn resulted in avoidable poverty

and unemployment, lower levels of human development,

more skewed distribution of income, poorer quality of

infrastructure, subversion of the political system, weakening

of the institutions of democracy, and increasing problems of

law and order.

Whereas in earlier years it was only the odd official who

was financially corrupt, today financial probity seems to be at

a premium in the civil services. Information obtained through

the Right to Information Act shows that scores of officers from

the IAS, IPS and other key services continue to get promoted,

posted to sensitive positions and enjoy the benefits of power

despite being charge-sheeted by several anti-corruption

agencies, in complete contravention of the service rules

framed by the Ministry of Personnel and the Union Home

Ministry.

In 1985, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had startled

the nation with his statement that only 17 paise out of every

rupee spent on Governmental programmes actually reached

the common man. There has been a marginal improvement in

the last quarter century; a recent study of the Public

Distribution System found that 16 paisa out of every rupee

was reaching the targeted sections. These sobering statistics

186point to the urgent need for reforming public administration

and delivery systems.

In this context, the establishment of the Central

Vigilance Commission as a statutory body had brought hope

that the Government’s stated policy of zero tolerance for

corruption would henceforth be overseen and implemented by

an independent body. The CVC was set up as the premier

statutory body for investigating any transaction in which a

public servant may have acted improperly or in a corrupt

manner, tender independent and impartial advice and

recommend appropriate action in disciplinary cases and for

exercising superintendence and check over vigilance and anti-

corruption work in the Government of India.

Some of the Commission’s early initiatives, like

the creation of a website and recommending the use of

Information Technology by banks and other public

institutions to bring in transparency, as well as the

decision to display the names of senior officers who

were charged with violating conduct rules on the CVC

website were widely welcomed. It has been recently

reported that, in March 2010, the CVC disposed of 864

cases referred to it for advice, advising the imposition

of major penalty against 132 officers and that, on the

Commission’s recommendations, the competent

187authorities issued sanctions for prosecution against 42

officers.

While these are positive indications, the general

impressions is that the CVC’s recommendations are

largely being ignored by Ministries, Departments and

even by PSUs. For example, the Minister of State for

Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Shri

Prithviraj Chavan, had recently informed Parliament

that the Government had ‘deviated’ from the CVC’s

advice in 38 cases. Of 27 cases in which the CVC had

recommended “major penalty” for errant officers, nine

ended in exoneration, six in “closure,” two in

“warning”, two in “censure”, seven in “minor penalty”,

while in one case, penalty was “not applicable.”

Similarly, some officials whose names have

appeared on the CVC website continue to occupy

sensitive positions in Government, although it is a first

principle of administration that if a person is facing a

vigilance inquiry, he should not be placed in a sensitive

post. Again, although the CVC aims to have all

departmental inquiries completed within six months,

lengthy delays are the norm in the conduct of

departmental inquiries, providing a cover of

respectability for the guilty and helping corruption to

188flourish. Despite being declared null and void by the

Supreme Court in the Havala Case, the Single Directive

continues to be in force, debarring investigations into

any offence alleged to have been committed under the

Prevention of Corruption Act by officers of the level of

joint secretary and above without the prior approval of

the Government. Indeed, in his dissenting note on the

Joint Parliamentary Committee’s Report on the CVC bill,

Shri Kuldip Nayar, Raja Sabha MP, had pointed out that

providing this type of immunity would mean that pliable

public servants “who carry out the errands of the

political masters will go Scot free” and “corrupt officers

will rule the roost due to their proximity to the seats of

power.” This has indeed come to pass.

It is unfortunate that, in Transparency International’s

Corruption Perception Index for 180 countries, India's ranking

has slipped from 73 in 1999 to 85 in 2008 and, after the CVC

had contested the ranking, to 84 in 2009. This is certainly not

evidence of zero tolerance for corruption, which continues to

flourish in India because it is perceived to be a low risk, high

profit business. Opaque and archaic rules and procedures,

significant delays in service delivery and lack of accountability

all provide opportunities for corruption, leading to a situation

where the size of the parallel economy is estimated at well

over 40% of the GDP. Moreover, far too little has been done to

189deter corruption. Senior civil· servants have rarely been

investigated or punished and agencies such as the CBI or the

Income Tax Department, on which the CVC relies for

conducting investigations, have little credibility in the eyes of

the public. It is clear that public administration is hamstrung

by corruption at various levels and indeed, as documented by

the N.N. Vohra Committee Report, by collusion between some

members of the civil service, the political establishment and

criminal elements. In short, the guardians of the system have

themselves sought to systematically subvert it to their private

advantage and the system has had no defence against such

subversion.

Over the years, the Government of India have set up a

large number of Commissions and Committees to study and

make recommendations on administrative and civil service

reform. Many of these Commissions and Committees have

dealt at length and in detail with the issue of corruption in

public life. For example, the Santhanam Committee on

Prevention of Corruption (1962), the First Administrative

Reforms Commission (1966-70), the L.K. Jha Economic

Administration Reforms Commission (1983), the Conference of

Chief Ministers of States (1997), the Central Fifth Pay

Commission (1997), the Geethakrishnan Commission on

Expenditure Reforms (2001), the Surinder Nath Committee on

Performance Evaluation (2003), the P.C. Hota Committee on

190Civil Service Reform (2004) and the Second Administrative

Reforms Commission (2006-08) have all made

recommendations on the subject.

Based on these reports, it should be possible to put in

place a comprehensive and tough anti-corruption strategy,

including the following elements:

i. Immediate compulsory retirement of officials

whose record and reputation is tainted and

prosecution of those against whom there is

evidence of corruption;

ii. Strengthening of powers of the state Vigilance

Departments, Lok Ayukta and the Anti-Corruption

branch of the State police enabling them to

effectively initiate and pursue investigations

independently of government direction;

iii. Guaranteed protection of civil servants who expose

corrupt practices;

iv. Annual awards for whistle-blowers in recognition of

the contribution made by such persons in exposing

wrong-doings in the government;

v. In particular, property and tax returns of all senior

officers should be available for scrutiny by the

public. These could be put on a ‘home page’ of the

government on the Internet, so that anyone having

191access to Internet could access such information

and get in touch with government if the stated

facts are contrary to his knowledge;

vi. Each State should be asked to pass the Corrupt

Public Servants (Forfeiture of Property) Act, already

drafted by the Law Commission. This will ensure

that the illegal wealth of the corrupt is confiscated

and is not enjoyed by them. Under the Benami

Transaction Prohibition Act of 1988, benami

properties (bought in some one else's name to

avoid declaring the source income) can be

confiscated. The states should be asked to frame

rules and procedure for this law and the number of

cases prosecuted under this law should be

monitored;

vii. Action against corrupt officers cannot be initiated

in many states as the power to sanction

prosecution is vested in state governments. This

should be declared a semi-judicial process, and the

powers to sanction prosecution should be vested

with a designated authority, which should pass a

time - bound speaking order on receipt of

complaint from CBI or other agencies.

viii. Since much of the deterioration in the standards of

probity and accountability within the civil service

192can be traced to the practice of issuing and acting

on verbal instructions or oral orders which are not

recorded, it should be made incumbent on every

civil servant to formally record all such instructions

I orders I suggestions which he receives, not only

from his administrative superiors but also from

political authorities, legislators, commercial and

business interests and other persons / quarters

having interest or wielding influence.

The implementation of these steps will go a long way in

creating confidence in the public mind that the government

means business and is serious about eradicating corruption.

My purpose in writing this rather long letter to you is to

ascertain how the CVC, as the premier anti - corruption body

in the country, plans to deal with the systemic and long-term

deficiencies which have led to the present situation,

characterized by disturbing trends in regard to corruption and

falling standards of probity and integrity in the civil services.

Beyond the day-to-day disposal of pending cases, does the

CVC have a long term plan to cleanse the system and improve

standards of governance to an acceptable level? Has the CVC

advised the Government to implement specific anticorruption

measures which have been recommended by successive

Commissions and Committees set up by the Government of

India? (2006-08) ? Has the CVC put its weight behind a long-

193term strategy to combat corruption in public life? If so, can

this be put on the website or otherwise shared with the

public? If not, why not?

These are no doubt hard questions, but they are integral

to the efficacy of the CVC and its ability to discharge its

statutory responsibilities and indeed to the future growth and

development prospects of India as a whole. I would be grateful

for a reply.

Yours sincerely,Sd/-

(T.S.R. Subramanian)Shri Pratyush Sinha,Chief Vigilance Commissioner,Central Vigilance Commission,Satarkta Bhawan,GPO Complex,Block-A, INA,New Delhi - 110 023.Tel: 2465-1020

TRUE COPY

194ANNEXURE P-10(COLLY ii)

D.O. No. CVC/2010/96433

GOVERNMENT OF INDIACENTRAL VIGILANCE COMMISSIONER

Pratyush Sinha Satarkta BhawanG.P.O. Complex, Block A, INANew Delhi 110023.

August 2, 2010

Dear Shri Subramanian,

Many thanks for your letter dated 17th May, 2010 and

your views regarding the state of corruption in India. There

has been some delay in replying to your letter because I was

waiting for the two vacancies of the Vigilance Commissioner

to be filled so that we could discuss your suggestions in the

Commission meeting. That now may have to wait for some

more time. In the meanwhile, I am enclosing a short note on

the new initiatives taken by the Commission. You are aware

that the CVC’s jurisdiction stops with the Government of

India organizations and agencies. We are also finalizing a draft

National Anti-corruption Strategy which will then be discussed

with all the stake holders before it is sent to the Government

for its adoption.

With regards.Yours Sincerely

Sd/-(Pratyush Sinha)

Shri T.S.R. Subramanian“Guru Kripa”

19574, Sector-15ANOIDA-201 301

196

New initiatives taken by the Commission

1. An important requirement for promoting integrity is to

have an effective and coordinated anti-corruption policy.

What exist presently are various circulars, guidelines or

instructions issued by various agencies including the

CVC from time to time. The Prime Minister Office has

also issued instructions on Zero Tolerance to corruption

which serves as a guiding document. Besides, anti-

corruption measures are pursued' by various Ministries

as an internal part of schemes run by them. A need was

therefore felt to have a National Anti-Corruption Strategy

(NACS)as an overarching policy document to be adopted

by the government, as is the practice in most of the

countries. The independent Anti-Corruption Commissions

of these countries have played a leading role in helping

the government formulate such a strategy. The CVC has

therefore undertaken the task of helping the

Government by formulating a' draft National Anti-

Corruption Strategy.

2. Commission has been placing greater emphasis on

prevention which is a more efficient and effective means

of checking corruption. A preventive vigilance framework

is being prepared by SCOPE which aims at aligning the

197vigilance work with the modern day approach of risk

management and corporate governance.

3. One of the Commission’s strategy has been to create

awareness and educate the public on anti-corruption.

The aim is to reduce people’s tolerance for corruption

and reduce its social acceptability. The Commission has

initiated a project for generation of awareness among

the people. It is proposed to engage media agencies to

create campaign in the electronic and print media

besides posters and leaflets.

4. Leveraging of technology to prevent corruption has been

an important initiative of the Commission since 2004.

This was implemented as a two-phased programme of

persuading the organisations to computerise the

activities vulnerable to corruption. This has been

successful to a large extent and the efforts of the

Commission have been quoted as a best practice by the

OECD. The Commission is now reviewing this

programme so as to implement the next stage with a

renewed focus.

5. The Commission has been promoting, the concept of

Integrity Pact developed by Transparency International

since Nov. 2007. More than 50 organisations including

198the ministries conducting major procurements have

adopted" the Integrity Pact so far and the experience

has been satisfactory. The CVC nominates the IEMs who

monitor the Integrity Pact.

6. The provision for whistle blowers and their protection is

already in place since 2004 under the Public Interest'

Disclosure & Protection of Informers’ Resolution

(PIDPIR)wherein CVC is the authority to handle the

“whistle blower complaints” and provide protection to

the “whistle blowers”. CVC has been paying especial

attention to complaints received under this Resolution to

investigate them in a time bound manner with due

protection to the complainants.

7. Workflow automation and IT enabling of the functioning

of the Commission is under implementation wherein

about 30% progress has been made. The project is

targeted to be completed by 1st August, 2010. This

would enhance the efficiency of the Commission’s work

besides enhancing data management.

8. The important developments pertaining to International

Cooperation in Anti Corruption is listed below:

199a) India had signed the United Nations Convention against

Corruption in 2005. The CVC had given its comments on

the matter and the government is in the final stages of

ratifying the convention.

b) The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and

Development (OECD), Anti-Bribery Convention aims at

tackling corruption in international business

transactions. India has been granted the ‘Observer’

status in the Anti-Bribery Working Group of OECD. The

Commission is in the process of studying the

implications of the Convention for India.

c) The Central Vigilance Commissioner of India has been a

member of the Executive Board of International

Association of Anti Corruption Agencies (IMCA) since

2007.

d) The Parliamentary Committee of Indonesia (consisting of

8 MPs) which deals with anti corruption had visited the

CVC during March, 2010. The Indonesian Commission

wants to engage with the CVC for further cooperation in

the field of anti corruption.

e) The Anti Corruption Commission of Sri Lanka (CIABOC)

had requested the CVC for organising training in

200investigation for its officers. Training has been organized

in the CBI Academy.

201

ANNEXURE P -11 (COLLY i)T.S.R. SubramanianEx-Cabinet Secretary “Guru Kripa”to the Government of India 74, Sector 15 A

Noida - 201 301Phone : 0120 - 4334070

E-mail: tsrsubramanian@gmail.com

May 17, 2010Dear Dr. Veerappa Moily,

As a civil servant, I was privileged to have occupied

senior positions in the Government, both at the Centre and in

the State of my allotment. Over the past few years, I have

been exchanging notes on an informal basis with a fairly large

number of former colleagues who have similarly retired from

the Government at senior levels. These discussions have

highlighted the common and deeply felt concerns at the sharp

and progressive deterioration in the quality of governance and

public administration in India. For those of us who joined

service in the first three decades after independence, this

decline seems tragic and precipitous, pervasive across the

spectrum in practically every sector and too obvious to need

repetition.

Sir, as Chairman of the Second Administrative Reforms

Commission, you have expertise and in-depth knowledge of

these issues; and as the Law Minister you are in a unique

position to take steps to implement the much needed and

long-overdue reform of public administration. The fifteen

202Reports of the Commission, and in particular. The path-

breaking Reports on the Right to Information, Ethics in

Governance and Citizen-Centric Administration, contain a

large number of specific recommendations which, if

implemented in letter and spirit, will dramatically improve the

substance of governance, delivery of public services and

efficacy of government policies and programmes. In this

context, it was heartening to hear the Finance Minister say, in

his recent Budget Speech in Parliament, that out of the 800

recommendations of the Second ARC which have been

identified for implementation, 350 have been implemented so

far and a further 450 are under implementation.

Over the years the Government of India, as. well as the

State Governments, have set up a large number of

Committees and Commissions to study and make

recommendations on administrative and civil service reforms.

Apart from recommendations dealing with the structural

improvement of the administrative machine and more

efficient methods of personnel management, these Reports

have uniformly stressed the need to preserve the integrity

and independence of the Civil Services and to insulate them

from undue interference from the political establishment.

While incremental reforms have no doubt been made on the

basis of these Reports, largely in relation to operational

matters like recruitment, training, acquisition of domain

203knowledge, etc., the general and overwhelming impression is

that many of the core recommendations contained in all these

Reports have been dealt with in a routine manner, with

cursory Action Taken Reports being prepared, filed and

forgotten. These game - changing recommendations would

help to address the pressing issues of probity, integrity and

accountability of the Civil Service, as well as the preservation

of its core values and independence and enable it to play its

appointed role of impartial adviser and faithful implementer of

policies arrived at in a transparent and rational manner, after

due consideration of the pros and cons and keeping in view

the paramountcy of the public interest.

I take the liberty of listing some of these

recommendations:

a) The Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption

(1962) had recommended that the annual immovable

property statements, which have been found to serve no

useful purpose, should be replaced by a periodic

complete statement of the assets and liabilities of each

Government servant. The Hota Committee had

recommended that the Annual Property Return of all

public servants should be put on the website. Indeed,

there is no reason why the assets of all public servants

204(civil and political) should not be made public each year

and allowed to be freely accessed under the RTI Act.

b) Government should be empowered to confiscate the

property of public servants who have unaccounted

wealth by enacting the Corrupt Public Servants

(Forfeiture of Property) Bill as suggested by the Law

Commission (Second ARC). This will be fully in keeping

with the observations of the Supreme Court in a number

of cases. To this end, Rules should be framed under the

Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, for

attachment/forfeiture of benami / ill-gotten property of

corrupt public servants. (Hota Committee, Second ARC).

c) The Santhanam and Hota Committees had both opined

that Article 311 of the Constitution unjustifiably protracts

disciplinary proceedings against civil servants by

mandating a series of government approvals which lead

to frustrating delays. Disciplinary proceedings involving

charges of bribery, corruption and lack of integrity

should be treated as a separate category under a

simplified procedure (Santhanam). Prior sanction should

not be necessary for prosecuting a public servant who

has been trapped red-handed or in cases of possessing

assets disproportionate to the known sources of income

(Second ARC). Article 311 of the Constitution should be

205amended to enable the President / Governor to dismiss /

remove public servants summarily in case of corrupt

practice / having assets disproportionate to known

source of income. The officer concerned may be given a

post-decisional hearing to prove his innocence (Hota);

the Supreme Court has affirmed the Constitutional

validity of this procedure.

d) Politicians should be treated as public servants, subject

to judicial checks and administrative and financial

disciplines similar to those applicable to bureaucrats.

The Santhanam Committee had recommended this way

back in 1962 and the Second ARC has recently

suggested that suitable amendments be effected to the

Constitution to provide that the immunity enjoyed by

MPs and MLAs does not cover corrupt acts committed by

them in connection with their duties in the House or

otherwise. While the Supreme Court has also upheld this

view, in practice there has been very little accountability

of the political class in terms of the laws of the land.

e) Much of the deterioration in the standards of probity and

accountability within the civil service can be traced to

the practice of issuing and acting on verbal instructions

or oral orders which are not recorded. It should be made

incumbent on every civil servant to formally record all

206such instructions / orders / suggestions which he

receives, not only from his administrative superiors but

also from political authorities, legislators, commercial

and business interests and other persons / quarters

having interest or wielding influence.

f) A comprehensive and tough anti-corruption strategy

should be put in place, including the following elements:

g) Immediate compulsory retirement of officials whose

record and reputation is tainted, and prosecution of

those against whom there is evidence of corruption

(Hota);

h) Strengthening of powers of the state Vigilance

Departments, Lok Ayukta and the Anti-Corruption branch

of the State police enabling them to effectively initiate

and pursue investigations independently of government

direction (Hota, Second ARC);

i) Guaranteed protection of civil servants who expose

corrupt practices (Second ARC) and institution of annual

awards for whistle-blowers in recognition of their

contribution in exposing wrong-doings in the

government;

207j) Action against corrupt officers cannot be initiated in

many states as the power to sanction prosecution is

vested in state governments. This should be declared a

semi-judicial process, and the powers to sanction

prosecution should be vested with a designated

authority, which should pass a time - bound speaking

order on receipt of complaint from CBI or other agencies.

k) A State of Governance Report should be brought out

evaluating the performance of each State on the basis of

a set of parameters of good governance (Hota).

l) The Prevention of Corruption Act should be amended to

provide for a special offence of ‘collusive bribery’; if it is

established that the interest of the state or public has

suffered because of an act of a public servant, then the

court shall presume that the public servant and the

beneficiary of the decision committed an offence of

‘collusive bribery’ (Second ARC).

m) Both the Hota Committee and the Second ARC had

recommended that a new Civil Service Law should be

enacted incorporating a statement of values and a code

of ethics for civil servants with reference to political

impartiality, ethical standards and accountability for

actions.

208

n) Practically all Commissions and Committees dealing with

administrative reform have stressed the need for

transfers at all levels to be handled in a non-political,

non-partisan, open and transparent manner. A rational

transfer policy should eliminate the ‘transfer industry’,

do away with politicized transfers, curb the overall

incidence of transfers, remove uncertainty and imbue

officers with a certain security of tenure in every post

and should be seen as being fair and objective. Transfers

should not be ordered as punishment; if an employee is

found remiss in his duties, he should be proceeded

against departmentally.

The Conference of Chief Ministers (1997) had

recommended the constitution of Civil Services Boards in

different States presided over by the respective Chief

Secretaries (on the pattern of the Establishment Board of the

Government of India presided over by the Cabinet Secretary)

to assist the political executive and streamline the policy of

transfers and promotions based on identifiable criteria. While

some States have subsequently set up such Boards by

executive order, they have failed to inspire confidence as,

more often than not, they have merely formalized the wishes

of their Chief Ministers in matters of transfer of officials.

209Several Committees, including Hota and the Second

ARC, have stressed that a guaranteed minimum tenure for

Secretaries to Government, Heads of Departments and other

senior officials is the only effective solution. Indeed, the Hota

Committee had recommended a statutory barrier to frequent

transfer of senior officials through the establishment of a Civil

Services Board / Establishment Board, both in the States and

at the Centre, under a

Civil Services Act. The recommendations of such a Board must

normally be binding on the Government. If, for any reason, the

Government decides not to implement the recommendations,

it must pass a self-contained order on the subject and place a

statement on the Table of the Legislature. These particularly

apply to State Governments.

Similarly, the Second ARC had recommended the

creation of a Central Civil Services Authority as a statutory

body under a Civil Services Act. The Authority shall be a five-

member body consisting of persons of eminence in public life

and professionals with acknowledged contributions to society

appointed by the President on the recommendation of a

Committee consisting of the Prime Minister and the Leader of

the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The Authority would, inter

alia, formulate norms and guidelines and recommend names

of officers for posting at ‘Senior Management Levels’ in the

Government. It would fix tenure for all civil service positions

210and this should be binding on the Government. State

Governments should take steps to constitute State Civil

Services Authorities on the lines of the Central Civil Services

Authority.

Sir, I apologize in advance for writing such a long letter.

However, a large number of civil servants and members of the

general public are concerned that these eminently sensible

recommendations, made by successive expert Commissions

and Committees appointed by the Government, have

remained on paper without being implemented over long

periods of time. My purpose in writing to you is essentially to

ascertain whether and what progress is being / has been

made in implementing these key reforms, which would

undoubtedly help to boost the morale of the higher Civil

Services and arrest the decline in standards of administration

and governance which has so sadly become the norm rather

than the aberration today. It would be useful to know whether

some of the core recommendations of earlier Committees, as

listed above, are among those which the Government has

taken up for implementation.

Yours sincerely,Sd/-

(T.S.R. Subramanian)

Dr. M. Veerappa Moily,Minister for Law & Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice,

2114th Floor, A-Wing,Shastri Shawan,New Delhi-110 001

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212ANNEXURE P -11 (COLLY ii)

T.M. VEERAPPA MOILYMINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA402, ‘A’ WING, SHASTRI BHAWAN,

Dr. RAJENDRA PRASAD ROADNEW DELHI – 110 015

D.O. No. MLJ/2010/-3173 May 24, 2010

Dear Shri Subramanian ji,

I have received your letter dated 17th May, 2010 and

thank you for the useful suggestions made by you.

2. I would like to meet you some time.

With regards.

Yours sincerely

Sd/-(Dr. M. Veerappa Moily)

Shri T.S.R. Subramanian,Ex-Cabinet Secretary to the Govt. of India74, Sector 15-A,NOIDA- 201 301

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