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Business News/ Opinion / Protecting India’s civil servants
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Protecting India’s civil servants

In the absence of a strong convention, judicial intervention to save civil servants is the only remaining option

Illustration by Jayachandran/MintPremium
Illustration by Jayachandran/Mint

It is no secret that India’s once-powerful civil service is now a mere instrument in the hands of an increasingly erratic and unresponsive executive branch. A number of reform commissions and committees have reported on what needs to be done to arrest the country’s falling administrative standards. To no avail. The reports of various committees and commissions, including the most recent one—the Second Administrative Reforms Commission—are merely consigned to cupboards in secretariats.

Last week, the Supreme Court delivered a judgement that hopefully will arrest the fall. The court has asked the Union and state governments to take steps which, if implemented, will have far-reaching effects.

The judgement was in response to a petition by a group of retired civil servants. They sought three things from the court. One, independent civil service boards at the centre and the states that would make recommendations on the postings and transfers of civil servants; two, fixed tenures for civil servants; and three, formal recording of instructions/orders/directions from political authorities and legislators, among others, on what they ask civil servants to do. The court, with an important modification on the first request, agreed to all three.

It requires no elaboration that today the civil service is a harried instrument in government. Routine transfers and very often, irregular and illegal orders have broken its back. Honest civil servants are harassed no end. The case of Ashok Khemka, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in Haryana is a well-known example. This officer is now being subjected to a slew of chargesheets that are nothing more than tools for victimizing him. His offence? Resisting orders that were clearly not legal. If Khemka’s case has been highlighted extensively, there are many more Khemkas who go unnoticed and have to pay the price for it. If the Supreme Court’s orders are implemented, perhaps there is hope for some semblance of administrative order in India.

This may not happen. One reason is that even in states where civil service boards have been constituted, arbitrary transfers and postings are the norm. Uttar Pradesh is a good example. The state has had these boards for some years now. Not only that, since 2008, UP has also had a transfer policy. But random transfers—often to punish “erring" officers—are the norm. One such young officer, Durga Shakti Nagpal, was suspended—stopped from taking on the sand mafia in Noida. Even established boards are of no use where the political executive decides to do what it pleases.

Admittedly, UP is an extreme example to cite. In most instances, such provisions will have a deterrent effect on the political executive. If civil servants have to follow written orders and instructions, much that is illegal at the policymaking level can be prevented. Any minister will think twice before issuing written orders that they know are illegal. This empowers the civil service from carrying out orders that are positively harmful to the public interest.

There are other reasons why such steps should not be delayed any longer. In an op-ed in Mint, Arun Maira, a member of the Planning Commission, has highlighted how the short tenures of civil servants have led to a far less effective management system for civil servants in India than in China. Very often, it leads to the elevation of ineffective civil servants in key administrative positions. This happens because pliant bureaucrats are much more acceptable to the political executive even if the effects of such postings are positively harmful for governance. One reason for the slow pace of decision-making in key ministries is the fear among officers about possible victimization in case something goes wrong. Written orders, while preventing abuse, can also shield officers from such fears.

Ideally, there should be a political consensus on protecting civil servants from abuses in the system. But that is unlikely to happen—the political executive is the very wing of the government that has done much to destroy the morale of India’s rusting steel frame. In the absence of a strong convention, judicial intervention to save civil servants is the only remaining option. In the bargain, the authority of the political class will witness further erosion. But that is a question that our political parties and their leaders must ponder. In the meantime, the effective running of government requires judicial intervention. To that extent, the apex court has delivered a welcome judgement.

Can India’s civil services ever be shielded from wanton political interference? Tell us at views@livemint.com

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Published: 04 Nov 2013, 07:13 PM IST
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