Measures to make the role of civil services effective Part-1 - Instructions of the Supreme Court

Measures to make the role of civil services effective Part-1 - Instructions of the Supreme Court

In order to protect the Indian bureaucracy from political interference and to prevent the arbitrary transfer of civil servants by the political head, the Supreme Court in the year 2013 directed the Central and  State Governments to constitute Civil Service Boards at the Central and State levels. The Court is of the view that civil servants should have a fixed term of office, they should not act on the basis of oral orders of leaders. The Supreme Court issued an order that the proposed Civil Services Board, which regulates the appointment, transfer, and disciplinary proceedings against civil servants,  should be constituted within three months. The Court has asked the Central Government to enact a comprehensive law on the question of protecting the Indian bureaucracy from political interference.

 

The judges made it clear that for the benefits of the implementation of government policies and programs to reach the poor, it is necessary that the tendency to transfer civil servants at an arbitrary and speedy pace should be curbed. It is noteworthy that in the year 2006, the Supreme  Court issued similar guidelines for the Indian Police. The Supreme Court has looked at the issue of political interference in the Indian civil service or bureaucracy with a broader perspective. It is considered extremely necessary to check the tendency of politicians to give verbal orders.

 

It is noteworthy that in the year 1964, the issue of verbal orders was first shown in the report of the Santhanam Committee. The report of this committee also recommended the civil servants act on the written orders of the politicians. The Shah Commission had also recommended civil servants act on written orders, following the example of cases of misuse of oral orders of leaders by civil servants during the National Emergency in the year 1975. Former  Cabinet Secretary of India T.S.R. Subramaniam had confirmed the misuse of verbal orders in the Radia tapes case.

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