Government to
compulsorily retire officers with bad reputation or inefficient
NEW DELHI: Sending a clear
message that inefficiency or a bad reputation
on account of probity would mean retirement kicking in almost a decade in
advance for senior government officials, the
government has now strengthened the review processes to compulsorily retire
such officers.
Issuing four-page long
guidelines to all ministries last Friday, the PM-led Department of Personnel
and Training (DoPT) has said that services of those government officials
"which are no longer useful to the general administration" or whose
"integrity and reputation" is doubtful, must be compulsorily retired
from service.
As per an existing rule FR
56 (J) which has been rarely enforced, the performance of Group A and B
officials who have completed 50 years and junior officials who have completed
55 years of service must be reviewed and a decision taken whether to
compulsorily retire them before turning 60.
ET reported on September
14 that Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha had chaired a meeting on August 10 with
senior officers of different ministries asking for strengthening of the review
system of screening of officers under the existing rule. The DoPT
missive is a fall-out of the same.
Citing SC judgements, DoPT
has said that "integrity of an employee, action or decisions taken by the
employee which do no appear to be above board, complaints received against him
or suspicious property transactions, for which sufficient evidence may not be
there to initiate departmental proceedings" should be the factors
considered to decide on prematurely retiring an officer.
"Similarly, reports
of conduct unbecoming of a government servant may also form basis for
compulsorily retirement," the DoPT says, citing a 2002 SC judgement that
said government has absolute right to compulsorily retire an official who
obstructs the efficiency in public services. "The officer would live by
reputation built around him," DoPT says citing another SC order which says
conduct and reputation of an officer must not be such that his continuance
"would be a menace to public service and injurious to public
interest."
"For better
administration, it is necessary to chop off dead wood," says another 2001
SC order cited by DoPT in its letter, saying it should be seen if recent
promotions of the officer in last five years were on basis of seniority cum
fitness and not on the basis of merit.
The government has
reconstituted review committees to look into cases of officers turning 50/55 as
the case may be - saying Secretary of the concerned department will head a
review committee in case of ACC appointees while in case of senior appointees
in boards like CBDT and CBEC, the review committee will be headed by the
Chairman of such Board. An additional secretary or joint secretary will head
review committees in cases of junior officials. The Central Vigilance Officer
will be a part of the committee if an integrity issue is involved. All reviews
must be done six months before the official turns 50 or 55 as the case may be.
Courtesy: Economic Times
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