Public Service Act 2016
Arrest of civil servants sans govt nod mooted
DEEPAK ACHARJEE
The government is going to enact a new law titled Public Service Act 2016, which will allow law enforcement agencies to arrest government employees without prior permission from the government. This will be applicable to civil servants, too, if a case is filed against them.
Sources in the public administration ministry said the draft law would also prevent government employees from taking up the citizenship of another country while in service.
They further said that the ministry had placed the draft law before the cabinet on July 13 last year, proposing that government employees cannot be arrested without prior permission from the authorities concerned. However, members of the cabinet, even the Prime Minister, at the meeting advised the authorities to scrap that section of the draft law that requires permission from the government for arresting any government employee and then to place it before the cabinet for reconsideration.
After reviewing the draft law, the public administration ministry would place it before the cabinet meeting to be held on Thursday, seeking its final approval, Mohammad Jainul Bari, joint secretary of the public administration ministry, told The Independent yesterday.
Its an umbrella law that includes all the related matters concerning civil servants code of conduct, he said.
Since many quarters, including the civil society, did not want it, the section of the draft law relating to arrest of government employees without prior permission of the authorities concerned has been dropped, he added.
As per the draft law, career planning would be preached to achieve professional efficiency and professionalism in
civil service, he affirmed. The senior bureaucrat also said that there was no provision for imprisonment and fine for lack of professionalism, but the authorities concerned dismiss government employees from service for misconduct and different types of offence.He further said the draft law included a provision for introducing a citizen charter for the officials concerned to provide service to the people. We have included a provision for rewarding good work and conduct to encourage public servants, he added. State minister for public administration, Ismat Ara Sadique, yesterday told The Independent that they would enact a new law to ensure protection for civil bureaucrats. The administration should be brought under a system that will protect the civil bureaucracy and also bring back its dynamism, she said.
As per the draft law, the authorities cannot take action against government employees without giving them a chance to defend themselves and without them undergoing any departmental action.
The proposed law says, The government employees should not be biased towards any political party. They will always try to ensure service towards the citizens by discharging their duties impartially. The government shall uphold high morality, abide by the strict code of discipline, and maintain cordial relations with colleagues and a high degree of professionalism. All employees desirous of qualifying for higher posts would have to clear a written examination, it adds.
The draft act has been prepared on the lines of similar acts in the US, India and Nepal. There are many countries in the world, including India and the US, where civil officers protection acts were introduced long ago to ensure the rights of civil bureaucrats.
Way back in 1955, the Indian government enacted a law titled Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 to ensure the rights of its officials.
