A shot in the arm for honest officers

A recent Supreme Court judgement has brought in much-needed optimism in a climate of increasing cynicism on the issue of corruption in high places. Clearing a long-standing ambiguity around the rights of a civil servant, the Apex Court has categorically ruled that a government official coming under the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) conduct rules is free to approach the judiciary to expose maladministration of any hue in the government.

A Supreme Court bench comprising justices J Chelameswar and A K Sikri on September 22 delivered the judgment while quashing disciplinary proceedings against IAS officer Vijay Shankar Pandey.

The Uttar Pradesh government had initiated action against him for his association with the petition before the top court seeking to bring back black money stashed by Indians abroad. Every once in a while an officer like Pandey crops up if not to shake up the system, at least to prove a thorn to those who know how to manipulate the bureaucracy and the government to make a quick buck on the sly.

The uncompromising officer has been transferred 48 times in 36 years, unable to fit into an established system that over the years has all but degenerated into a coterie of spineless administrators unable to stand up to the pressures of wheeler-dealers, vested interests and the political class which sees the state as a personal fief.

The court blasted the Uttar Pradesh government for its action against the intrepid officer and termed it an attempt by the state government to “suppress any probe into the question of black money by whatever means, fair or foul”. Making clear its displeasure, the court stated that the proceedings against Pandey was not only initiated to intimidate the officer but also to send a signal to others who might dare to expose any maladministration.

Pandey’s case makes it clear that when it comes to an officer standing up to the misdeeds of an administration, all political parties irrespective of their claims and promises, behave in exactly the same way.

Pandey’s fight for a corruption-free administration backed by the Supreme Court’s judgement in his favour will have a far-reaching impact on how conscientious civil servants can now without fear of reprisal bring to the notice of the judiciary and, through it, to the nation any misgovernance that they encounter.