The story so far: Bureaucrat couple Sanjeev Khirwar and Rinju Dhugga, accused of forcing athletes at a stadium in Delhi to wind up their training early in order to walk their dog, were shunted out of Delhi. The Ministry of Home Affairs transferred the former to Ladakh and the latter to Arunachal Pradesh. The transfer of the duo – both 1994-batch Indian Administrate Service officers of the joint AGMUT (Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories) cadre – was perceived as ‘punishment posting’, triggering resentment that the country’s northernmost and north-easternmost regions are treated as dumping grounds for errant officers.
How is action taken against errant civil servants?
Article 311 of the Constitution of India safeguards civil servants against any arbitrary dismissal from their posts and helps them respond to charges in an inquiry against them. Disciplinary action against an officer found errant may include demotion, suspension or transfer. The authority initiating disciplinary proceedings depends on whether the civil servant is posted in a State or is on Central deputation. Factors such as domicile, rank and vacancies in his or her home State decides whether a civil servant is assigned a ‘home cadre’ or a different State by the Department of Personnel and Training. The State government where an errant bureaucrat is posted may prescribe suspension or transfer from that State. But such a civil servant, according to an amended set of rules in 2015, cannot remain suspended for more than a week unless the Centre allows it. A State government cannot take action in matters initiated by the Centre against bureaucrats on Central deputation. For an officer of the joint AGMUT cadre, transfer entails posting to any of the States or Union Territories (UTs) under this cadre. In January 2021, the Jammu and Kashmir cadre was merged with the AGMUT cadre after the bifurcation of the erstwhile State into the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
