RESTRICTIONS ON GOVT SERVANTS BEFORE & AFTER RETIREMENT

RESTRICTIONS ON GOVT SERVANTS BEFORE & AFTER RETIREMENT

Subject: Governance

Context: With a notification dated May 31, the Centre has amended its pension rules putting new restrictions of officials of intelligence and security organisations after retirement.

Concept:

• The government has amended the CCS Pension Rules-1972. Under amended Rule-8(3)(a), officials retired from certain intelligence and security establishments ( Under Second Scheduleof RTI Act) will not be allowed to write anything about their organisation without permission.
• The Second Schedule of the RTI Act covers 26 organisations including the Intelligence Bureau, R&AW, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, CBI, NCB, BSF, CRPF, ITBP and CISF.

Exisiting Provisions that restricts govt servants

• Rule 7 of the CCS Conduct Rules restricts government servants from resorting to or abetting any form of strike or coercion.
• Rule 8 restricts them, except with government sanction, from owning or participating in the editing or management of any newspaper or other periodical publication or electronic media.
• If they publish a book or participate in public media, they “shall at all times make it clear that the views expressed by him are his own and not that of Government”.
• Rule 9 of the CCS Pension Rules says that if any government official has committed any misconduct and retires, he or she may face departmental proceedings only until four years of the date of committing that misconduct.