At the cost of looking uncomfortable and embarrassing to many helming the state administration in case it is said that corruption and indulging in corrupt practices are deemed to be part of the “established” system where even those officers booked by Anti Corruption Bureau stand sort of enjoying an immunity, an amnesty and invulnerability in a major form. At least, such a scenario could only be there in Jammu and Kashmir state and not elsewhere where blatant violation of Civil Services Rules and Employees Conduct Rules take place and compliance remains confined to Rules Books only which are not allowed to travel any further there- from. If it is not so, then how it could be accounted for that several Government departments have failed to seriously initiate departmental proceedings against a good number of officers against whom FIRs under various provisions of anti corruption laws had already been registered.
Could there be a bar on holding departmental disciplinary proceedings against an officer against whom a case of corruption was tried in a court and whether the two could go simultaneously has been cleared and vividly spelt out in a recent Govt Circular. Primarily, no employee can afford to be of doubtful integrity or commit any act which could amount to indulging in misconduct and otherwise appearing to be unbecoming of a Government employee. Conducting of departmental proceedings on serving of a charge sheet followed by preliminary inquiry etc was with intent to judge whether the concerned employee had prima facie fallen under the category of committing gross misconduct which needed to be dealt with accordingly to the extent of whether the charge sheeted employee deserved to be kept in the service or out rightly removed depending upon the severity of the ‘gross misconduct’ notwithstanding the fact of the status of the criminal proceedings in the court against such employee.
When an FIR is lodged by the Anti Corruption Bureau against a Government employee, that in itself means that the employee has wilfully and deliberately violated the basic Service Rules which bind him or her with the employment, then the said employee has got to be dealt with under the provisions of Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Rules 1956 and it is difficult to comprehend as to how some Government Departments can afford to obfuscate this rule and afford an unauthorised breather to such officers facing court trials under criminal proceedings. Like this, such ‘defaulting’ departments were violating the explicit judgment of the Apex Court by not initiating departmental proceedings against the officers booked by State Investigating Agencies. Such a scenario could be attributed to be there with certain motives to prove helpful to the booked officer in one way or the other and therefore, defeated the entire purpose of there being enough and clear cut set of Service Conduct Rules which have the aim of ensuring manning of governmental posts only by people of deep integrity, honesty and commitment to duty.
No leniency whatsoever at any level, should be shown to those who despite occupying plump posts, responsible offices and drawing reasonably adequate salaries indulge in brazen acts of corruption and corrupt practices. Departmental proceedings under Service Conduct Rules should, therefore, be forthwith started.
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