In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State, Department of Personnel & Training, Dr. Jitendra Singh recently said that the CBI has registered cases against 166 civil service officers since 2018. The minister was responding to a question raised by MP Sougata Ray.
Most of these cases were lodged against civil servants posted in Maharashtra (35), followed by J&K (18), Karnataka (14), Uttar Pradesh (13), Tamil Nadu (10) and Delhi (9).
Singh said, “The All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, and Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, lay down the code of conduct for central government employees to which every member of the service shall, at all times, follow… Steps have been taken to check criminal attitudes of civil service officers of the country.”
As per the information and data provided by ministries, departments and cadre controlling authorities, in the last three years, including the current year (up to March 17), 88 officers (group A and B) have been prematurely retired under the provisions of FR 56 (j)/ similar provisions, added the reply.
Under Section 197 of CrPC, prior sanction from a competent authority is needed to prosecute a government servant for an alleged criminal act done while discharging official duty.
A CBI prosecutor said: “A majority of the cases against civil servants registered by CBI are related to corruption charges. There remains pendency with state governments on applicants seeking prior approval to proceed in these cases.”
Delay in granting sanctions for prosecution by government departments has been a long-standing grievance and was flagged by the Standing Committee for Department of Personnel, Public Grievances and Law and Justice in its 2022 report.
