The Constitutional Conduct Group, a collective of former civil servants, has noted with concern the

recent amendments by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensioners, Govt. of India,
to the All India Services (Death cum Retirement Benefits) Rules 1958 (hereinafter referred to as the
Rules). Through a notification dated 6.7.2023, these amendments have, inter alia, sought to impose a
complete ban on the right of retired civil servants to comment on public matters, by threatening
them with the withdrawal of their pensions. This would be violative of Article 51A of the Constitution
which enjoins upon all citizens to “cherish and follow the noble ideals that inspired the national
struggle for freedom.” The right to criticise the government in power is part of these ideals and
cannot be termed as “misconduct” .

The original Rules of 1958 (as amended from time to time) did contain a provision in Rule 3 that
“future good conduct shall be an implied condition of every grant of pension and its continuation”
and that the pension could be withheld or withdrawn, in part or in full, if the pensioner is convicted
of a serious crime or is held to be guilty of grave misconduct. However, such action could only be
taken by the union government on a reference from the state government (the cadre to which the
officer belonged). But now, Rule 3 has been amended to provide that such punitive action can be
taken by the union government “either on a reference from the state government concerned or
otherwise.” This, we feel, violates the principles of federalism and confers draconian powers of
oversight and overrule on the union government which is not in conformity with the duality of
control envisaged in the All India Services structure. It will further expose officers in opposition ruled
states to intimidation by the party in power at the centre.

We note with apprehension that nowhere in the Rules has the term “good conduct” or “grave
misconduct” been defined, other than in sub-rule 8 of Rule 3 which merely “includes” disclosure of
any information covered by the Official Secrets Act as a grave misconduct. Other than this, however,
the Rules are completely silent on this issue, and everything is left to the decision or interpretation of
the central government. Considering the severe penalties prescribed for misconduct, it is legally
incumbent on the union government to have provided an exhaustive definition of the term. By
leaving this deliberately vague, ambiguous and amorphous, the union government has armed itself
with unlimited powers to harass and persecute any pensioner whose action is not to its liking,
whether it be an article, an interview, participation in a protest march or seminar, or any form of
criticism. In effect, this will totally muzzle and silence anyone who draws a pension from the state,
which appears to be the intention behind these amendments.

The withdrawal/withholding of pension for any criminal conviction is equally pernicious and
untenable in law as it amounts to double jeopardy, punishing a person twice for the same offence.
The pension is something (s)he has already earned by dint of long service. If (s)he commits a crime,
(s)he will suffer the consequences of that by the operation of that criminal law: (s)he cannot be
penalised a second time for the same offence by withdrawing her/his pension. Furthermore, the law
punishes the perpetrator of a crime, not her/his next of kin; by withdrawing/withholding her/his
pension the government would be inflicting unjustified tribulations and misery on her/his family too.
Finally, both the original and the amended provision of Rule 3 (except the newly introduced sub-rule
6 about divulging secret and security related information) violate multiple rulings of the Supreme
Court and various High Courts which have, over the last 65 years, constantly held that pension is an
employee’s right and a kind of deferred payment for service already rendered. It is not largesse or
charity bestowed by the government and does not depend upon the discretion of the government
(State of Punjab and Another vs Iqbal Singh).

In DS Nakara vs Union of India (1983), the Supreme Court held that a law cannot discriminate
between the same class of people, and that all statutes or laws must have some rational nexus with
the object of the law. Rule 3, both the original and the amended versions, do not conform to these
legal requirements. Pensioners are no longer government servants: they are free citizens of the
country like any other citizen, with the same freedom of expression. By curbing this right under the
specious guise of “good conduct” the government is discriminating against them and, therefore, also
violating Article 14 of the Constitution. Furthermore, what is the “object” of this rule, if not to silence
any form of criticism of the government? This cannot be held to be rational, reasonable or based on
some valid principle, as is required in another judgment (Ramana Dayaram Shetty vs The Airport
Authority of India and Others).

Rule 3 has become obsolete: it is a legal anachronism which also militates against the right to
freedom of speech and dissent. It makes pensioners bonded labourers for life, a separate-and
inferior-class of citizens who do not enjoy the freedom of expression. It further seeks to impose the
Conduct Rules (which apply only to those in service of the government) on pensioners through the
back door, which is abhorrent in law, as the latter are no longer in service. They are free citizens and
there exists no employer-employee relationship between them and the government.

Rules governing conditions of service need to be dynamic and in sync with the changes in
interpretation of laws, the evolution of jurisprudence on rights and freedoms, the development of
the concepts of democracy and an open society. Rule 3 fails to do so, is stuck in a time warp and
needs to go.

The Constitutional Conduct Group urges the governments in the states and the union government to
review this rule with a view to abolishing it, and not to further build upon it. In the interim we
further request the union government to hold in abeyance these amendments in the interests of
federalism, fair play, equality of citizens, freedom of expression and a vibrant democracy.

SATYAMEVA JAYATE

Constitutional Conduct Group (94 signatories, as at pages 3-5 below)

 

Former Secretary, Department of Social Justice

1. Anita Agnihotri IAS (Retd.)
Empowerment, GoI

Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat,

2. Anand Arni RAS (Retd.)
GoI

G. Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of

3. IAS (Retd.)
Balachandhran West Bengal

Vappala Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat,

4. IPS (Retd.)
Balachandran GoI

Chandrashekar
5. IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Coal, GoI
Balakrishnan

Engineering
Former Additional Director General, Central
6. Sushant Baliga Services
PWD, GoI
(Retd.)

Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat,

7. Rana Banerji RAS (Retd.)
GoI

Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Madhya

8. Sharad Behar IAS (Retd.)
Pradesh

Aurobindo Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of

9. IAS (Retd.)
Behera Odisha

10. Madhu Bhaduri IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Portugal

Former Additional Chief Secretary,

Pradip
11. IAS (Retd.) Development & Planning and Administrative
Bhattacharya
Training Institute, Govt. of West Bengal

Meeran C Former DGP, Bureau of Police Research and

12. IPS (Retd.)
Borwankar Development, GoI

Former Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port

13. Ravi Budhiraja IAS (Retd.)
Trust, GoI

14. Sundar Burra IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra

 Maneshwar Former Principal Secretary, Home, Govt. of
15. IAS (Retd.)
Singh Chahal Punjab

R. Former Principal Secretary, Transport and

16. IAS (Retd.)
Chandramohan Urban Development, Govt. of NCT of Delhi

Rachel Former Special Chief Secretary, Agriculture,

17. IAS (Retd.)
Chatterjee Govt. of Andhra Pradesh

Kalyani Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of

18. IAS (Retd.)
Chaudhuri West Bengal

Gurjit Singh Former Financial Commissioner (Revenue),

19. IAS (Retd.)
Cheema Govt. of Punjab

Former Director General of Police, Govt. of

20. F.T.R. Colaso IPS (Retd.) Karnataka & former Director General of Police,
Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir

Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of

21. Anna Dani IAS (Retd.)
Maharashtra

22. Vibha Puri Das IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GoI

Former Chairman, Food Corporation of India,

23. P.R. Dasgupta IAS (Retd.)
GoI

24. Pradeep K. Deb IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Deptt. Of Sports, GoI

Former Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of

25. Nitin Desai  
Finance, GoI

M.G.
26. IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Govt. of Haryana
Devasahayam

27. Sushil Dubey IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Sweden

Former OSD on Kashmir, Prime Minister’s

28. A.S. Dulat IPS (Retd.)
Office, GoI

29. K.P. Fabian IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Italy

Former Director General, Indian Council of

30. Suresh K. Goel IFS (Retd.)
Cultural Relations, GoI
 IFoS Former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests,
31. H.S. Gujral
(Retd.) Govt. of Punjab

Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment &

32. Meena Gupta IAS (Retd.)
Forests, GoI

Vivek
33. IAS (Retd.) Govt. of Tamil Nadu
Harinarain

Former Secretary, Department of Agriculture,

34. Siraj Hussain IAS (Retd.)
GoI

35. Najeeb Jung IAS (Retd.) Former Lieutenant Governor, Delhi

Vinod C.
36. IFS (Retd.) Former Additional Secretary, MEA, GoI
Khanna

Former DGP (Vigilance & Enforcement), Govt.

37. Ish Kumar IPS (Retd.) of Telangana and former Special Rapporteur,
National Human Rights Commission

Former Member, Central Administrative

38. Sudhir Kumar IAS (Retd.)
Tribunal

IPoS Former Deputy Director General, Ministry of

39. Subodh Lal
(Resigned) Communications, GoI

Former Ambassador to Myanmar & Special

40. P.M.S. Malik IFS (Retd.)
Secretary, MEA, GoI

41. Harsh Mander IAS (Retd.) Govt. of Madhya Pradesh

Amitabh Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat,

42. IPS (Retd.)
Mathur GoI

Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of

43. Aditi Mehta IAS (Retd.)
Rajasthan

Shivshankar Former Foreign Secretary and Former National

44. IFS (Retd.)
Menon Security Adviser

Sonalini IFS
45. GoI
Mirchandani (Resigned)

46. Sunil Mitra IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Finance, GoI
 Avinash Former Director General of Police, Govt. of
47. IPS (Retd.)
Mohananey Sikkim

Satya Narayan Former Secretary General, National Human

48. IAS (Retd.)
Mohanty Rights Commission

Former High Commissioner to Bangladesh and

49. Deb Mukharji IFS (Retd.)
former Ambassador to Nepal

Jayashree Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of

50. IAS (Retd.)
Mukherjee Maharashtra

Shiv Shankar Former High Commissioner to the United

51. IFS (Retd.)
Mukherjee Kingdom

Gautam
52. IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Myanmar
Mukhopadhaya

IA&AS Former Principal Accountant General, Tamil

53. Nagalsamy
(Retd.) Nadu & Kerala

Ramesh
54. IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
Narayanaswami

Former Member, Finance Commission, Govt. of

55. Surendra Nath IAS (Retd.)
Madhya Pradesh

56. P. Joy Oommen IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Chhattisgarh

Amitabha
57. IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Inter-State Council, GoI
Pande

Maxwell
58. IPS (Retd.) Former Joint Commissioner of Police, Delhi
Pereira

59. Alok Perti IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Coal, GoI

60. G.K. Pillai IAS (Retd.) Former Home Secretary, GoI

R.
61. IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, GoI
Poornalingam

62. Rajesh Prasad IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to the Netherlands

63. R.M. IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra

 Premkumar

T.R. Former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati

64. IAS (Retd.)
Raghunandan Raj, GoI

N.K. Former Chairman, Staff Selection Commission,

65. IAS (Retd.)
Raghupathy GoI

Former Chairman, Maharashtra Electricity

66. V.P. Raja IAS (Retd.)
Regulatory Commission

Former Addl. Chief Secretary to the Chief

67. P.V. Ramesh IAS (Retd.)
Minister of Andhra Pradesh

M. Former Member, Maharashtra Administrative

68. IAS (Retd.)
Rameshkumar Tribunal

69. K. Sujatha Rao IAS (Retd.) Former Health Secretary, GoI

Former Secretary, Chemicals and

70. Satwant Reddy IAS (Retd.)
Petrochemicals, GoI

Vijaya Latha
71. IFS (Retd.) Former Deputy National Security Adviser, GoI
Reddy

Former Adviser to Governor of Punjab & former

72. Julio Ribeiro IPS (Retd.)
Ambassador to Romania

IAS
73. Aruna Roy  
(Resigned)

Former Director General of Police

74. A.K. Samanta IPS (Retd.)
(Intelligence), Govt. of West Bengal

Former Principal Adviser (AR) to Chief

75. Deepak Sanan IAS (Retd.)
Minister, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh

G.V.
Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of
76. Venugopala IAS (Retd.)
Odisha
Sarma

77. N.C. Saxena IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Planning Commission, GoI

Former Chief Commissioner, Income Tax,

78. A. Selvaraj IRS (Retd.)
Chennai, GoI
79. Ardhendu Sen IAS (Retd.) Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal

Abhijit
80. IAS (Retd.) Former Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI
Sengupta

81. Aftab Seth IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Japan

Ashok Kumar IFoS Former MD, State Forest Development

82.
Sharma (Retd.) Corporation, Govt. of Gujarat

Ashok Kumar
83. IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Finland and Estonia
Sharma

Navrekha
84. IFS (Retd.) Former Ambassador to Indonesia
Sharma

Former Additional Chief Secretary (Forests &

85. Avay Shukla IAS (Retd.) Technical Education), Govt. of Himachal
Pradesh

86. Sujatha Singh IFS (Retd.) Former Foreign Secretary, GoI

Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of

87. Tara Ajai Singh IAS (Retd.)
Karnataka

Former Secretary, National Commission for

88. Tirlochan Singh IAS (Retd.)
Minorities, GoI

Former Administrative Member, Madhya

89. A.K. Srivastava IAS (Retd.)
Pradesh Administrative Tribunal

Former Member, National Consumer Disputes

90. Anup Thakur IAS (Retd.)
Redressal Commission

Former Secretary General, National Human

91. P.S.S. Thomas IAS (Retd.)
Rights Commission

IRAS Former General Manager, Metro Railway,

92. Geetha Thoopal
(Retd.) Kolkata

Ramani Former Director General, YASHADA, Govt. of

93. IAS (Retd.)
Venkatesan Maharashtra

Former Ambassador to Colombia, Ecuador and

94. Rudi Warjri IFS (Retd.)
Costa Rica