Topics Covered: Role of civil services in a democracy.
Mamata refuses to allow 3 IPS officers to go to Centre:
Context:
The Union government has demanded that the West Bengal relieve three serving IPS officers for Central deputation. However, the state has expressed its strong reservations against the move.
- The state has described the Centre’s order as a “colourable exercise of power and a blatant misuse of emergency provision of the IPS Cadre Rule, 1954”.
Background:
Despite the objection of the State government, the Union government called the three IPS officers on central deputation. The officers were deployed for the security of BJP president J.P. Nadda when his convoy was attacked on December 10.
What the rules say?
- For the premier civil services — IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service — officers of the state cadre are allotted by the Centre from a pool of officers.
- From time to time, a certain number of officers are sent on central deputation.
- The Home Ministry is the authority in control of IPS cadre, the Department of Personnel and Training for the IAS cadre, and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for IFS cadre.
Who can take action?
The Centre can take no action against civil service officials who are posted under the state government as per Rule 7 of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969.
- For any action to be taken on an officer of the All India Services (IAS, IPS, IFS), the state and the Centre both need to agree.
Rule 6(1) of the Indian Police Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954 says about deputation: “in case of any disagreement, the matter shall be decided by the central Government and the state government or state governments concerned shall give effect to the decision of the Central Government.”
Implications:
Under the Home Ministry’s deputation policy for IPS officers, if an officer on offer is selected for a Central posting and does not report either on his own or at the instance of the State Government, he would be debarred for consideration for a post under the Government of India for a period of five years.
- Officers, who have already been debarred, should not be offered before the debarment period is over.
- Being debarred from central deputation, however, hardly bothers an official if they prefer to work in their state.
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- Rules related to All India Services.
- Responsibility to manage cadres of IAS, IPS and IFS.
- Civil services board.
- Who has powers to take action against civil service officials who are posted under the state government?
- What is Home Ministry’s deputation policy for IPS officers?
Mains Link:
Discuss what are emergency provisions under the IPS Cadre Rule, 1954.
Sources: the Hindu.
