In a bid to insulate the bureaucracy from political interference, the Union Cabinet on Thursday revised the Code of Conduct for Ministers (both Union and States) by adding a new provision as per which Ministers cannot force civil servants to take decisions that may be in conflict with their duties and responsibilities.
A new paragraph has been added to Section 2 of the Code of Conduct, which states that the “Minister shall uphold the political impartiality of the civil services and not ask the civil servants to act in any way which would conflict with the duties and responsibilities of the civil servants.”
The revised code will take immediate effect in the case of the Union Council of Ministers. In the case of the States and the Union Territories, the revised code will be forwarded to the Chief Ministers for adoption. The revision has been made as per a recommendation of the second Administrative Reforms Commission, which submitted its report in 2007.
Asked why this provision was being incorporated, a senior bureaucrat said this was essentially a reiteration of what should be an obvious manner of functioning. Last month, the Supreme Court directed the Centre and the States to set up a Civil Services Board for the management of transfers, postings, enquiries, process of promotion, reward, punishment and disciplinary matters. The court also said bureaucrats should not act on verbal orders given by politicians and suggested a fixed tenure for them.
