2.11 Opening of dak addressed to Deputy Commissioner - It is desirable that the Deputy Commissioner when at headquarters should open the dak addressed to him by post, but when it is not feasible for him to do so the covers addressed should be opened by the Superintendent. In no case should the opening of postal dak be left to the Assistant or other junior clerks in the office. The General Assistant to D.C should the local dak daily before registration.
2.12 Confidential Work - The
confidential work of the office will be done by the Superintendent personally,
or if he is not available, by the stenographer or any other member of the
office appointed by the Deputy Commissioner.
The confidential records of the district, other than those with the Deputy Commissioner himself , will remain in the personal custody of the Superintendent who should allow no one to have access to the confidential almirah in his charge.
When a confidential letter is to be issued the Superintendent, unless directed by the Deputy Commissioner to copy it himself, will have it typed and dispatched by a responsible clerk. The Superintendent must in every case examine the work himself. Only the work to be typed (i.e., without the main file) should be given to the typist, and if it is not finished by the time the office closes it should be taken back and locked for the night. Care should be exercised in the selection of the typist to whom confidential work is entrusted, and the typing should if possible be done in the Superintendent’s room and under his supervision. If the stenographer is available, his services should be utilized in typing confidential papers. The name of the typist should invariably be noted on the manuscript or on the typed copy of the draft if the manuscript is to be destroyed.
2.13 Official Information to be treated Confidential: - Official information acquired by Assistants and others in their capacity as employees of the district or the divisional office must be considered and treated as strictly confidential. No Assistant may make use of any unpublished record or letter or office note for communication to the public press or to unauthorized person, whether officials or not, without special permission. A breach of this rule is an offence punishable with two years’ imprisonment or a fine or both under section 5 of the Indian Official Secrets Act, 1923. The provisions of this Act should be brought to the notice of all concerned on first appointment.
2.14Office note to be treated as confidential:- Office note must be treated as strictly confidential documents and must not be removed from the office or copied or be used by any of the staff outside the office on any pretext whatever, nor should office notes be sent out of the office without the orders of the Superintendent save as provided in the rules for un-official reference.
Officials must not take office files to their houses except with the express permission of the Superintendent or the Officer-in-charge. The practice should be discouraged as far as possible.
2.15Caution in talking on confidential matters:- The attention of all members of the office should be drawn to the obligation to refrain from talking in ordinary society on all matters which can be termed confidential, and particularly on confidential matters of a political nature.
2.16 Admission of outsiders to the office. The general public should not be admitted to the rooms in which clerks are working. The Deputy Commissioner will endeavour to secure the best possible arrangement by which the legitimate requirements of the public may be secured for access to the officials with whom they may have to do business. No assistant or clerk in the office is, any circumstances, to give any information on any subject to any outsiders. The practice of allowing visitors, friends or relatives to see the officials on private business during the office hours should be prohibited as it tends to waste the time of the official. Suitable notice board should be put up against nuisances.
2.17 Applications for officials Information:-Superintendent should discourage the practice of government servants outside the office writing privately to them or their subordinates for information on official matters, and should, if necessary, brings such requests to their superiors notice.
This is not intended to prevent clerks calling from other offices on official business. The information to be given to them is, however, to be purely official. For instance, a clerk from one office is not entitled to receive information about a case in another office in which he or his officer may be personally interested.
2.18 Recommendations for appointments and rewards not to be divulged:- Recommendations for appointments, promotions, increases of pay and the like, when made, should not be mentioned to the parties interested. Officers should therefore be careful not merely to abstain from communicating but also to guard against the disclosure of information cases of kind, which must always be treated as confidential in public correspondence.
2.19 Punctual attendance:- The Superintendent shall see that all officials employed in various branches of the office attend punctuality and start their work at the appointed time. The attendance registered should be kept up properly and must in all cases reach the Superintendent after five minutes of the time of opening the office or court. A list of late comers should be maintained and submitted to the Deputy Commissioner monthly for disciplinary action.
The Superintendent will also see that every individual is made by the staff to cope with the daily allotment of work within the office hours, and no one ought to be allowed to remain in office for more that one hour after the close of the office, except with the special permission of the officer-in-charge of the branch concerned.
2.20 Rules to ensured safety of records, etc., in court- houses:- The following rules recommended by the Inspector-General of Police for ensuring the safety of records in court- houses and maintaining the responsibility have been approved by Government and prescribed for observance:-
Deputy Commissioner responsible that building is secured - (i) It is the duty of the Deputy Commissioner to see that the court-house is properly fitted with bolts and locks, and that they are in working order so that in the evening when the business of the day is over the whole building can be securely closed.
Note.---doors partly glazed cannot be securely fastened by the bolts ,as it is easy to break the glass and unbolt the doors. A bar should be pinned to the door post one side so as to be raised across the door when closed and padlocked on the other side.
Responsibility for closing court-house to be vested in a nominated official. (ii) The responsibility for securely closing the court-house should be vested in some official specially appointed by the Deputy Commissioner whose duty shall be , each day to see that , all the doors and windows are securely fastened and the entrance door locked from the outside.
Such officials to open the court-house and see that all is right - (iii) The court-house should be opened by the afore-mentioned official only, whose duty it shall be on opening the door to go round at once and see that all is right.
Correspondence between Deputy Commissioner and the subordinates---subordinate officers in the same station—personal inter-communication should be adopted instead of correspondence.
Correspondence between Deputy Commissioner and his subordinates. 2.21 - Correspondence of a formal official character between the Deputy Commissioner and any of his subordinates at headquarters is absolutely prohibited. If a subordinate officer requires an order on a particular case he should submit the file to the Deputy Commissioner, who should record his order thereon and return it. If the officer requires orders on any general or miscellaneous question not forming the subject of an official record, he should take the Deputy Commissioner’s oral orders, or if the subject is of sufficient importance, he should submit a memorandum on which the Deputy Commissioner should record his orders. When the Deputy Commissioner wishes to send an order to any subordinate at headquarters he should write the order on the file.
2.22 Subordinate officers at the same station are forbidden to correspond with each other formally. If one wants information from another , or has business to transact with him, he can settle the matter by personal interview or, if writing cannot be avoided by memorandum.
2.23 Correspondence should be reduced as
much as possible having due regard to efficiency. Much time of both officers
and clerks is wasted by unnecessary correspondence, which could be avoided by
little care and attention.
2.24 (1) It is believed that time is wasted and delay caused in the disposal of business between officers of different departments resending in the same station by excessive growth of the habit of writing letters and reminders instead of arranging personal interview with a view to the discussion and settlement of questions directly.
(2) The practice of freer and less formal personal inter-communication between officers should be generally adopted especially in the case of questions still in stage of discussion, and in all minor matters which merely depend upon agreement of opinion on the part of officers concerned, as by means of such personal interchange of opinions a satisfactory agreement on the points at issue will in most cases be more quickly arrived at and a final settlement accelerated.
2.25 An officer who is invited by a superior authority to submit an expression of his opinion on any subject should exercise discretion in consulting his subordinate officers, and reports should not be called for except from those officers whose advice is likely to of real value.
Contact between the District Officers and Deputy Commissioner 2.26 All the District Officers, such as, District Agricultural Officer, the District Animal Husbandry Officer, etc., should call on the Deputy Commissioner concerned, occasionally and keep in touch with their tour programme and activities so that their services may be available in times of emergencies. (Punjab Government letter No 5505-PI(S)-57/82934, dated the 18th September, 1957.)
GENERAL
ORDERS
Rules relating to the Subordinate Services under the control of Financial Commissioners.
3.1 Scope of Rules:- The following rules apply to the services under the overall control of the Financial Commissioner, Revenue, Punjab, and may be consulted at Annexure ‘A’:-
(a) The Punjab Commissioners’ Offices (State Service Class II) Rules, 1976.
(b)
The Punjab Commissioners’ Offices (Class III) Service
Rules, 1976
(c) The Punjab District Offices (Class III) Service Rules, 1976.
(d) The Punjab Land Records (State Service Class III) Rules, 1976.
(e) The Punjab Kanungo (State Service Class III) Rules, 1976.
(f) The Punjab Revenue Patwaris (Class III) Service Rules, 1966.
The Rules relating to the service matters of Tehsildars and Naib-Tehsildars will be found in the Punjab Tehsildars ( Class II) Service Rules, 1984 and the Punjab Naib-Tehsildars ( Class III) Service Rules, 1984 and Regulations made thereunder, respectively.
All these services are governed by the Punjab Civil Services Rules relating to the general service conditions of the employees, T.A and D.A., Pension, Gratuity etc., Punishment and Appeal Rules, Premature Retirement Rules, etc. The said rules are available in Punjab Civil Services Rules, Volumes I to III and should be consulted.
3.2 Order of dismissal, removal or reduction in rank :- Special attention is drawn to the Punjab Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1970 wherein the procedure required to followed before an order of dismissal, removal or reduction passed against a member of the service, is laid down. These are appended to this Chapter at Annexure ‘B’.
3.3-----3.4 Deleted.
3.5 Recruitment
to be made through S.S.S. Board.:- The demand for
recruitment in the District Offices should be referred to the Punjab
Subordinate Services Selection Board by the Deputy Commissioners.
3.6----3.8 Deleted
3.9 Applications not to be made to Financial Commissioners Direct:- Members of the service as well as candidates for Government Service must not make direct applications to the Financial Commissioner, Revenue, whether personally or in writing, as to appointments, promotions, punishments, leave or other like matters. In all such cases correspondence must pass through regular channel.
3.10 Control over immovable property held or acquired by Government Servants:- (1) Every Government servant or candidate for Government service must make to the Government, through the usual channel, a declaration of an immovable property which may from time to time be held or acquired by him or by his wife or by any member of his family living with, or in any way dependent upon him.
(2) The following policy has been formulated by the Government for submission of returns of assets and liabilities by Government employees under the Punjab Government Employees (Conduct) Rules, 1966:--
A. (i) Every government employee shall on his first appointment to any service or post submit a return of his assets and liabilities in such form as may be prescribed by the Government giving full particulars regarding,---
(a) the immovable property inherited by him or owned/acquired by him or held by him on lease or mortgage either in his own name or in the name of any other person;
(b)
shares, debentures and cash including bank deposits
inherited by him or similarly owned, acquired or held by him;
(c)
other movable property inherited by him or similarly
owned, acquired or held by him;
(d)
debts and other liabilities incurred by him directly or
indirectly.
(ii) where a Government employee already belonging to a service or holding a post is appointed to any other civil service or post, he shall not be required to submit a fresh return under clause (i) of sub-rule (I) of rule 18 of Punjab Government Employees (Conduct) Rules, 1966.
(iii) Every Government employee belonging to any service or holding any post in Class I or Class II shall submit an annual return in such form as may be prescribed by the Government in this regard giving full particulars regarding the immovable property inherited by him or owned or acquired by him or held by him on lease or mortgage either in his own name or in the name of any member of his family or in the name of any other person.
It may be seen that the submission of annual returns in respect of movable property by all the employees belonging to any Class of services has been dispensed with. As regards the submission of returns in respect of immovable property, an annual return is required in the case or Government employees belonging to Class I and Class II services only, and no such return is required in the case of Class III and Class IV employees. A fresh property return is also not required to be submitted by a government employee who is appointed to any other post or class of service. Government, however, has the power under sub-rule (4) of rule18 of the Punjab Government Employees (Conduct) Rules, 1966 to require a Government employee at any time to furnish a full and complete statement of such movable or immovable property held or acquired by him on his behalf or by any member of his family etc.
(Punjab Government letter No 13/7/78- 2PP/35251,dated 6th November, 1978.)
B Forms I—V have been prescribed for the said purpose. Form I is to be filled and furnished to prescribed authority annually by the Government employees belonging to class I and class II services, whereas the Forms ( numbered I-V) are to be furnished by all Government employees belonging to any class of service at the time of first appointment. (see Annexure C)
3.11 Character roll maintenance - The following are the rules as to the maintenance of character books for members of the service:-
(i) A character roll will be maintained for every member of the service in the prescribed form and will be kept by the officer under whom he is employed; for example, those of the district establishment by the Deputy Commissioner and of the Commissioners’ establishment by the Commissioner. They will be kept under lock and key under the charge of Superintendent of the office who is personally responsible for them.
(ii)
For writing the character roll of the member of the
service, detailed instructions have been issued by the Chief Secretary to
Government, Punjab,---vide his letter No. 2334-ASI-60/15708, dated 3rd
May, 1960, followed by modifications
made from time to time which should be strictly followed. The said
instructions deal with subjects under the following sub-heads:-
(1) The need for regular and punctual recording of reports in personal file.
(2)
What the report should contain.
(3)
Report regarding integrity.
(4)
Minimum period for which a Reporting Officer should have
seen the work of its subordinate before recording remarks on him.
(5)
Recording of remarks on the occasion of relinquishment of
charge by Reporting Authority.
(6)
Issue of letters of appreciation.
(7)
Communication of adverse remarks.
(8)
Representations against adverse remarks.
(9)
Time limit for filing representations against the adverse
remarks and the authorities to whom the representations are to be addressed.
(10)
Nature of documents/communications which need and need not
be placed on personal files.
(11)
Procedure to be followed where a Reporting Authority is
related to the officer to be reported on.
(12)
Soliciting of remarks to be discouraged.
(13)
Custody of personal files and Authorities competent to
convey adverse remarks in Confidential Reports.
(14)
Index to personal files.
(15)
Summary of personal files.
3.12 Deleted.
3.13 Service books and leave accounts - (i) The rules relating to service books and
service rolls are contained in Chapter XII of the Civil Services Rules
(Punjab), Volume I, Part I. On the admission of a person into the Government
service the greatest care should be taken to have the date of his birth
correctly recorded in his service book, and the office who attests the entries
in the book should note that he has satisfied himself, as far as possible of
the correctness of this particular entry. The Establishment Assistant under the
supervision of the Superintendent, is personally responsible for the
maintenance of Service Books and leave accounts of the entire staff including
temporary or officiating men excluding those class IV Government servants who
are serving in the Sub-Divisions. The Assistant-in-charge in the office of the
Sub-Divisional Officer is responsible for the
maintenance of service books and leave
accounts of class IV Government servants employed in the Sub-Division. All
service books should be kept under lock and key of the Assistant concerned. The
service book of the Establishment Assistant will be kept in the custody of the
Superintendent. Once a month after pay is disbursed, the Assistant concerned
should examine the service books and leave accounts of all officials who have
returned from leave during that month and bring them up to date. For any
overpayment on account of leave allowed when not due, the Establishment
Assistant and the Superintendent at headquarters and the Assistant incharge in
the Sub-Divisional Office will be held personally responsible, if the amount
paid in excess is irrecoverable.
(ii) All the service books should be entered in a register which should be maintained by the Assistant concerned which should be maintained by the Assistant concerned and submitted to the Sub-Divisional Officer/Superintendent on the 10th of each month. The Sub-Divisional Officer/Superintendent will be personally responsible for ensuring proper maintenance of service books. For the period after which service books should be destroyed (see Chapter 9 of this Manual).
3.14 Alteration in the recorded date of birth. :- The orders of Government as regards alterations in the recorded date of birth of Government servants are contained in Rule 7.3 of the Punjab Financial Rules, Volume I and can be read with benefit, as follows:-
Every person newly appointed to a service or a post under Government should at the time of appointment declare the date of his birth by the Christian era with confirmatory documentary evidence as far as possible, such as Matriculation Certificate, Municipal birth certificate and so on. If the exact date is not known an approximate date may be given. The actual date or the assumed date determined under Note I below should be recorded in the History of Service. Service Book, or any other record that may be kept in respect of the Government servant’s service under Government and once recorded, it cannot be altered except in the case of a clerical error, without the previous orders of Government.
Note 1- (a) If a Government servant is unable to state his exact date of birth but can state the year ,or year and month of birth, 1st July or the 16th of the month respectively, may be treated as the date of his birth.
(b) If a Government servant is only able to state his approximate age, his date of birth may be assumed to be the corresponding date after deducting the No. of years representing his age from his date of appointment.
(c) When a government servant who first entered military employ, is subsequently employed in a Civil Department the date of birth for civil employment should be the date stated by him at the time of attestation or if at the time of attestation he stated only his age, the date of birth should be deducted with reference to that age according to the method indicated in sub-para (b) above.
(d) In case some change in the date of birth of an employee is proposed to be made on the basis of some evidence before the competent authority, a reasonable opportunity should be afforded to that employee to explain his position before the change is effected. A notice on the basis of principles of natural justice is required when it is proposed to deprive a Government servant of some vested rights. [Letter No. 8180-Services-2-4 (1)-68-31114, dated 9th October, 1968 of Chief Secretary to Government Punjab].
3.15. Channel of submission of applications for
revision.:-Applications
for the revision of all district and divisional establishments should be
submitted to Government through the Financial Commissioner.
3.16
Transfer of Government officials to foreign service.:- The rules
regarding the transfer of Government officials to foreign service will be found
in Chapter X of the Civil Services Rules (Punjab), Volume I.
3.17 Leave extending date of retirement not to be granted:- As all leave due lapses on the date of compulsory retirement it follows that leave to a ministerial servant cannot be granted if it will extend beyond the date on which he may be required to retire [other than leave covered by rule 8.21 (a) of the Civil Service Rules (Punjab), Volume I, Part I]. In view of this if a ministerial servant desires to take long leave due to him and to run no risk of his leave lapsing he should take it before the age of 58 and not after.
3.18 (I) No leave, therefore, should be granted to any ministerial servant that will extend beyond the date of his attaining the age of 58, without the sanction of Government, unless permission has been granted by competent authority for him to remain in service for a further year or shorter period, in which case leave should not be granted that will extend beyond that period.
(2) Whenever it is proposed to permit ministerial servant to remain in service for a further period the recommending authority should report what leave the ministerial servant proposes to take during the period. Recommendations for permitting a ministerial servant to remain in service for a further period must not be made with a view to granting him leave, but should it be necessary for the ministerial servant to take leave during such period not more than 6 months should be granted, at the end of which he will be required to retire, unless special permission is granted for his retention in service.
3.19 Competence to refuse leave :- A head of department is not competent to refuse leave when, as a result, a Government servant will be entitled to apply under rule 8.21 of the Civil Services Rules (Punjab), Volume I, Part I for leave after the date of compulsory retirement.
3.20 Date of retirement:- The date of retirement of Government employee other than a Class IV Employee is the date on which he attains the age of 58 years. Normally he must not be retained in service after attaining the age of superannuation, but in exceptional circumstances he can be allowed to continue in service with the sanction of the competent authority in public interest which must be recorded writing. For premature retirement, the Punjab Civil Services (Premature Retirement Rules, 1975), may consulted (See Annexure ‘D’)
The date of retirement of a government employee is the last date of the month in which he attains the age of 58 years or 1st of the month if he happens to have been born on the first of that month.
3.21 Test of efficiency for retention in service - In order to test the efficiency of a government servant for retention in service beyond 55 years, the Government has considered to screen his record of service so as to reach the conclusion as to whether he should be allowed to continue up to 58 years or be retired on attaining the age of 55 years. The following instructions have been issued by the Government for meticulous compliance in respect of an official attaining the age of 55 years:--
(i) Six months before a Government employee attains the age of 55 years, his record should be carefully examined by the appointing authority, and a provisional judgment formed as to whether he should be retired on attaining the age of 55 years. This decision should be made well in advance so the in the event of retirement being finally decided upon, a notice could be given to the Government employee concerned, at least 3 months before the date on which he is to attain the age of 55 years and his retirement, given effect to at that age.
(ii) When the appointing authority has reasonable cause to believe that a Government employee is lacking in integrity, it would be appropriate to consider him for premature retirement, irrespective of an assessment of ability or efficiency in work.
(iii) In a case in which a Government employee’s integrity is in doubt but his physical or mental condition is such as to make him inefficient for further service, it would be appropriate to consider him for premature retirement.
(iv) A Government employee who has been assessed as “average” should not be retired at the age of 55 years. The test whether a Government employee should be allowed to continue up to the age of 58 years should not, for obvious reasons, be as rigorous as the one applied in consideration when extension in service is allowed beyond the age of superannuation otherwise the power to grant extension would have been sufficient and there would have been no need to raise the age of retirement itself. In considering whether an officer/official falls below the average standard, the question may sometime arise as to whether he should be judged with the reference to the requirement of his substantive grade or those of the grade in which he has been officiating. It is not unusual, for instance, for a Government employee who has earned good reports in his substantive grade, to prove inadequate in his officiating grade. Ordinarily his fitness to continue in service up to the age of 58 years may be judged in relation to his substantive grade, and if he is good enough for that grade, but not for the higher grade in which he has been officiating, he may be reverted to his substantive grade but retained in service. There may be difficulties when a Government employee has been officiating in a higher grade for a long time and it appears unlikely that he would put his heart into his work after reversion. This, however, is a question on which no hard and fast rules can be laid down and each case will have to be considered on its own merits.
(v) Once
it is decided to retain Government employee beyond the age of 55 years he
should be allowed to continue up to the age of 58 without any fresh review
unless this is justified by any exceptional reasons, such as his subsequent
work or conduct or the state of his physical health, which may make earlier
retirement clearly desirable. It is
felt that in order that a Government employee who is cleared for continuance at
a stage of attaining the age of 55 years may settle down to another three years
of work with a sense of security and those working under him accept his control
and discipline without any reservation on annual review between the age of 55
years and 58 years would not be desirable. (Letter No. 4776-3GS(1)-64/15823,
dated19th/21st May, 1964, from the Chief Secretary to Government,
Punjab)
3.22 Deleted
3.23. Options of heads of department - In accordance with the instructions of the Government the A.D. in consultation with Services Department in case of Class I employee; the Administrative Department only in case of class II employee and the appointing authority in case of class III and IV employees are competent to sanction re-employment to an official after his attaining the age of superannuation. The Commissioners, D.C.s, Director of Land Records, etc., should submit for the orders the Government, the cases of the employees covered in the above-said delegation to whom they want to give an extension in service beyond the age of 58 years. Before doing so they should ensure the following conditions laid down in para III of letters No. 727-SII-(4)-67/4841, dated the 17th February, 1967 of the Chief Secretary to Government, Punjab:--
(i) No employee shall be offered re-employment beyond the date of his superannuation except when it is clearly on overriding grounds of public interest and where it is evident that other employees in service are not ripe enough to take up the appointment. However exceptional the caliber of the retiring employee may be and however meritorious his services, these by themselves shall not constitute sufficient grounds for offering him Re-employment. Re-employment shall not , therefore, be considered a reward for outstanding merit.
(ii) When the post on which the retiring employee is proposed to be re-employed is one to which recruitment is to be made through the Punjab Public Service Commission, a non-availability certificate to the effect that persons with suitable qualification and experience are not available in the open market or that it has not been possible for the Commission to arrange a substitute with the requisite qualification and/or experience, should be obtained from Commission. With a view to ensuring that bonafide efforts are made to find a suitable substitute for the person due to retire, the Commission shall be approached at least four months before the vacancy is scheduled to occur.
(iii) If the post on which the retiring employee is proposed to be re-employed is one of the recruitment to which is beyond the purview of the Commission the authority competent to make such recruitment shall record a non-availability certificate to the same effect as mentioned under (ii) above indicating clearly the efforts made, to secure the service of a substitute.
(iv) The age of the employee proposed to be reemployed must be below 60 years except in the case of Patwaris who may be re-employed up to the age of 70 years. Doctors may also be re-employed up to the age of 65 years.
(v) The employee proposed to be re-employed shall have a satisfactory record of service. In particular he should have had a good reputation for integrity and honesty. For this purpose, his character roll and personal file shall be carefully scrutinized and all other relevant information that may be available shall be taken into account.
(vi) The employee proposed to be re-employed shall be physically and mentally fit. For this purpose he shall furnish a medical certificate from a Civil Surgeon.
(vii) The proposed re-employed shall not adversely affect the interests of other competent employees of comparable seniority in the department concerned.
(viii) No particular employee shall be singled out for preferential treatment in the matter of re-employment when the Department is facing a shortage of experienced hands and there is no alternative but to resort to re-employment. Everyone who attains the age of superannuation, except those who are physically or mentally unfit or possess a bad service record, shall be considered for re-employment. A policy of ‘pick and choose’ shall be avoided.
3.24 Compulsory retirement after 25 years’ service - (i) The powers to retire a Government servant compulsorily after 25 years of service are intended to be used against the official whose efficiency is impaired but against whom it is not desirable to make formal charges of inefficiency or who has ceased to be fully efficient (i.e. when a Government servant’s value is clearly incommensurate with the pay he draws) but not to such a degree as to warrant his retirement on a compassionate allowance. It is not the intention to use these powers as a financial weapon, that is to say, the powers should be used only in the case of Government servants who are considered unfit for retention on personal as opposed to financial grounds.
(ii) The above said powers are also proposed to be used in cases where reputation of corruption is clearly established even though no specific instance is likely to be proved under the Punjab Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, Appendix 24 of Volume 1,Part 11,or the Public Service (Inquiries) Act, XXXV11 of 1850 [Letter No .8562-G-SS/16922,dated 29 the June,1955 of the Chief Secretary to Government, Punjab].
3.25 Indebtedness and insolvency - It is incumbent on the Government employee against whom any legal proceeding is instituted about the recovery of any debt due from him or for judging him as an insolvent, to forthwith report the facts of the legal proceedings to the Government . The burden of proving that indebtedness, or insolvency was the result of circumstances with which the exercise of ordinary diligence the Government employee could not have foreseen, or over which he had no control, and had not proceeded from extravagant or dissipated habits rests on the Government employee.
3.26 Unauthorised Absence - Absence without leave is an infringement of discipline, and unless a satisfactory explanation is submitted, severe notice will be taken of such absence. Leave must be applied for and sanctioned before it is taken.
3.27
Conviction of Government Officials - Whenever, a
Government official is judicially convicted or acquitted of any offence, a copy
of decision should be sent to the head of the department in which he is
employed in order that such action in the case, as may be deemed proper, may be
taken at once.
3.28 Re-employment of dismissed officials - (1) Removal from office for such a cause as unfitness for the duties of the office need not usually entail any further consequence. It ought not to bar re-appointment to another office for the duties of which the person may be suited, and it should be accompanied by any subsidiary orders which would operate as such a bar or otherwise prejudice the person in question. Removal should be penalty in all cases where it is not thought necessary to bar future re-employment under Government.
(2) In cases of dismissal, the effect of the order should be preclude the dismissed officer from being re-employed. Ordinary cases of the dismissal of non-gazetted officers need not be notified in the Government Gazzette. As a precaution against the inadvartentre-employment of men who may have been dismissed, it would be sufficient that officers should whether an applicant for a post has been in Government service before, and refer to his previous employer if the circumstances connected with his discharge are not clear. The applicant should be required to produce a copy of his character certificate or other record of service, and a person who succeeds in obtaining employment by the concealment of his antecedents would obviously merit dismissal on the true facts being discovered. The sanction of the Government should always be obtained to the re-employment of persons dismissed.
(3) The dismissal of public servant should be notified in the Gazette only in the following cases ,viz.(i)when it is necessary to notify the public of the removal from service of an officer, whether because his appointment was previously gazetted or from any other cause , and(ii) when it is specially desired to exclude from re-employment in service of the Government, a public servant who has been dismissed for a heinous offence, such as fraud or falsification of accounts.
(4) The reasons for the dismissal of a public officer should not be stated in the notification regarding his dismissal even in cases in which a conviction has been obtained in a criminal court . It will be sufficient to announce that the Government has dispensed with his services , except in those cases in which the cause of dismissal constitutes a disqualification under terms of law regulating the tenure of a particular appointment, and it for this reason necessary to couple with the announcement of the dismissal a statement of the grounds upon which it has been ordered.
3.29 Collection of Subscriptions - Under rule 12 of the Government Servants Conduct Rules, 1966, the Punjab Government has reaffirmed its objection to the association of its officers with the raising of funds or receiving of subscriptions. The Commissioners of Divisions are accordingly required to see that officers subordinate to them avoid any action in connection with advocacy of subscriptions or collection of money except in cases of collection for the District Relief Fund. Rule 12 reads as under:--
“No Government employee shall, except with the previous sanction of the Government or of the prescribed authority, ask for or accept contributions to or otherwise associates himself with the raising of any funds or other collection in cash or in kind in pursuance of any object whatsoever”.
3.30. Procedure to be followed when any Government servant is summoned by a court to produce official documents for the purpose of giving evidence – The law relating to the production of unpublished official records as evidence in courts is contained in sections 123, 124 and 162 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, which are reproduced below:-
123. No one shall be permitted to give any evidence derived from unpublished official records relating to any affairs of State, except with the permission of the officer at the head of the Department concerned, who shall give or with hold such permission as he thinks fit.
124. No public officer shall be compelled to disclose communications made to him in official confidence when he considers that the public interests would suffer by the by the disclosure.
162. A witness summoned to produce a document shall, if it is in his possession or power, bring it to Court not with standing any objection which their may be to its production or to its admissibility. The validity of any such objection shall be decided on by the Court.
(1) The Court, if it sees fit, may inspect the document unless it refers to matters of State, or take over other evidence to enable it to determine on its admissibility.
If for such a purpose it is necessary to cause any document to be translated, the Court may ,if it thinks fit ,direct the translator to keep the contents secret, unless the document is to be given in evidence; and if the interpreter disobeys such direction, he shall be held to have committed an offence under section 166 of the Indian Penal Code.
(2) For the purposes of section 123 above, the expression “officer of the Head of the Department concerned” may be held to mean the officer who is in control of the department and in whose charge records of the department remain. Only such an officer should be treated as the authority to withhold or give the necessary permission for the production of official documents in evidence.
(3) In respect of documents (1) emanating from a higher authority, i.e., the Government of India , or the State Government or which have formed the subject of correspondence with such higher authority, or(2) emanating from other Government whether foreign or members of the Commonwealth, the Head of the Department should obtain the consent of the Government of India or the State Government, as the case may be, through the usual official channels before giving permission to produce the documents in court or giving evidence based on them unless the papers are intended for publication or are of a purely formal or routine nature, when a reference to higher authority may be dispensed with.
(4) In the case of documents other than those specified in paragraph (2) above, production of documents should be withheld only when the public interest would by their disclosure, be injured, or where disclosure would be injurious to national defence or to good diplomatic relations or where the practice of keeping a class of documents secret is necessary for the proper functioning of the public service. Some High Courts have pointed out the circumstances under which no such privilege should be claimed e.g., privilege is not to be claimed on the mere ground that the documents are State documents or are official or are marked confidential or if produced, would result in parliamentary discussion or public criticism or would expose want of efficiency in the administration or tend to lay a particular department of Government open to a claim for compensation . The mere fact that the head of department does not wish the documents to be produced is not an adequate justification for objecting to their production. The High Courts have also observed that refusal to produced documents relating to affairs of State implies that their production will be prejudicial to public interest. Consequently the reasons therefore should be given in an affidavit.
(5) In a case of doubt the head of the department should invariably refer to higher authority for orders.
(6) These instructions apply equally to cases in which Government is a party to the suit. In such cases, much will depend on the legal advice as to the value of the documents, but before they are produced in court, the considerations stated above must be borne in mind, and reference to higher authority made, when necessary.
(7) The Government servant who is to attend a court as a witness with official documents should, where permission under section 123 has been withheld, be given an affidavit in form No .1, duly signed by the Head of the Department in the accompanying form. He should produce it when he is called upon to give his evidence, and should explain that he is not at liberty to produce the documents before the court or to give any evidence derived from them. He should, however, take with him the papers which he has been summoned to produce.
(8) The Government servant who is summoned to produce official documents in respect of which privilege under section 124 has to be claimed will make an affidavit in the accompanying form No. II when he is not attending the court himself to give evidence, he shall have it sent to Court along with the documents. The person through whom the documents are sent to Court should submit the affidavit to the Court, when called upon to produce the documents. He should take with him the documents which he has been called upon to produce but should not hand them over to the Court unless the Court directs him to do so. They should not be shown to the opposite party.
(9) The Head of the Department should abstain form entering into correspondence with the presiding officer of the court concerned in regard to the grounds on which the documents have been called for. He should obey the Court’s orders and should appear personally or arrange for the appearance of another officer in the Court concerned, with the documents and act as indicated in paragraph (7) above, and produce the necessary affidavit, if he claims privilege.
FORM I
IN THE COURT OF
Suit No___________________of 19 I,____________, hereby solemnly affirm and state as follows:-
A summons bearing No_______________, dated____________________, issued by the Court of _____________, dated__________________, in suit No. __________________of 19____(________________ vs ____________), has been received in the Department of _________on _______ 19 ___________ requiring production in the said court on _____________ 19 ______ of documents stated below. I, as head of the Department of ______________________ am in the control of, and incharge of , its records. I have carefully considered the relevant documents and have come to the conclusion that they are unpublished official records relating to affairs of State and their disclosure will be prejudicial to public interest for the following reasons:--
LIST OF DOCUMENTS SUMMONED
I do not, therefore, give permission to anyone under section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act ,1872, to produce the said documents or to give any evidence derived there from.
Solemnly at ____________this_________day of_________________19_______
Name and designation of the Officer at the Head of the Department . SWORN BEFORE ME.
FORM OF AFFIDAVIT NO . 11
IN THE COURT OF
SUIT / NO._______________of__________19_______.
I, *________________________________do hereby solemnly affirm and state as follows;__
A summons bearing No._____________dated___________issued by the Court of__________________in Suit No._______________of 19__________(___________________Vs_________ has been served on me on _________19__________, requiring production in the said Court on_________19______, of the documents stated below. I have carefully considered them and come to the conclusion that they contain communications made in official confidence and I consider that the public interest would suffer by their disclosure for the following reasons ;---
LIST OFDOCUMENTS SUMMONED
I , therefore, claim privilege under section 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
Solemnly affirmed at ____________day of__________19____________
( Here write the name and designation
of the officer making the affidavit.)
Sworn before me