T. S. R. Subramanian v. Union of India

Last updated

T.S.R. Subramanian v. Union of India
Emblem of the Supreme Court of India.svg
Court Supreme Court of India
Full case nameT. S. R. Subramanian &Ors. versus Union of India & Ors.
Decided31 October 2013
Citation(s) W. P. (C) No. 82 of 2011
D. No. 4750-2011
Case opinions
Decision by K. S. Panicker Radhakrishnan

T. S. R. Subramanian &Ors. versus Union of India and Ors., was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India in which the Court ruled that civil servants were not bound to follow oral directives. The case began with a public interest civil writ petition filed before the Supreme Court of India and was decided in October 2013. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Premise

Building of the Supreme Court of India Supreme Court of India - 200705.jpg
Building of the Supreme Court of India

The case was filed as a public interest civil writ petition by T. S. R. Subramanian, retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and former Cabinet Secretary; T. S. Krishnamurthy, retired IAS officer and former Chief Election Commissioner; N. Gopalaswami, retired IAS officer and former Chief Election Commissioner; Abid Hussain, retired IAS officer and former Indian ambassador to the United States; Ved Prakash Marwah, retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and former Manipur governor; Joginder Singh, retired IPS officer and former director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, and 77 others in 2011. [1] It was heard by a division bench comprising justices K. S. Panicker Radhakrishnan and Pinaki Chandra Ghose from 2011 to 2013. [4] [5]

The petitioners were retired top civil servants from—among others—the IAS and the IPS. They sought mandatory court injunctions to support the independence of the various Indian civil services and their freedom from political interference, by requiring the Indian federal and state governments to implement the recommendations made by several commissions of review (including the Hota Commission): that oral instructions given by politicians to civil servants must be recorded in writing, that senior civil service appointments should be made for a fixed term, and that civil services boards should be established to advise on postings. In addition, politicians in state government were seen to have been transferring civil servants repeatedly. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Judgment

The judgement of the Supreme Court of India T.S.R. Subramanian vs Union of India.pdf
The judgement of the Supreme Court of India

Major rulings in the case included:

Reaction

The supreme court decision received a mostly-positive reaction and was considered a "major reform". [1] [2] [12] [16] [17]

Indian Administrative Service Association secretary Sanjay Bhoosreddy said, "[we] support the judgement. It vindicates our stand. It will help in good governance across the country". [3] According to Indian Forest Service Association president A. R. Chadha, the ruling would check arbitrary transfers and suspensions. [3] A Bharatiya Janata Party secretary-general, Dharmendra Pradhan, said that it would "help bring greater transparency in[ sic ] the system". Pradhan added that the "decision should not hamper government functioning, especially development work being carried out by the government". [3]

An Indian National Congress spokesperson, P. C. Chacko, disagreed: "[t]o discharge the responsibilities of the executive effectively, the power of transfer and posting of the officials should be with the government. For effective administration, the discretion should be with the political authority. Any infringement of this authority will not be good for the country,". [3] The president of the Centre for Policy Research tweeted, "[o]n the face of it, supreme court is continuing its constitutional usurpation; and many orders are practically unworkable". [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Court of India</span> Highest judicial body in India

The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judicial authority and the highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also has the power of judicial review. The Supreme Court, which consists of the Chief Justice of India and a maximum of fellow 33 judges, has extensive powers in the form of original, appellate and advisory jurisdictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Police Service</span> One of the Central Civil Services

The Indian Police Service is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from British Raj.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of India</span> Legislative, executive and judiciary authority of India

The Government of India, also known as the Central Government or simply the Centre, is the national authority of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, consisting of 28 union states and eight union territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency College, Chennai</span> College in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India

Presidency College is an art, commerce, and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. On 16 October 1840, this school was established as the Madras Preparatory School before being repurposed as a high school, and then a graduate college. The Presidency College is one of the oldest government arts colleges in India. It is one of two Presidency Colleges established by the British in India, the other being the Presidency College, Kolkata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Administrative Service</span> Central Civil Services of the Government of India and State Government

The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. The IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian Police Service and the Indian Foreign Service. Members of these three services serve the Government of India as well as the individual states. IAS officers are also deployed to various government establishments such as constitutional bodies, staff and line agencies, auxiliary bodies, public sector undertakings, regulatory bodies, statutory bodies and autonomous bodies.

The All India Services (AIS) comprises three civil services in India common to the centre and state governments, which includes the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Police Service (IPS), and the Indian Forest Service (IFS). Civil servants recruited through All India Services by the central government are assigned to different state government cadres. Some civil servants may, later in their career, also serve the centre on deputation. Officers of these three services comply to the All India Services Rules relating to pay, conduct, leave, various allowances etc.

The Government of Delhi, officially the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) is the governing body of the Union Territory of Delhi, whose urban area is the seat of the Government of India. It also governs the city or local governments in the area as per the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act.

In India, the Civil Service is the collection of civil servants of the government who constitute the permanent executive branch of the country. This includes servants in the All India Services, the Central Civil Services, and various State Civil Services, who are recruited by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), and each state's Public Service Commissions.

Shankar Mahadev Bidari is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who was the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DGP) of the state of Karnataka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. S. R. Subramanian</span> Indian politician

Thirumanilaiyur Sitapati Ramana Subramanian was an Indian bureaucrat who served as the cabinet secretary of India from August 1996 to March 1998. He was a 1961 batch Indian Administrative Service officer from Uttar Pradesh Cadre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nripendra Misra</span> Indian civil servant

Nripendra Misra is an Indian bureaucrat and civil servant. An Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1967 batch from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, he served as the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi from 2014 to 2019. He earlier served as the chairperson of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, as the Telecom Secretary of India and the Fertilizers Secretary of India. He was awarded India's third highest civilian award the Padma Bhushan in 2021. His son Saket Misra is a nominated Member of Legislative Council in Government of Uttar Pradesh since April 2023.

Police Complaints Authority (PCA) is a body that adjudicates allegations of improper or shoddy investigations, refusal to file FIRs, custodial torture and high-handedness against the police. But its recommendations are high authorities and recognised governmental authority upon the state government for action against errant police personnel. Seventeen States have established the PCAs through State Police Acts, while ten states have done this through executive orders with a long-term goal of the PCAs is changing the policing culture and making it thoroughly professional.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief secretary (India)</span> List of Chief Secretaries in the Indian states

The Chief Secretary is the top-most executive official and senior-most civil servant of the state government. The Chief Secretary is the ex-officio head of the state Civil Services Board, the State Secretariat, the state cadre Indian Administrative Service and all civil services under the rules of business of the state government. The Chief Secretary acts as the principal advisor to the chief minister on all matters of state administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaktikanta Das</span> Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

Shaktikanta Das is serving as the current & 25th governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He was earlier a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission and India's Sherpa to the G20. Das is a retired 1980 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifteenth Finance Commission</span>

The Fifteenth Finance Commission is an Indian Finance Commission constituted in November 2017 and is to give recommendations for devolution of taxes and other fiscal matters for five fiscal years, commencing 2020-04-01. The commission's chairman is Nand Kishore Singh, a senior member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since March 2014, with its full-time members being Ajay Narayan Jha, Ashok Lahiri and Anoop Singh. In addition, the commission also has a part-time member in Ramesh Chand.

<i>All India Services Act, 1951</i> Indian legislation

The All India Services Act, 1951 is an Indian legislation. The Act established two All India Services and provides for the creation of three more.

Anshu Prakash is a retired 1986 batch civil servant of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre. He served as the Chief Secretary of Delhi from 4 December 2017 to 18 November 2018. He also served as secretary in the telecom department of the Ministry of Communications (India) from 1 August 2019 to 30 September 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India</span> Chief of staff to the Indian Prime Minister

The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India is the administrative head of the Prime Minister's Office. The officeholder is generally a civil servant, commonly from the Indian Administrative Service and occasionally from the Indian Foreign Service.

Tumkur Ramaiah Satishchandran was a Padma Bhushan winning 1952 batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Karnataka cadre, who served as the Governor of Goa and also served as the 7th Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, the Chief Secretary of Karnataka and Power Secretary of India.

<i>Government of NCT of Delhi v. Union of India</i> Supreme Court of India landmark civil appeal ruling pronounced on 4 July 2018

Government of NCT of Delhi versus Union of India & Another [C. A. No. 2357 of 2017] is a civil appeal heard before the Supreme Court of India by a five-judge constitution bench of the court. The case was filed as an appeal to an August 2016 verdict of the Delhi High Court that ruled that the lieutenant governor of Delhi exercised "complete control of all matters regarding National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi", and was heard by the Supreme Court in November and December 2017.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Venkatesan, J. (31 October 2018). "In major reform, SC orders fixed tenure for bureaucrats". The Hindu . New Delhi. ISSN   0971-751X. OCLC   13119119 . Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Balaji, R. (1 November 2013). "Chance to say 'No, minister'". The Telegraph . New Delhi. OCLC   271717941 . Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Monalisa (31 October 2013). "Supreme Court seeks to unshackle bureaucracy". Live Mint . New Delhi: HT Media Ltd . Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  4. ↑ T. S. R. Subramanian & Ors. versus Union of India & Ors., W. P. (C) No. 82 of 2011( Supreme Court of India ), Text .
  5. ↑ "'The Civil Servants Cannot Function On The Basis Of Verbal Or Oral Instructions". Outlook . New Delhi. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  6. ↑ Banik, Dan (1 June 2001). "The transfer raj: Indian civil servants on the move". The European Journal of Development Research. 13 (1): 106–134. doi:10.1080/09578810108426783. ISSN   0957-8811. OCLC   55042966. S2CID   154680293 – via Palgrave Macmillan.
  7. ↑ Saxena, Vaishali (2003). Bureaucracy on Wheels: Trauma of Transfers in the Indian Administrative Service. Jaipur: Aalekh Publishers. ISBN   978-8187359210. OCLC   191202280.
  8. ↑ "Haryana moves IAS officer Khemka again: 47th transfer in 25 years". Hindustan Times . Indo-Asian News Service. 8 April 2016. ISSN   0972-0243. OCLC   231696742 . Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  9. ↑ Sehgal, Manjeet (12 April 2017). "Chandigarh: Haryana IAS officer Pradeep Kasni transferred for 68th time in 33 years". India Today . Chandigarh: Aroon Purie. ISSN   0254-8399 . Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  10. ↑ Venkatesan, J. (1 November 2013). "Oral instructions undermine accountability: Supreme Court". The Hindu . New Delhi: N. Ram. ISSN   0971-751X. OCLC   13119119 . Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  11. ↑ Nagpal, Deepak (31 October 2013). "IAS officers will no more act on oral orders: Supreme Court". Zee News . New Delhi: Zee Media Corporation Limited . Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  12. 1 2 "Fix bureaucrats' tenure, free them from political influence: SC". Firstpost. New Delhi. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  13. ↑ Jain, Bharti (31 January 2014). "2-year fixed postings for IAS, IPS and forest service". The Times of India . New Delhi: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. OCLC   23379369 . Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  14. ↑ Chhibber, Maneesh (31 January 2014). "Centre notifies 2-yr tenure for IAS, IPS, Forest Service officers". The Indian Express . New Delhi: Indian Express Group. OCLC   70274541 . Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  15. ↑ "Civil services board to oversee officers' postings". The Hindu . Thiruvananthapuram: N. Ram. 1 May 2014. ISSN   0971-751X. OCLC   13119119 . Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  16. ↑ "SC seeks to protect civil servants from their political bosses". Business Standard . New Delhi: Business Standard Ltd. B. S. Reporter. 1 November 2013. OCLC   496280002 . Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  17. ↑ "Year-end Special: 10 landmark judgments of 2013". Rediff.com . 20 December 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.