Over 90 former civil servants on Tuesday raised concerns about recent amendments made to the All India Services Rules, saying that the Centre wants to impose a complete ban on the right of retired civil servants to comment on public matters by threatening to withhold or withdraw their pensions.
On July 6, the Centre amended rules to take action against pensioners who were employed with the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, Indian Forest Service without having to wait for a reference from state governments if they are found guilty of a “grave misconduct” or convicted by court.
Officers for all the three services are hired by the Union government through a centralised process but are deputed in states based on the cadre they are assigned.
The former bureaucrats, who are part of the Constitutional Conduct Group, said in a statement on Tuesday that the Centre has not provided an “exhaustive definition” of what constitutes “grave misconduct” while making the amendments.
“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…
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