Corrupt babus may soon be out faster

The government wants to make it easier to sack corrupt officials against whom there is overwhelming evidence, particularly those caught red-handed accepting bribes.

The government wants to make it easier to sack corrupt officials against whom there is overwhelming evidence, particularly those caught red-handed accepting bribes.

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The department of personnel and training (DoPT) is considering a set of proposals to cut the time taken to penalise delinquent government officials, including sacking officials found to be involved in brazen instances of corruption.

The government sources said minister of state for personnel VN Narayanswamy had instructed officials to look at the legal provisions that need to be amended to swiftly punish corrupt officers.

The provocation for the minister's instructions came after he had to clear the reinstatement of an Indian Administrative Service officer accused of operating more than a hundred bank accounts and owning benami land.

"The minister was aghast…but he did not have an option due to the existing legal framework," a government official later said.

The department is examining if the constitutional guarantee to civil servants under Article 311 would need to be amended or the lengthy procedures could be "short-circuited" by changing the rules.

The official said there were court rulings that permitted the government to impose major penalties of dismissal or removal from service without inquiry since the charged official would get adequate protection at the appeal stage.