Government officials should be summoned by courts only in “exceptional” cases and not as a matter of routine, according to a draft standard operating procedure (SOP) prepared by the Centre on appearance of public servants in various matters.
The draft SOP, submitted in the Supreme Court by solicitor general Tushar Mehta, also suggested that courts maintain restraint while commenting on the dress, educational or social background of the concerned government official appearing before it.
On April 20, a top court bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud had allowed the Centre to file the SOP after it stayed an order of Allahabad high court in a case concerning two Uttar Pradesh government officials. The high court had ordered the arrest of two officers – finance secretary SMA Rizvi and special secretary (finance) Sarayu Prasad Mishra – over non-compliance of a decision to provide facilities to retired high court judges.
“The in-person appearance of government officials should be called for only in exceptional cases and not as a matter of routine. Courts should practice necessary restraint while summoning the government officials during hearing of cases (writs, PILs etc.), including contempt cases,” the SOP, a copy of which HT has seen, said.
Referring to past instances wherein government officials have been pulled up over their attire by courts, the SOPs said: “Comments on the dress or physical appearance or educational and social background of the government official appearing before the court should be refrained.” It added that government officials are not officers of the court and their appearance in a “decent work dress” should not be objected to.
{{/usCountry}}Referring to past instances wherein government officials have been pulled up over their attire by courts, the SOPs said: “Comments on the dress or physical appearance or educational and social background of the government official appearing before the court should be refrained.” It added that government officials are not officers of the court and their appearance in a “decent work dress” should not be objected to.
{{/usCountry}}The Centre said the SOP seek to create a more “congenial and conducive” environment between the judiciary and government, with a view to improve the overall quality of compliance of judicial orders by the government and minimising scope for contempt of court. “This SOP would contribute significantly to saving time and resources of both the court and the government by allowing for the appearance of the concerned official through VC (video conferencing,” it said.