New Delhi: A bureaucrat cannot be victimized for criticising Government before a judicial forum, as it does not amount to service
misconduct, the Supreme Court has said while slapping a fine of
Rs. 5 lakh on Centre and UP government for harassing an IAS officer who
approached it on the black money issue.
“The right to
judicial remedies for the redressal of either personal or
public grievances is a constitutional right of the subjects
(bothcitizens and non-citizens) of this
country. Employees of the State
cannot become
members of a different and inferior class to whom such right is not available,”
the bench headed by justice J Chelameswar said.
The
bench, also comprising Justice A K Sikri said it is “astounding” that Centre
and the state government consider that a complaint to the apex court of executive malfeasance causing debilitating economic and security concerns for the country amounts to
inappropriate conduct for a civil servant.
“We
are at a loss to comprehend how the filing of the writ petition containing allegations that the Government of India is
lax in discharging its constitutional obligations of establishing the rule of
law can be said to amount to either failure to maintain absolute integrity and devotion to duty or of indulging in conduct unbecoming
of a member of the service,” the bench said.
The
bench said that the Constitution declares India as a sovereign democratic Republic
and “The requirement of such democratic republic is that every action of the
State is to be informed with reason. State is not a hierarchy of regressively genuflecting
coterie of bureaucracy.”
PTI
