By Umang Poddar

In the first week of July, the federal government amended the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958, giving itself more power to withhold or withdraw the pension of retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officers convicted of a “serious crime” or found guilty of “grave misconduct”.

These three services are among the most sought-after jobs in the country, partly due to their pay security and pension. IAS, IPS and IFS officers are posted to different states – referred to as their cadre – where they spend a considerable amount of time. (Officers are routinely also sent on assignment to work for the federal government.)

Earlier, the federal government had to wait for a reference from the state government where the retired officer served to initiate action against them. It could then decide to withhold the officer’s pension for as long as it deemed fit.

However, after the amendment, the federal government can take action against the officer even without a reference from the state government. The new rules have been criticised by several retired bureaucrats, who often question the government on its actions and policies.

On 25 July, 94 former bureaucrats from Constitutional Conduct Group – a civil rights organisation – signed a public statement urging the government to scrap the amendment. They said it was vaguely worded and could be used to impose “a complete ban on the right of retired civil servants to comment on public matters” by keeping officers under the threat of losing their pension.

What are the new rules?

Some would say it’s reasonable if an officer who has been convicted of a “serious crime” by a court loses his pension.

But the new rules add that even if an officer has not been convicted, but the federal government “considers” that the officer is “prima facie guilty of grave misconduct”, it can withdraw their pension after giving a notice and a right to respond. The government’s decision will be considered final in these cases…

This story was originally published in bbc.com. Read the full story here