Media reports that more than 200 officers of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) have failed to file their immovable property returns till date despite repeated extension of deadlines by a lenient government are shocking. As an all-India service, the IAS continues to be the overarching framework of the country’s administration. From running sub-divisions and districts to the administration of Union and State Government Ministries, research, commercial and industrial undertakings — and even fashion designing schools — its members man the commanding heights of governance. The fact that the pampered members of this elite service, who are the main pillars of any government in enforcing the rule of law, consider themselves immune from observing the rules for their own personal conduct shows that what was once considered the iron frame of administration is rusting. The government should immediately initiate deterrent action against defaulting officers so that a strong message can be sent that nobody is above the law.
At a time when one former secretary is in jail for his alleged complicity in the 2G scam and several cases of the former and working IAS officers amassing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income are coming to public attention, prompt action to weed out the corrupt officials has assumed paramount importance.
Unfortunately, the legal framework envisaged for taking action against the officers is cumbersome and allows the corrupt bureaucrats to get away despite evidence of their culpability by using loopholes in the law. A recent example of this was provided when the department of personnel in the Government of India was forced to reinstate an IAS officer accused of operating more than a hundred bank accounts and owning benami land due to a delay in filing charge-sheet against him. It is time that the government reviewed Article 311 of the Constitution that protects all-India services, to devise a fair but fast track procedure for removing those against whom charges of corruption are proved.