Holding that all government employees found guilty of accepting illegal gratification should be either removed or dismissed from service without any scope for a lesser punishment, the Madras High Court has made a suggestion to the State government to bring in appropriate amendments to the disciplinary rules applicable to government employees.
Justice V. Parthiban directed the High Court Registry to forward his judgement to the Chief Secretary for necessary action. He made the suggestion while dismissing a writ petition filed by a dismissed Sub-Inspector of Police to reduce the punishment imposed on him to compulsory retirement and consequently settle his retirement benefits. “This court is unable to appreciate a specious piece of argument that the offence relating to corruption is not of moral turpitude... If corruption is not a moral turpitude, this court does not think what else can be termed as turpitude apart from certain other offences of Indian Penal Code like cheating, rape and so on.”
Further, the judge said: “Incidents of corruption are proliferating in alarming proportion in public employment... Unless, the monstrosity of ubiquitous corruption is handled with iron hand, it will eventually lead to a situation where the entire citizenry will be forced to participate in the game of corruption.”
He pointed out that the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, which govern service conditions of central government employees, provide that in every case of acceptance of any illegal gratification, the punishment to be imposed would be either removal from service or dismissal from service unless there were exceptional circumstances.
The State government employees should also be regulated by a similar rule, he said.