The Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964
RULE 1. SHORT TITLE, COMMENCEMENT AND APPLICATION:
Government of India Decisions
(1) Employment of Honorary Workers in civil posts – applicability of the CCS (Conduct) Rules.
Various questions have arisen from time to time in connection with employment of honorary workers in civil posts. After careful consideration it has been decided that the following instructions should be laid down for the guidance of all concerned.
2. The basic principles to be adopted in this matter are:-
(i) Employment of honorary workers in civil posts should be an exceptional procedure to be resorted to only in abnormal circumstances or when suitable paid employees are not available.
(ii) Honorary employment should be offered only to such persons as have rendered meritorious services or are eminent in public life and have a striking reputation for integrity.
(iii) Services of an honorary worker should be utilised only in an advisory capacity. The work to be entrusted to him should not be such as would involve exercise of executive, administrative or judicial powers as the holder of a civil post or exercise of authority in the name, or on behalf, of Government.
(iv) An honorary worker should be paid a nominal salary of Re.1 per month in respect of the civil post the duties of which he is required to perform. This is necessary in order to bring him within the ambit of the Government servants Conduct Rules and other service rules. An honorary worker need not, however, actually draw the nominal salary and may, by writing to the Accounts Officer concerned voluntarily surrender it. For the purpose of official records, however, such nominal salary must be fixed and specified in the order of appointment.
(v) All honorary workers should automatically and proprio vigore be subject to the provisions of the Indian Official Secrets Act, 1923. They need not be required to sign any declaration in this connection, but the position should expressly be made clear to each honorary worker at the time of his appointment.
3. It is realised that strict enforcement of the above principles may present practical difficulties in individual cases. For example, it may not be necessary to enforce the requirements of clause (iii) in paragraph 2 above in the case of persons who have previously held a high office under Government. Again, honorary workers who are prominent in the public or political life of the country cannot reasonably be expected to sever their lifelong association with the political parties to which they belong; as a working arrangement, therefore, rule 18 (now rule 8) (connection with the press), 20 (now rule 9) (criticism of Government) and 23 (now rule 5) (taking part in politics) of the Government Servant’s Conduct Rules ought not to be enforced against such persons in so far as participation in politics is concerned. In all other respects, however, such persons should be governed by the provisions of the Government Servant’s Conduct Rules.
4. In the case of the employment of Members of Parliament in an honorary capacity, it is necessary to ensure that such employment does not amount to holding an office of profit under Article 102 (1) (a) of the Constitution. In such cases the requirements of clause (iii) in paragraph 2 above should be strictly adhered to while requirements of clause (iv) should not be enforced at all. The instructions issued vide the Ministry of Law’s Office Memorandum No. F.55(1)/50-C, dated the 6th February, 1951 (not reproduced), regarding the payment of allowances and fees to Members of Parliament should also be carefully borne in mind.
5. All proposals for the employment of honorary workers in civil posts as well as all proposals for exceptional treatment in cases in which the Ministry concerned considers that the requirements of any of the basic principles laid down in paragraph 2 above, should be relaxed, should be referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs for prior concurrence.
6. It should be made clear to honorary workers at the time of their appointment that there is no obligation on the part of Government to provide them with residential accommodation or any other concessions usually allowed to salaried employees of Government. Each such case would be treated on its merits. Accommodation, furniture, etc. may be made available if justified, and to the extent it can be done without detriment to Government’s commitments to salaried employees.
7. A copy of this Office Memorandum should be communicated to every honorary worker alongwith the orders of his appointment.
8. The Ministry of Finance etc. are requested to note these instructions and communicate them to their Attached and Subordinate Offices for guidance. They are also required to examine the cases of any honorary workers at present employed under them or in their Attached or Subordinate offices with a view to ensuring compliance with these instructions.
9. These instructions supersede the orders contained in the late Home Department Office Memorandum No. 50/15/39-Public dated the 24th October, 1950 (not reproduced).
[MHA OM No. 25/2/50-Ests.(A), dated 20.06.1951]
(2) Applicability of the Conduct Rules to employees of public undertakings
A question has been raised whether employees of corporate bodies controlled or financed by the Central Government should be subject to all or any of the conditions imposed in the case of Central Government servants by the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules. The extent to which such conditions can be applied to employees of a statutory corporation would naturally depend on the provisions of the statute setting up the Corporation. The statute may provide for suitable rules being made by the Corporation itself or by Government. Where there is no such statutory provision or the body is non-statutory, the conditions of service of employees would be determined by the terms, expressed or implied, of the contract of service. It will then be open to the employer, subject to the relevant labour laws where they apply, to lay down conditions of service which would operate as terms of a contract.
It has been decided that in corporate undertakings entirely financed by the Central Government, i.e. where the whole capital is invested by the State, the activities of the employees should be restricted in the same manner as for those working directly under Government. In such cases action should be taken to extend the provisions of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules to the employees either by a self-contained set of rules under the specific statutory authority for framing such rules or as terms of the contract.
In regard to employees of corporate undertakings controlled or partly financed by the Central Government also, the provisions of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules should wherever possible, be applied with such modifications as may be necessary.
[MHA OM No. 25/55/53-Estt.(A) dated 14.03.1956]
(2A) It is laid down in Decision No. (2) above that in the corporate undertakings entirely financed by the Central Government, i.e., where the whole capital is invested by the State, the activities of the employees should be restricted in the same manner as for those directly under Government and in such cases action should be taken to extend the provisions of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules to the employees either by a self-contained set of rules under the specific statutory authority for framing such rules or as terms of the contract. In regard to employees of corporate undertakings controlled or partly financed by the Central Government the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules should wherever possible be applied with such modifications as may be necessary.
The Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, which have been recently revised – vide Home Ministry’s Notification No. 25/4/63-Ests.(A), dated 30th November, 1964, contain certain important provisions such as those relating to integrity, which have been made or modified on the recommendation of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption (Santhanam Committee). It is requested that statutory and other corporate public sector undertakings under the control of the Ministry of Industry and Supply etc., may be advised to bring their Conduct Rules on the lines of the revised CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964 and to incorporate particularly, the important provisions of the CCS (Conduct) Rules relating to integrity.
[MHA OM No. 7/30/62-Ests.(A) dated 14.06.1965]
(3) Applicability of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules to members of Committees/Commissions appointed by the Government of India
Attention is invited to Decision No. (1) above in which it is laid down that an honorary worker should be paid a nominal salary of Re.1 per mensem so that he may technically be a Government servant governed by the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules and other service rules. The Government of India have since been advised that, subject to the exceptions specified in the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1955 these rules apply to “all persons appointed to civil services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union” and that the criterion for deciding whether the rules apply in a particular case is whether the person concerned has been formally appointed to a civil service or post under the Central Government and not merely whether he is in receipt of remuneration from Government. Accordingly where the intention is that the person to be appointed should be governed by the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, the appointment should be made to a specific civil service or post.
2. Non-official members (i.e. all persons other than those who are in active Government service) of Commissions, Boards and Committees of Enquiry set up by Government, may sometimes attach considerable importance to their non-official status and prefer it to be maintained while accepting membership of such Commissions etc. In such cases, if the intention is that the said rules should not apply, the person concerned should not be appointed to any central civil service or post, but should be appointed as Chairman or Member of the Commission or Committee as the case may be, without reference to any civil service or post, on such honoraria as may be considered suitable.
3. The Government of India have also noticed that in several instances the honoraria sanctioned for honorary workers are substantial. In such cases the person concerned is an honorary worker in name only. The Government of India do not consider it proper to fix the amount of honorarium at such a figure that the honorary character of the employment is lost. Moreover, if the person desires to maintain his non-official status and does not wish to be regarded as a Government servant, it follows that the remuneration allowed to him as honorarium should be nominal and not equivalent to what would have been allowed to him as salary if he had been appointed to a regular post.
[MHA OM No. 25/39/58-Ests(A), dated 25.10.1958]
(4) Not applicable to Extra-Departmental Agents
In pursuance of clause (c) of sub-rule (3) of Rule 1 of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, the President hereby declares that the said rules shall not apply to any extra departmental Agent in the Posts and Telegraphs Department who does not hold any other post in connection with the affairs of the Union.
[MHA Notification No. F.25/29/57-Ests.(A), dated 25.01.1959]