''T. S. R. Subramanian versus Union of India and Ors.'', was a landmark decision of the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

in which the Court ruled that civil servants were not bound to follow oral directives. The case began with a

public interest In social science and economics, public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society. While it has earlier philosophical roots and is considered to be at the core of democratic theories of government, often paired ...

civil

writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

filed before the Supreme Court of India and was decided in October 2013.

Premise

The case was filed as a

civil

writ petition In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

by T. S. R. Subramanian, retired

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the Public administration, administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. The IAS is one of the three All India Services along with the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian ...

(IAS) officer and former

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

; T. S. Krishnamurthy, retired IAS officer and former Chief Election Commissioner; N. Gopalaswami, retired IAS officer and former Chief Election Commissioner; Abid Hussain, retired IAS officer and former Indian ambassador to the United States; Ved Prakash Marwah, retired

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service (IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became Partition of India, independent from the British Empire. Along with the Indian Admini ...

(IPS) officer and former Manipur governor; Joginder Singh, retired IPS officer and former director of the

Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the domestic crime investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and gover ...

, and 77 others in 2011. It was heard by a division bench comprising justices K. S. Panicker Radhakrishnan and Pinaki Chandra Ghose from 2011 to 2013. The petitioners were retired top

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

s from—among others—the IAS and the IPS. They sought mandatory court injunctions to support the independence of the various Indian civil services and their freedom from political interference, by requiring the Indian federal and state governments to implement the recommendations made by several commissions of review (including the Hota Commission): that oral instructions given by politicians to civil servants must be recorded in writing, that senior civil service appointments should be made for a fixed term, and that civil services boards should be established to advise on postings. In addition, politicians in state government were seen to have been transferring civil servants repeatedly.

Judgment

Major rulings in the case included: * Officers of the IAS, other

All India Services The All India Services (AIS) comprises three Civil Services of India common to the centre and state governments, which includes the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Police Service (IPS), and the Indian Forest Service (IFS). ...

and other civil servants were not bound to follow oral directives, as they "undermine credibility". * Establishment of a Civil Services Board (CSB), headed by the Cabinet Secretary at the national level and chief secretaries at the state level, to recommend transfers and postings of All India Services (the Indian Administrative Service, the

Indian Forest Service The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is the premier forest service of India. .The IFS is one of the three All India Services along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) & the Indian Police Service (IPS). It was constituted in the year 1966 un ...

and the Indian Police Service) officers. * *

Reaction

The supreme court decision received a mostly-positive reaction and was considered a "major reform". Indian Administrative Service Association secretary Sanjay Bhoosreddy said, " esupport the judgement. It vindicates our stand. It will help in good governance across the country". According to Indian Forest Service Association president A. R. Chadha, the ruling would check arbitrary transfers and suspensions. A

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

secretary-general,

Dharmendra Pradhan Dharmendra Pradhan (born 26 June 1969) is an Indian politician who has served as the Minister of Education since his appointment in July 2021. He has previously held the portfolios of Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (2017– ...

, said that it would "help bring greater transparency the system". Pradhan added that the "decision should not hamper government functioning, especially development work being carried out by the government". An

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

spokesperson, P. C. Chacko, disagreed: " discharge the responsibilities of the executive effectively, the power of transfer and posting of the officials should be with the government. For effective administration, the discretion should be with the political authority. Any infringement of this authority will not be good for the country,". The president of the

Centre for Policy Research The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) is an Indian think tank focusing on public policy. Established in 1973 and located in New Delhi, it is one of the national social science research institutes recognized by the Indian Council of Social Scie ...

tweeted, " the face of it, supreme court is continuing its constitutional usurpation; and many orders are practically unworkable".

References

External links

* * {{Cite court, litigants=T. S. R. Subramanian & Ors. versus Union of India & Ors., court=

, pinpoint=W. P. (C) No. 82 of 2011, url=https://api.sci.gov.in/jonew/judis/40943.pdf (PDF). Supreme Court of India cases 2013 in case law 2013 in Indian law 2013 in Indian politics Civil service in India