Seminar on ‘Speaking orders’ for IAS, PCS officers held

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, January 17

Aiming to update the knowledge of civil service officers on various revenue and legal issues, the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration Punjab (MGSIPA) organised a one-day seminar on ‘Speaking orders’ for IAS and PCS officers, at the institute in Sector 26. The programme was sponsored by the Punjab Department of Personnel.

Launching the programme with an opening session on the theme, ‘Essentials of Speaking orders’, Punjab Special Chief Secretary and Director General of MGSIPA, Sarvesh Kaushal, emphasised that in discharging quasi-judicial functions, the appellate authority must act in accordance with natural justice and give reasons for its decision.

He gave a detailed presentation on the historical background and other related aspects of the subject and stressed that a ‘Speaking order’ should speak itself and must be able to stand the test of legality, fairness and reason at all higher appellate fora. He said, “The order should have all details of the issue being determined, a reasoned analysis and a clear finding. This practice will help prevent miscarriage of justice and ensuring transparency in decision making process.”

Kaushal, while referring to revenue and other issues where claims are disputed, said that reasoned speaking orders are essential to give an opportunity to the losing party to effectively avail of the right to appeal challenge the grounds on which the adverse conclusions had been arrived at in the impugned order.

Concluding his session, Kaushal said that in all common law jurisdictions, judgements play vital role in setting up precedents for the future. Therefore, for development of law, requirements of giving reasons for the decision are of the essence and are virtually a part of “due process”.

Conducting another session, Punjab Additional Chief Secretary (Housing and Urban Development) and Financial Commissioner (Revenue), Vini Mahajan, focused on case studies regarding non-speaking orders by the IAS and PCS officers.