Rules amended for ex-officials writing books to prevent 'loss to the country': Govt

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 22

The government on Thursday said that the rules have recently been changed for retired officers planning to write on “sensitive subjects” pertaining to their erstwhile organizations to prevent “a loss to the country”.

Responding to a written question asked in the Rajya Sabha Minister of State (MoS) for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh said, “Stakeholders were consulted while amending Rule 8 of Central Civil Services (Pension) Amendment Rules, 2021 on July 1, 2021, it was notified in The Gazette of India.”

According to the amendment the government prohibited retired officials of “security and intelligence organizations” from publishing anything related to “domain of the organisation, including reference or information about any personnel and his designation, and expertise or knowledge gained by virtue of working in that organisation” without prior clearance from the head of the organisation. The pension of the officer could be withheld if he did so.

The Minister said that it was up to the official to decide whether the published material falls in the prescribed prohibited categories or not and if the officer felt that the material he is going to publish does not fall in the prohibited category then he could publish it without any prior approval from the government.

“Later on, in case the Government comes to a conclusion that the published material comes or falls under the category of prohibited material, a loss to the country would have already happened. To prevent such situations, the current amendment has been made,” Singh said, explaining the rationale behind the decision.

Many retired officers have expressed concern over the said rules, terming them unreasonable and said it was an effort to muzzle them.

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