ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved the Civil Servants Efficiency and Discipline Rules 2020 to ensure transparent and effective internal accountability of Civil Servants.
To speed-up the process of ensuring efficiency and discipline among Civil Bureaucracy, the tier of Authorized Officer has been eliminated, leaving only two tiers which include Authority and Inquiry Officer and Committee.
The two-tier process will resolve the issue of the decision of disciplinary proceedings at a lower level by awarding minor penalties by the Authorized Officer without seeking approval of the authority.
Timelines have been introduced at every step of the proceedings, which include 10 to 14 days for submission of the response to charges and sixty days for completion of an enquiry.
The Authority has to decide the case within 30 days as previously, no fixed timeframe to conclude the proceedings was available that resulted in lingering on the cases for an extended period.
To facilitate just decisions of the cases, the opportunity of personal hearing shall now be provided by the Authority or Hearing Officer.
For the first time, plea bargain and voluntary return have been included in the definition of misconduct and such Civil Servants shall now be proceeded against.
Procedural issues relating to the provision of record, slackness on part of departmental representatives, suspension, proceedings against officers on deputation, leave, or scholarship, have been clearly provided in the new rules.
The Establishment Division has been authorized to issue subsidiary instructions and clarifications to avoid any delays.
In case of multiple suspected officers in a single case, the restriction of appointing a single Inquiry Officer has been imposed to ensure transparency and avoid different decisions in a single case.
In case of the Police Service of Pakistan and Pakistan Administrative Service officers posted in provinces, a two months’ timeline has been provided to the Chief Secretary for submission of the fact-finding report, failing which the Establishment Division can proceed on its own.
