KHIALDAS J MANGHIMALANI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WHAT INDEED is the meaning of 'Economic Measures' (?) rather the concept in context of the public administration especially in people's representative Government, where it is obviously expected to be quite an alive, sensitive, fully public-oriented, efficient, immediately delivering goods to the needy section of the society without they being in any manner compelled to beg or to agitate and even revolt much less even demanding their rightful claims, in a given case also not denying on the ground of the "inadequacy of staff" and that too as a result of some arbitrary, capricious, and disoriented application of the said 'Economic measures' ? How, when, under what circumstances, where and certainly where indeed not such 'Economic measures' should be judiciously applied and/or not applied is one of the foremost question going to the roots of the lack of basic understanding resulting into manifest inefficiency and the want of transparency and accountability in the public administration, arising from the affidavit filed by the opponent Pension Department in this Contempt Application, wherein on the contemner ultimately complying with the order of the Court, notice came to be discharged. HOWEVER, bearing in mind, the most vulnerable, pitiable plight, rather the 'tale of woe' of many troubled, stranded and embarrassed, old pensioners one after the another continuously suffering at the hands of the Government for their very survival and in particular some of them solely suffering, depending upon the only and meagre income of monthly pension and the same just not coming to an end because of some unpardonable, gross and inordinate delay in finalising their pension cases on totally ridiculous and baseless ground of non-availability of the adequate staff and further that too because of quite an indiscreet 'Economic measures' pursued by the Government, this Court on its own in overall public-interest taking up the just and humanitarian cause of quite old and gradually becoming more and more old disabled pensioners has decided to deal with and clarify the said concept of 'economic measure' conveniently misused and indiscriminately abused in its proper perspective. This is being done precisely with the view ultimately attempting to bring about an end and solve the most sorrowful, nagging and vexed problem eluding solution since number of years making restless the retired pensioners in their rest of life. We can never afford to forget for a minute even that barring few exceptions, most of the pensioners are indeed deserving Senior Citizens who have served the people through the Government for quite number of years and consequently deserve utmost respect and care including the special concern, and treatment in matter of expeditious finalisation of their pension cases at the earliest best. The reason is having served the Government for quite number of years, it is indeed their 'earned privilege' to live the rest of the retired life quite honourably and peacefully without any unnecessary problems atleast in matter of their pension papers ! To ask for pensionary benefits at the earliest from the very date of retirement is not something asking for any personal favour, mercy or charity from the officers' own pocket . Furthermore, these pensioners are not slaves to be treated with the scant respect and humiliated. They are the free citizens having served the people through Government. In fact, officers in the charge of "pension papers" should never forget that a day in their life will also and is bound to come when they would retire and in case their pension papers were not to be finalised in time and delayed, their retired life may get equally perturbed and tranquillity lost as the present-day lot of many pensioners. It is with this background that this Court in overall public interests has tried to highlight certain avoidable deficiencies in the public administration and in particular quite an indiscreet and mechanical application of the 'Economic measures', also recommending some ways and means to give fresh up-start, fresh look and total face-lift to the administration fitting in with the concept of "the Government of the people, for the people and by the people". In this regard, popular Government needs lot of honest, sincere and intense heart-searching to immediately find out without wasting its further time in the first instance how is it that despite having won Independence, and that too about 49 years back, best of its socioeconomic welfare policies and to financially feed and meet with the same imposing nerve -wrecking taxation every year its people apart from being unhappy, are further and further quite dissatisfied with rule of the Government ? The honest answer to this would obviously raise finger of accusation in direction of the inefficiency, lack of transparency and accountability and to quite some larger extent the corruption, nepotism and misrule also. Under the circumstances, in the second instance, the Government has got to find out the ultimate ways and means of more and more clearing-up, tonning and recharging its administrative machinery, bureaucracy which whenever ultimately found to be if impersonal, disoriented, inefficient, corrupt and out of date, then to give desired and efficient effect to the people's problem required to be solved immediately it should be so educated and where the need be even sternly dealt with departmentally also. If this is just not done, then, in background of the present uncertain political scenario, climate in the country neither our Constitutional rights nor those elected Members of Parliament, nor those of the Legislature by themselves would be of any help or the assistance to people to make concerned public servants work for them, unless once a while when the High Court and or for that purpose even the Apex Court is so approached or otherwise of its own on suo-motu taking notice, interferes giving some mandate to the Government and in particular concerned public servant to act legally and/or desist from acting illegally (as the case may be). If this Constitutional remedy for whatever reasons is not resorted to then in that case, we are quite afraid that ignorant, choiceless, frustrated beyond the point of return people, letting out the steam of seething discontent taking law in their hands, resorting to some violence and terrorism may perhaps teach the costly life's lesson to the said 'public servant' model of inaction, arrogating and conducting themselves as the public bosses. In fact, after 50 years of Independence and having experienced none too happy performances of some of our anti-people politicians and the public administration, it is indeed high-time in this 50th year of the Golden Jubilee Celebration of Independence for our wise, honest, sincere elected representatives of the people to precisely take the stock of the situation for knowing and realising that by and large our public administration is run and managed by some die-hard, orthodox, inflexible, insensitive and disoriented, out-dated in short undesirable public servants in one word known as the 'bureaucrats' . It is an experience of many that they have indeed no idea rather they ignore the care and concern for the pulse and heart-beats of the people's real problems and aspirations. This inflexibility and insensitivity in the matter of public causes, public problems have as if become the characteristics rather the chronic disease of our day-to-day public administration where the efficiency and public accountability is always at the discount, lowest-ebb and thrown to the winds in very nature of things. When we say this so emphatically with all responsibility, it also needs to be at once clarified to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding here and now at this stage only that it is not that each and every politician or the public servant is alleged to be anti-people, bureaucrats. No. That is not so and indeed that cannot be. The reason is like every cloud having some beautiful silver linings, in our allegedly hopeless dark cloud like public administration, there are also some genuine, hopeful and ideal public servants of whom the country can take just pride of, who straining their every nerve might have indeed helped, served, solved the public causes in quite an exemplary manner providing silver lining and thereby maintaining atleast some hope of the people in the Government. But then barring few and far between exceptions taking an overall view of the matter, the State or the country where the 'Cult of Bureaucracy' unfortunately has predominantly the upper-hand and hold the sway over the administration turning it to be wooden if not wholly diametrically opposed to the caring for the democratic rights, values and expectations of the people on their own elected Government, the public interest can never, never thrive and progress to the desired extent despite some silver-lining provided by some honest, sincere, dedicated public servants to the dark cloud like administration more particularly when sometimes even some of the elected representatives of people also become hopeless 'turn coats' hostile to the people like hostile prosecution witnesses having no regards for the truth and ultimate justice." This is more so particularly with increasing frequency of political instability, party Government changing and changing fast now and then and like the 'weather-cock' changing direction with the every whisper of the swirling political winds . In aforesaid view of the matter, rather hard, bitter fact reality, in a democratic set-up with the 'Rule of Law' ruling the country, the Government administration shall have to necessarily change its attitude, character and quality of working rather its ugly identity with 'bureaucracy' the word which is nausiating and antagonistic enough to the people's ultimate rights under the Constitution who are the ultimate sovereign. There is much thinking and scientific planning on 'defence' and 'development' of the country, but have we ever given any single minute thought and planning in matter of how to take out and save the country from the octupus-grip, clutches, of the devilish 'Bureaucratic cult', which because of its all pervasive, manifest inefficiency, red-tappism, woodenness, diehardness and unaccountability has crippled, crushed and squeezed out people's hope and aspirations and not allowed them to enjoy the fruits of Independence and freedom. If the historical year 1942 successfully challenged and mandated the Britishers to 'Quit India', let the year 1997 also be yet another historical year giving clear mandate and order to the 'Bureaucratic cult' to 'Quit India' and for this let us all strive hard to realise this goal. The reason is 'Democracy' and 'Bureaucracy' in a way, are virtually each other's antithesis, antonym, contradictions in terms. To have the true, meaningful democracy, the Government administration also shall have to be necessarily pro-people reflecting 'Vox-Populi', democratic. If the people have right to vote out the party in power, if it does not serve and solve their problems, the public servant also on the very same accountability and transparency test must be dealt with and weeded out of power by finding out some reasonable ways and means to effectively regulate and control them. The machine or the system whenever it loses the grip, efficiency and does not give desired and expected service, it requires timely attention, servicing, screwing up and tonning up if that will serve the purpose and if despite doing all these things, if position does not improve then bearing in mind further need requires changing the spareparts also and if this is also not done there remains no alternative but to condemn it out of use as 'scrap' as good as garbage to be dumped and destroyed or disposed off is an inescapable situation which must be faced to solve the problem. In other words, in truly democratic State to keep up and above, the democratic rights, values and culture of the people, the malignant 'virus of Bureaucracy' shall have to be kept under the strict vigil and control if in the first instance, the country wants to retain its character and quality of democracy, and in the second instance, in the alternative where its total elimination is not immediately possible. If this is not done, take it that the so-called 'Democracy' would be in name only and people would be haunted and ruled by the devil and curse of 'Bureaucracy', successfully spinning and spinning around webs over webs bringing about ever increasing distance between the people and its Government . If the full moon of Independence and democracy has lost its beauty and splendour in our country it is entirely because of its being double eclipsed by the lethargic dishonest bureaucrats and corrupt careerist ambitious politicians !!

(2.) Few Relevant Facts :-

(3.) On the aforesaid notice being served, on behalf of the respondent No. 1 Mr. B. J. Parmar, Secretary, Narmada and Water Resources Department, State of Gujarat, on behalf of the respondent No. 2 Mr. C. B. Giridhar, Principal Secretary, Panchayat and Rural Housing Department and on behalf of the respondent No. 3 Mr. J. M. Gor, Director of Pension and Provident Fund, Gujarat State have filed their respective affidavits explaining facts and circumstances under which timebound directions given to them pursuant to the order passed by this Court (Coram : J. M. Panchal, J.) could not be complied with expeditiously within the stipulated period. Thereafter, Mr. H. B. Thaker, Deputy Director of Pension and Provident Fund, Gujarat State has also filed his further affidavit on 6-10-1996, highlighting some genuine difficulties coming in the way of his department in quite expeditious disposal of the pension cases. In this regards, we have indeed no reason to doubt or distrust Mr. Thaker who is the responsible officer of the Government. Accordingly, here, at this stage in overall public interest, it will indeed not be out of place to observe in general that it is quite unfortunate in this country where sometimes even the genuine difficulties of some of the Government department itself which is required to be solved at the earliest best in over all public interests are just not attended or in case if at all attended to, they are attended so casually and cursorily as if the people were governed by some disinterested alien rule . May be, may not be, but in a given case, if this grievance has any substance, it reflects the sad picture of total non-application and misrule by the concerned department as they say - Finance and General Administration Departments are the principal and key departments where files because of few disoriented irresponsible dealing-hands in total disregards of the public duty are just tossed across playing with the precious public time of the Government and the concerned section of the department forgetting altogether that alongwith that any delay in taking decision in the right earnest was bound to unnecessarily defeat the public interest and ultimately and incidentally enough the image of the popular Government and top Secretaries also who may not have intended any delay to be at fault even. Not to spot and in turn weed out such blacksheep from the public administration which is the ultimate duty of the head of Department - failing which he himself obviously renders accountable.