Madhya Pradesh HC Criticises Delay in Lifting RSS Ban for Employees

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh high court has lamented that it took the Centre nearly five decades to realise its mistake of barring the government employees from participating in the activities of an ‘internationally renowned’ organisation like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

A bench of the high court comprising Justices S A Dharmadhikari and Gajendra Singh observed that “The court laments the fact that it took almost five decades for the Central government to realise its mistake; to acknowledge that an internationally renowned organisation like RSS was wrongly placed amongst the banned organisations of the country and that its removal there from is quintessential.

Aspirations of many Central government employees of serving the country in many ways, therefore got diminished in these five decades because of this ban, which got removed only when it was brought to the notice of this court vide the present proceedings”.

The court’s observation came on Thursday in response to a petition filed by a retired Central government employee Purushottam Gupta challenging the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules as well as the memorandum of the Centre that prevented participation of government employees in the activities of the Sangh.

The bench referred to the absence of any reply filed by the Union government to the said effect (despite being inquired again and again).

The court further observed that it was compelled to believe that perhaps there was never any material, study, survey or report at the relevant point of time that made the ruling dispensation conclude that involvement and engagement of Central government employees even with the “apolitical / non-political activities of RSS” must be banned for maintaining India’s “communal fabric and secular character”.

Citing different judicial precedents in the backdrop of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, the bench said, “The coalesce of the afore quoted judgements is that whilst spelling out ‘misconduct’ under rule five of the CCS Rules, 1964, the Central government cannot behave as ‘be all and above all’”.

The discretion to classify any organisation as ‘don’t join’ organisation for Central government employees must therefore be clearly informed by rules of reason, fair play and justice, not according to subjective opinions of those in power, the court said.

It should be guided by law not ‘humour or preconceived prejudice against such nationally and internationally famed organisation”, the bench said.

“Therefore, once the government has decided and taken a conscious decision to review and remove the name of RSS from the litany of banned organisations, then its continuation should not be dependent only on the vagaries, mercy and pleasure of the government of the day”, the court said.