CAT: Curb needed on officers’ freedom of speech for ‘discipline, orderly governance’
According to Thakur, the bench comprising members Navneet Kumar and O P S Malik said the freedom of speech needs to have reasonable restrictions for state officers.
Senior IPS IG Amitabh Thakur at his work place at Jawaher Bhawan in Lucknow on wednesday,acording to the Thakur he dont got any suspension orders from the government so he come and doing his work.Express photo by Vishal Srivastav 15.07.2015 
Senior IPS IG Amitabh Thakur at his work place at Jawaher Bhawan in Lucknow on Wednesday. (Source: Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)
The Lucknow bench of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Monday ruled that the restriction on the freedom of speech of state officers is needed for “discipline and orderly governance”, suspended IPS officer Amitabh Thakur said.
In a statement, Thakur said the bench made the observation while dismissing a petition he had filed challenging the complete prohibition on the members of All India Services to criticize any recent policies or acts of the central or state government.
According to Thakur, the bench comprising members Navneet Kumar and O P S Malik said the freedom of speech “needs to have reasonable restrictions for state officers and since the IAS and IPS officers are at higher positions, the need for reasonable restrictions needs to be stricter. The order said the restrictions are needed for discipline and orderly governance”.
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As per Thakur, the CAT bench observed that there are thousands of IAS and IPS officers in the country and if they were allowed “incoherent and irresponsible utterances, it will send confusing and conflicting signals and damage the entire structure of government, creating chaos”.
In 2013, Thakur had moved the tribunal with his prayer that Rule 7 of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules 1968, which imposes a “blanket prohibition” on any statement of fact or opinion having adverse criticism of any current or recent policy or action of the central or a state government by the officers, be quashed. He had contended that the rule was against the right to freedom of speech and expression provided under article 19(2) of the Constitution.
Cintected, Thakur told The Indian Express that he will challenge the CAT’s order in the High Court.
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