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Synopsis

On Monday, the Delhi High Court suggested that there might be no apparent wrongdoing in the government's promotion of its schemes through the engagement of civil servants and defense personnel.

The court expressed a prima facie favorable stance towards the Ministry of Defence's directive to establish selfie points at various defense institutions and sainik schools, aiming to showcase the achievements of the Ministry.

The matter was heard by a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna.

Addressing concerns raised in a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the utilization of civil servants and defense personnel for the promotion of government initiatives, the court specifically considered two government orders.

The first order issued by the Ministry of Defense directed the armed forces to set up selfie points featuring images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to highlight the achievements of the Ministry.

The second order, issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, involved deploying Joint Secretaries, Directors, and Deputy Secretaries as District Rath Prabharis to showcase the achievements of the Government of India over the last nine years.

During the proceedings, the court questioned the petitioner's argument and raised the issue of popularizing welfare schemes. "If a welfare scheme is there, should that scheme not be popularized? There are always snaps of Chief Ministers or Prime Ministers in advertisements," remarked the court.

The court also deliberated on the inclusion of the Prime Minister's photographs at these selfie points, questioning whether it is a norm. The court pointed out that chief ministers routinely include photos in advertisements.

In response to concerns about highlighting only schemes from the past nine years, the court emphasized the public's interest in being informed about the latest government initiatives.

"When miners were trapped in Uttarakhand, the Indian Army and NDRF did a phenomenal job. If the Army wants to popularize it with a selfie point, I don't think anyone can have a grievance," stated the court, emphasizing the potential benefit of such initiatives.

The bench instructed the central government counsel to seek further instructions on the matter. The case has been scheduled for the next hearing on January 4, 2024.

The plea aims to safeguard the civil services and armed forces from being utilized as tools of the ruling political party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for electoral purposes. It contends that the government's practice of deploying public servants for political objectives violates various statutory rules and disrupts the principles of free and fair elections, thereby compromising a level playing field.

The plea raises two pivotal legal questions for consideration. Firstly, it questions whether, within the constitutional framework, a ruling political party possesses the authority to issue directives instructing government servants to celebrate government policies during its tenure in power. Secondly, the plea delves into whether such celebrations amount to the misuse of government machinery for election purposes.

According to the Public Interest Litigation (PIL), these celebrations allegedly contravene the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, All India Services (Conduct Rules), the Representation of the People Act, Army Rules, and specific government guidelines.

The plea, filed through Advocate Prashant Bhushan, contends that the actions of the government raise critical concerns about the separation of political and administrative functions. By urging the court to uphold the constitutional rights of citizens, particularly those enshrined in Articles 14 and 21, the plea seeks to establish safeguards against the instrumentalization of civil services and the armed forces for political gains.

Case Title: Eas Sarma & Anr. v. Union of India