Honesty and Performance does not guarantee security of tenure, says Kiran Bedi

Expressing concern over the recent incidents of suspension and transfer of 'honest' officers, social activist and former senior IPS officer Kiran Bedi on Sunday said that performance and honesty does not assure security of tenure in service.

"Honesty is not the rule in our services. Discretion is the rule, monopoly and control in the rule, not performance. Performance does not assure security of tenure. In fact minimum performance assures you because you are not disturbing anything. When a performer outshines, he or she is an aberration for the entire service like in Durga's case.

Security of tenure in our country actually belongs to an average performer or a non performer," she said.

Bedi further said that the basic flaw in the administrative system is that it does not guarantee a security of tenure.

"Your transfer or posting order always says you are posted as so and so with immediate effect till further orders. They keep the discretion with them. They would like to transfer the officer when they want to," she said.

She also said that the suspension and transfer of officers have always been the case but there is public uproar because of its widespread exposure.

"The way officers are being suspended and transferred has been the rule. Each one of us in the service has gone through this. We have all suffered it in our own ways. But that time we were all left to ourselves. Today there is a public uproar because of the rampant corruption and now there is a 24 hour channel which is stating this and then you have panel discussions which are debating on this," she added.

Kiran Bedi was commenting on the suspension of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Durga Nagpal and the Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Pankaj Choudhary who was transferred allegedly for reopening the history sheet of Gazi Fakir, who is accused of smuggling and other activities.

According to reports, Choudhary, who was serving as the Jaisalmer Superintendent of Police (SP), was reportedly transferred to a non-fielding post within 48 hours after he reopened the history-sheet of a local Congress MLA Saleh Mohammad's father, Gazi Fakir.

The traders and residents in Jaisalmer have called for a shutdown on Sunday to protest against Choudhary's transfer.

"I have no regrets about acting against history-sheeters. I was doing my job," said Pankaj Choudhary said.

Reports state that Ghazi Fakir has been involved in cross-border smuggling and other anti-social activities on the India-Pakistan border since two decades.

Fakir had a history sheet opened against him for the first time on July 31, 1965 but that file went missing in 1984.

The history sheet was reopened after six years in 1990 but it was closed in May 2011 by an ASP-rank official when he had been holding charge as SP.