Contact with the Press and airing of views on official matters through the Press
(4) Contact with the Press and airing of views on official matters through the Press
Attention of the Ministry of Finance etc. is invited to Rule 11 of the CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964 and Rule 9 of the AIS (Conduct) Rules, 1968 which provide that no Government servant shall, except in accordance with any general or special order of the Government or in the performance in good faith of the duties assigned to him, communicate, directly or indirectly, any official document or any part thereof or information to any Government servant or any other person to whom he is not authorized to communicate such document or information. Similarly paragraphs 110 and 113 of the Manual of Office Procedure lay down the procedure for contacts with the Press.
2. Instances have come to notice that some Government servants have been unauthorisedly communicating with the Press either in their own name or in pseudonymous names. Instructions have been issued from time to time restraining all Government servants from communicating with the Press unauthorisedly but it is observed that the provisions of the Conduct Rules are not being followed in letter and spirit. Recently, some cases have come to notice when officers have criticized in the Press the functioning of their own Ministry and there are instances of expression of views which are in direct opposition to the views expressed by the Minister in public resulting in avoidable indiscretion on the part of civil and military officers.
3. The provisions of Rule 11 of the CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1965, and Rule 9 of the AIS (Conduct) Rules, 1968 referred to above and paras 110 and 113 of the Manual of Office Procedure, are once again brought to the notice of all concerned. It is once against reiterated that violation of the provisions of Conduct Rules and other corresponding provisions amounts to a serious misconduct. The concerned cadre controlling authorities are advised to view such misconduct seriously.
[DOPT OM No. 11013/16/98-Estt.(A), dated 10th December,1998]