GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

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FOREWORD(NOTIFICATION)

FOREWORD

Based on the recommendations of the

Committee on Prevention of Corruption
headed by late Shri K. Santhanam, the
Conduct Rules for Government servants
were revised with a view to maintaining
integrity in public Services and the Central
Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 were
notified laying down the Code of Conduct
for Central Government employees. A
bilingual edition of the Brochure on Central
Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 was
published in 1986 and thereafter no further
edition has been brought out. In the
meantime several provisions of the rules
have been amended and a number of
clarifications have been issued. Therefore,
it has been decided to bring out an up-to-
date edition.

The Brochure is, however, intended to

serve only as a guide and in so far as the
actual application of the Government
orders mentioned under various Rules are
concerned, the relevant O.M. may be
consulted.

Suggestions for improvement and

rectification of errors and omissions, if any,
are always welcome.

S. CHANDRASEKARAN

JOINT SECRETARY

NOTIFICATION

S.O. 4177- In exercise of the powers conferred

by the proviso to article 309 and clause (5) of
article 148 of the Constitution and after
consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor
General in relation to persons serving in the
Indian Audit and Accounts Department, the
President hereby makes the following rules,
namely:-

THE CENTRAL CIVIL SERVICES (CONDUCT)

RULES, 1964

1. Short title, commencement and

application

(1) These rules may be called the Central

Civil Services(Conduct) Rules, 1964.

(2) They shall come into force at once.

(3) Save as otherwise provided in these

rules and subject to the provisions of the
Indian Foreign Service (Conduct and
Discipline) Rules, 1961, these rules shall
apply to every person appointed to a civil
service or post (including a civilian in
Defence Service) in connection with the
affairs of the Union:

Provided that nothing in these rules shall

apply to any Government servant who is –

(a) (i) a railway servant as defined in

Section 3 of the Indian Railways Act, 1890
(9 of 1890);

(ii) a person holding a post in the Railway

Board and is subject to the Railway
Services (Conduct) Rules;

(iii) holding any post under the

administrative control of the Railway
Board or of the Financial Commissioner of
Railways;

(b) a member of an All India Service;

(c) a holder of any post in respect of which

the President has, by a general or special
order, directed that these rules shall not
apply:

Provided further that Rules 4,6,7,12,14,

sub-rule(3) of Rule 15, Rule 16, sub-rules (1),
(2) and (3) of Rule 18, Rules 19, 20 and 21
shall not apply to any Government servant
who draws a pay which does not exceed
Rs.500 per mensem and holds a non-
gazetted post in any of the following
establishments, owned or managed by the
Government, namely:-

(i) ports, docks, wharves or jetties;

(ii) defence installations except training

establishments;

(iii) public works establishments, in so far

as they relate to work-charged staff;

(iv) irrigation and electric power

establishments;

(v) mines as defined in clause (j) of Section

2 of the Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952);

(vi) factories as defined in clause (m) of

Section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of
1948); and

(vii) field units of the Central Tractor

Organisation employing workmen
governed by labour laws:

Provided further that these rules shall

apply to any person temporarily
transferred to a service or post specified in
clause (a) of the first proviso to whom but
for such transfer these rules would have
otherwise applied.

EXPLANATION- For the purposes of the

second proviso, the expression
'establishment' shall not include any
railway establishment or any office mainly
concerned with administrative,
managerial, supervisory, security or
welfare functions.

Government of India Decisions

(1) Employment of Honorary Workers in

civil posts –

applicability of the CCS (Conduct) Rules.

Various questions have arisen from time to

time in connection with employment of
honorary workers in civil posts. After careful
consideration it has been decided that the
following instructions should be laid down for
the guidance of all concerned.

2. The basic principles to be adopted in this

matter are :-

(i) Employment of honorary workers in civil

posts should be an exceptional procedure to
be resorted to only in abnormal circumstances
or when suitable paid employees are not
available.

(ii) Honorary employment should be offered

only to such persons as have rendered
meritorious services or are eminent in public
life and have a striking reputation for integrity.

(iii) Services of an honorary worker should be

utilised only in an advisory capacity. The work
to be entrusted to him should not be such as
would involve exercise of executive,
administrative or judicial powers as the holder
of a civil post or exercise of authority in the
name, or on behalf, of Government.

(iv) An honorary worker should be paid a

nominal salary of Re.1 per month in respect of
the civil post the duties of which he is required
to perform. This is necessary in order to bring
him within the ambit of the Government
servants Conduct Rules and other service
rules. An honorary worker need not, however,
actually draw the nominal salary and may, by
writing to the Accounts Officer concerned
voluntarily surrender it. For the purpose of
official records, however, such nominal salary
must be fixed and specified in the order of
appointment.

(v) All honorary workers should automatically

and proprio vigore be subject to the
provisions of the Indian Official Secrets Act,
1923. They need not be required to sign any
declaration in this connection, but the position
should expressly be made clear to each
honorary worker at the time of his
appointment.

3. It is realised that strict enforcement of the

above principles may present practical
difficulties in individual cases. For example, it
may not be necessary to enforce the
requirements of clause (iii) in paragraph 2
above in the case of persons who have
previously held a high office under
Government. Again, honorary workers who
are prominent in the public or political life of
the country cannot reasonably be expected to
sever their lifelong association with the
political parties to which they belong; as a
working arrangement, therefore, rule 18 (now
rule 8) (connection with the press), 20 (now
rule 9) (criticism of Government) and 23 (now
rule 5) (taking part in politics) of the
Government Servant’s Conduct Rules ought
not to be enforced against such persons in so
far as participation in politics is concerned. In
all other respects, however, such persons
should be governed by the provisions of the
Government Servant’s Conduct Rules.

4. In the case of the employment of Members

of Parliament in an honorary capacity, it is
necessary to ensure that such employment
does not amount to holding an office of profit
under Article 102 (1) (a) of the Constitution. In
such cases the requirements of clause (iii) in
paragraph 2 above should be strictly adhered
to while requirements of clause (iv) should not
be enforced at all. The instructions issued vide
the Ministry of Law’s Office Memorandum No.
F.55(1)/50-C, dated the 6th February, 1951 (not
reproduced), regarding the payment of
allowances and fees to Members of
Parliament should also be carefully borne in
mind.

5. All proposals for the employment of

honorary workers in civil posts as well as all
proposals for exceptional treatment in cases
in which the Ministry concerned considers
that the requirements of any of the basic
principles laid down in paragraph 2 above,
should be relaxed, should be referred to the
Ministry of Home Affairs for prior
concurrence.

6. It should be made clear to honorary

workers at the time of their appointment that
there is no obligation on the part of
Government to provide them with residential
accommodation or any other concessions
usually allowed to salaried employees of
Government. Each such case would be treated
on its merits. Accommodation, furniture, etc.
may be made available if justified, and to the
extent it can be done without detriment to
Government’s commitments to salaried
employees.

7. A copy of this Office Memorandum should

be communicated to every honorary worker
alongwith the orders of his appointment.

8. The Ministry of Finance etc. are requested

to note these instructions and communicate
them to their Attached and Subordinate
Offices for guidance. They are also required to
examine the cases of any honorary workers at
present employed under them or in their
Attached or Subordinate offices with a view to
ensuring compliance with these instructions.

9. These instructions supersede the orders

contained in the late Home Department Office
Memorandum No. 50/15/39-Public dated the
24th October, 1950 (not reproduced).

[MHA OM No. 25/2/50-Ests.(A), dated

20.06.1951]

(2) Applicability of the Conduct Rules to

employees of public undertakings

A question has been raised whether

employees of corporate bodies controlled or
financed by the Central Government should
be subject to all or any of the conditions
imposed in the case of Central Government
servants by the Central Civil Services (Conduct)
Rules. The extent to which such conditions can
be applied to employees of a statutory
corporation would naturally depend on the
provisions of the statute setting up the
Corporation. The statute may provide for
suitable rules being made by the Corporation
itself or by Government. Where there is no
such statutory provision or the body is non-
statutory, the conditions of service of
employees would be determined by the terms,
expressed or implied, of the contract of
service. It will then be open to the employer,
subject to the relevant labour laws where they
apply, to lay down conditions of service which
would operate as terms of a contract.

It has been decided that in corporate

undertakings entirely financed by the Central
Government, i.e. where the whole capital is
invested by the State, the activities of the
employees should be restricted in the same
manner as for those working directly under
Government. In such cases action should be
taken to extend the provisions of the Central
Civil Services (Conduct) Rules to the
employees either by a self-contained set of
rules under the specific statutory authority for
framing such rules or as terms of the contract.

In regard to employees of corporate

undertakings controlled or partly financed by
the Central Government also, the provisions of
the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules
should wherever possible, be applied with
such modifications as may be necessary.

[MHA OM No. 25/55/53-Estt.(A) dated

14.03.1956]

(2A)

It is laid down in Decision No. (2) above that in

the corporate undertakings entirely financed
by the Central Government, i.e., where the
whole capital is invested by the State, the
activities of the employees should be
restricted in the same manner as for those
directly under Government and in such cases
action should be taken to extend the
provisions of the Central Civil Services
(Conduct) Rules to the employees either by a
self-contained set of rules under the specific
statutory authority for framing such rules or
as terms of the contract. In regard to
employees of corporate undertakings
controlled or partly financed by the Central
Government the Central Civil Services
(Conduct) Rules should wherever possible be
applied with such modifications as may be
necessary.

The Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules,

which have been recently revised – vide Home
Ministry’s Notification No. 25/4/63-Ests.(A),
dated 30th November, 1964, contain certain
important provisions such as those relating to
integrity, which have been made or modified
on the recommendation of the Committee on
Prevention of Corruption (Santhanam
Committee). It is requested that statutory and
other corporate public sector undertakings
under the control of the Ministry of Industry
and Supply etc., may be advised to bring their
Conduct Rules on the lines of the revised CCS
(Conduct) Rules, 1964 and to incorporate
particularly, the important provisions of the
CCS (Conduct) Rules relating to integrity.

[MHA OM No. 7/30/62-Ests.(A) dated

14.06.1965]

(3) Applicability of the Central Civil Services

(Conduct) Rules to members of
Committees/Commissions appointed by
the Government of India

Attention is invited to Decision No. (1) above in

which it is laid down that an honorary worker
should be paid a nominal salary of Re.1 per
mensem so that he may technically be a
Government servant governed by the Central
Civil Services (Conduct) Rules and other
service rules. The Government of India have
since been advised that, subject to the
exceptions specified in the Central Civil
Services (Conduct) Rules, 1955 these rules
apply to "all persons appointed to civil services
and posts in connection with the affairs of the
Union" and that the criterion for deciding
whether the rules apply in a particular case is
whether the person concerned has been
formally appointed to a civil service or post
under the Central Government and not merely
whether he is in receipt of remuneration from
Government. Accordingly where the intention
is that the person to be appointed should be
governed by the Central Civil Services
(Conduct) Rules, the appointment should be
made to a specific civil service or post.

2. Non-official members (i.e. all persons other

than those who are in active Government
service) of Commissions, Boards and
Committees of Enquiry set up by Government,
may sometimes attach considerable
importance to their non-official status and
prefer it to be maintained while accepting
membership of such Commissions etc. In such
cases, if the intention is that the said rules
should not apply, the person concerned
should not be appointed to any central civil
service or post, but should be appointed as
Chairman or Member of the Commission or
Committee as the case may be, without
reference to any civil service or post, on such
honoraria as may be considered suitable.

3. The Government of India have also noticed

that in several instances the honoraria
sanctioned for honorary workers are
substantial. In such cases the person
concerned is an honorary worker in name
only. The Government of India do not consider
it proper to fix the amount of honorarium at
such a figure that the honorary character of
the employment is lost. Moreover, if the
person desires to maintain his non-official
status and does not wish to be regarded as a
Government servant, it follows that the
remuneration allowed to him as honorarium
should be nominal and not equivalent to what
would have been allowed to him as salary if he
had been appointed to a regular post.

[MHA OM No. 25/39/58-Ests(A), dated

25.10.1958]

(4) Not applicable to Extra-Departmental

Agents

In pursuance of clause (c) of sub-rule (3) of

Rule 1 of the Central Civil Services (Conduct)
Rules, 1964, the President hereby declares
that the said rules shall not apply to any extra
departmental Agent in the Posts and
Telegraphs Department who does not hold
any other post in connection with the affairs
of the Union.

[MHA Notification No. F.25/29/57-Ests.(A),

dated 25.01.1959]

2. Definitions

In these rules, unless the context

otherwise requires-

(a) "The Government" means the Central

Government;

(b) "Government servant" means any

person appointed by Government to any
civil service or post in connection with the
affairs of the Union and includes a civilian
in a Defence Service;

EXPLANATION- A Government servant

whose services are placed at the disposal
of a company, corporation, organisation or
a local authority by the Government shall,
for the purpose of these rules, be deemed
to be a Government servant serving under
the Government notwithstanding that his
salary is drawn from sources other than
the Consolidated Fund of India;

(c) "Members of family" in relation to a

Government servant includes-

(i) the wife or husband as the case may be,

of the Government servant, whether
residing with the Government servant or
not but does not include a wife or husband,
as the case may be, separated from the
Government servant by a decree or order
of a competent Court;

(ii) son or daughter or step-son or step-

daughter of the Government servant and
wholly dependent on him, but does not
include a child or step-child who is no
longer in any way dependent on the
Government servant or of whose custody
the Government servant has been deprived
by or under any law;

(iii) any other person related, whether by

blood or marriage to the Government
servant or to the Government servant's
wife or husband, and wholly dependent on
the Government servant.

3. General

(1) Every Government servant shall at all

times--

(i) maintain absolute integrity;

(ii) maintain devotion to duty; and

(iii) do nothing which is unbecoming of a

Government servant.

(2) (i) Every Government servant holding a

supervisory post shall take all possible
steps to ensure the integrity and devotion
to duty of all Government servants for the
time being under his control and authority;

(ii) No Government servant shall, in the

performance of his official duties, or in the
exercise of powers conferred on him, act
otherwise than in his best judgement
except when he is acting under the
direction of his official superior;

(iii) The direction of the official superior

shall ordinarily be in writing. Oral direction
to subordinates shall be avoided, as far as
possible. Where the issue of oral direction
becomes unavoidable, the official superior
shall confirm it in writing immediately
thereafter;

(iv) A Government servant who has

received oral direction from his official
superior shall seek confirmation of the
same in writing as early as possible,
whereupon it shall be the duty of the
official superior to confirm the direction in
writing.

Explanation I :- A Government servant who

habitually fails to perform the task
assigned to him within the time set for the
purpose and with the quality of
performance expected of him shall be
deemed to be lacking in devotion to duty
within the meaning of clause (ii) of sub-rule
(1).

Explanation II :- Nothing in clause (ii) of

sub-rule (2) shall be construed as
empowering a Government servant to
evade his responsibilities by seeking
instructions from, or approval of, a
superior officer or authority when such
instructions are not necessary under the
scheme of distribution of powers and
responsibilities.

3A. Promptness and Courtesy

No Government servant shall

(a) in the performance of his official duties,

act in a discourteous manner;

(b) in his official dealings with the public or

otherwise adopt dilatory tactics or wilfully
cause delays in disposal of the work
assigned to him.

3B. Observance of Government's policies

Every Government servant shall, at all

times-

(i) act in accordance with the Government's

policies regarding age of marriage,
Preservation of environment,protection of
wildlife and cultural heritage;

(ii) observe the Government's policies

regarding prevention of crime against
women.

3C. Prohibition of sexual harassment of

working women

(1) No Government servant shall indulge in

any act of sexual harassment of any
women at her work place.

(2) Every Government servant who is

incharge of a work place shall take
appropriate steps to prevent sexual
harassment to any woman at such work
place.

Explanation - For the purpose of this rule,

"sexual harassment" includes such
unwelcome sexually determined
behaviour, whether directly or otherwise,
as --

(a) physical contact and advances;

(b) demand or request for sexual favours;

(c) sexually coloured remarks;

(d) showing any pornography; or

(e) any other unwelcome physical, verbal

or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature.