Madras High Court Directs Police to Stop Accepting Gifts, Bouquets and Rewards

Madurai: The Madras High Court on Friday directed the Tamil Nadu police chief to issue a circular within six weeks to all police officers in the state to enforce rules of conduct, which bar them from accepting gifts, rewards and dowry.

Justice SM Subramaniam, who gave the direction while hearing a petition by a sub-inspector of police against deferment of his promotion as inspector in view of a pending criminal case, observed a government servant must have a clean record.

Behaviour of public servants inside and outside office must be good and they are always expected to maintain good conduct in public, the court said.

In addition, the Tamil Nadu subordinate police officers' rules of conduct say behaviour unbecoming of government servant itself is a misconduct.

Moreover, Rule 4 says gifts, reward and dowry are prohibited. Even complimentary gift of flowers or fruits or similar articles of trifling values are also prohibited, the judge said.

It was visible in the public domain that a large number of flowers and bouquets are shared by way of gifts in the police department, the court noted.

Such incidents were broadcast through TV channels.

The DGP was bound to remind the police officials of the rules so as to ensure that such expensive flowers, bouquets or similar articles are not presented to any police official, the judge said and directed the police chief to issue a proper circular.

On the petition by S Thennarasu, the judge said his promotion could be considered after disposal of the criminal case.

"If there is no other impediment for grant of promotion to the post of inspector, then the petitioner's case can be considered," the judge said and disposed of the petition.

Thennarasu submitted that he was directly recruited as sub-inspector. He had meritorious service, but on account of certain private disputes, the criminal case was registered and citing it his promotion was deferred by August 18, 2014 order, which he sought to quash.

The judge said the court was of the considered opinion that any public servant cannot be exempted from the principle that registration of criminal case is a bar for further promotion.