Conduct of Government Servants
GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH
ABSTRACT
Elections- Elections to the offices
of Urban Local
Bodies, 2014 - Conduct
of Government Servants - Orders — Issued.
MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION & URBAN DEVELOPMENT
(ELEC.I) DEPARTMENT
G.O.Rt.No. 396 Dated: 07.03.2014
Read the
following:
- State Election Commission,
Notification No. 85/SEC-F1/2014-1&2, dated 03.03.2014.
- State Election Commission,
Notification No. 85/SEC-F1/2014-3&4, dated 03.03.2014.
- State Election Commission,
Notification No. 86/SEC-F1/2014, dated 03.03.2014.
- From the State Election
Commission, Letter No. 83/SEC-F1/2014, dated 03.03.2014.
-oOo-
ORDER
The Government desire to
impress on all Government Servants that Sub-rule (5)
and (6) of Rule 19 of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, which
are reproduced below, define the position of Government Servants in relation to
elections to the State and Central Legislatures and Urban Local Bodies.
“19(5) No Government employee
shall canvass or otherwise interfere or use his influence,
in connection with, or take part in an election to parliament or any House of
a State Legislature or any local authority or body, Provided
that…….
(i)
A Government employee
qualified to vote at such election may cast his vote but,
where he does so, he shall give no indication of the manner in which he proposes
to vote or has voted,
(ii)
A government employee shall
not be deemed to have contravened the provisions
of the Rule by reason only that he has assisted in the conduct of an election
in the due performance of a duty imposed on him by or under any law for
the time being in force.
(iii) The
display by a government employee on his person, vehicle, residence or any
of his property, of any election symbol shall amount to using his influence in
connection with a election the meeting the meaning of sub-rule(5)".
2.
It is the duty of the Government Servants
to be scrupulously impartial in the discharge of their duties in
connection with elections. Besides being strictly impartial,
they should conduct themselves in such a manner as to inspire confidence
in the public in regard to their impartiality and to give no room for suspicion
on any account that they are favouring any party or candidate. The Government
servants should not take part in any election campaign or in canvassing
or attending political meetings or rallies and they should take scrupulous
care not to lend their names, official position or authority to assist any group,
party or person, except exercising their right to vote in accordance with election
to the Urban Local Bodies must be confined to the conscientious and diligent
discharge of any election duties which may be entrusted.
3.
No Government Servant should act as
an election agent, or an agent of any candidate at an election. In this
connection, they are invited to section 343-M, 343-N, 343-Q of A.P.
Municipalities Act, 1965 and section 610, 612 and 607 of GHMC Act, 1955 which
are extracted below:
A.P. MUNICIPALITIES ACT
PROVISIONS:
Section 343-M: Breaches of
official duty in connection with elections:-
(1) If any person to
whom, this section applies is without reasonable cause guilty of any act or
omission in breach of his official duty, he shall be punishable with fine,
which may extend to five hundred rupees.
(2) An offence
punishable under sub-section (1) shall be cognizable.
(3) No suit or other
legal proceedings shall lie against any such person for damages in respect of
any such act or omission as aforesaid.
(4) The persons to whom
this section applies are the District Election Officers, Election Officers,
Assistant Election Officers, Polling Officers, and any other person appointed
to perform any duty in connection with the receipt of nominations or
withdrawals of candidatures, or the recording or counting of votes at an
election and the expression “official duty” shall for the purposes of this
section be constructed accordingly but shall not include duties imposed
otherwise than by or under this Act.
Section
343-N: Penalty for Government Servants etc., for acting as election agent,
polling agent or counting agent:-
If any person in the service of the
State or Central Government or a Local Authority or a Corporation owned or
controlled by the State or Central Government acts as an election agent of a
candidate at an election he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to three months, or with fine or with both.
Section 343-Q: Offence of booth capturing:-
(1)
Whoever commits an offence of booth capturing shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may
extend to three years and with fine, and where such offence is committed by a
person in the service of the Government, he shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years but which
extend to five years and with fine.
Explanation:- For the purpose of
this sub-section and Section 343-ZE “booth capturing” includes, among other things, all or any of the following
activities, namely:-
(a) seizure of a polling
station or a place fixed for the poll by any person or persons making polling
authorities surrender the ballot papers or voting machines and doing of any
other act which affects the orderly conduct of elections;
(b) taking possession of
polling station or a place fixed for the poll by any person or persons and
allowing only his or their own supporters to exercise their right to vote and
prevent others from free exercise of their right to vote;
(c) Coercing or intimidating
or threatening directly or indirectly threatening any elector and preventing
him from going to the polling station or a place fixed for the poll to cast his
vote;
(d) seizure of a place
for counting of votes by any person or persons, making the counting authorities
surrender the ballot papers or voting machines and the doing of anything which
affects the orderly counting of votes;
(e) doing by any person
in the service of Government, of all or any of the aforesaid activities or
aiding or conniving at, any such activity in the election of a candidate.
(2)
An offence punishable under sub-section (1) shall be cognizable.
GREATER HYDERABAD MUNICIPAL
CORPORATION ACT PROVISIONS:
Section 610: Breaches of
official duty in connection with elections:-
(1) If any person to
whom, this section applies is without reasonable cause guilty of any act or
omission in breach of his official duty, he shall be punishable with fine,
which may extend to five hundred rupees.
(2) An offence
punishable under sub-section (1) shall be cognizable.
(3) No suit or other
legal proceedings shall lie against any such person for damages in respect of
any such act or omission as aforesaid.
(4) The persons to whom
this section applies are the District Election Officers, Returning Officers,
Assistant Returning Officers, Presiding Officers, Polling Officers and any
other person appointed to perform any duty in connection with the receipt of
nominations or withdrawals of candidatures, or the recording or counting of
votes at an election and the expression “official duty” shall for the purposes
of this section be construed accordingly but shall not include duties imposed
otherwise than by or under this Act.
Section 612: Penalties for
offences not otherwise provided for:-
Whoever does any act in contravention of any of the
provisions of this Act, or for any rule, notification or order made, issued or
passed, thereunder and not otherwise provided for in this Act shall, on
conviction be punished with imprisonment which may extend to two years or and
with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees or with both.
Section 607: Penalty for illegal hiring or
procuring of conveyance at elections:-
If any person is guilty of any such corrupt practice
as is specified in sub-section (7) of section 17 at or in connection with an
election, he shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three
months and with fine.
Section 607-A: Penalty for Government Servants
etc. for acting as election agent, polling agent or counting agent:-
If any person in the service of
the State or Central Government or a Local Authority or a Corporation owned or
controlled by the State or Central Government acts as an election agent of a
candidate at an election held under this Act, he shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine or with
both.
Section 607-B: Prohibition of going armed to or
near a polling station:
(1) No person other than the Returning Officer, any Police Officer and any
other person appointed to maintain peace and order, at a polling station who is
on duty at the polling station, shall, on a polling day, go armed with arms, as
defined in the Arms Act, 1959, of any kind within the neighborhood of a polling
station.
(2) If any person contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1), he shall be
punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with
fine, or with both.
(3) An offence punishable under sub-section (2) shall be cognizable.
Section 607-B: Office of booth capturing:
(1) Whoever commits an offence of booth capturing shall
be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one
year but which may extend to three years and with fine, and where such offence
is committed by a person in the service of the Government, he shall be
punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three
years but which may extend to five years and with fine.
Explanation:- For the purpose of
this sub-section and Section 617-D “booth capturing” includes, among other things, all or any of the following
activities, namely:-
(a)
seizure of a polling station or a
place fixed for the poll by any person or persons making polling authorities
surrender the ballot papers or voting machines and doing of any other act which
affects the orderly conduct of elections;
(b)
taking possession of polling station
or a place fixed for the poll by any person or persons and allowing only his or
their own supporters to exercise their right to vote and prevent others from
free exercise of their right to vote;
(c)
Coercing or intimidating or
threatening directly or indirectly threatening any elector and preventing him
from going to the polling station or a place fixed for the poll to cast his
vote;
(d)
seizure of a place for counting of
votes by any person or persons, making the counting authorities surrender the
ballot papers or voting machines and the doing of anything which affects the
orderly counting of votes;
(e)
doing by any person in the service of
Government, of all or any of the aforesaid activities or aiding or conniving
at, any such activity in the furtherance of the prospects of election of a
candidate.
(2) An offence
punishable under sub-section (1) shall be cognizable.
4.
Various parties etc., may apply for
permission to hold election meetings in a public place and while granting
permission for such meetings, no distinction should be made between one
political party and another and if more parties than one apply for permission
to hold a meeting at the same place on the same day and at the same hour, only
the party which has applied first should be allowed to hold the meeting.
5. The Government, direct that the
provisions of the Municipalities Act, 1965, Municipal Corporations Acts and
Andhra Pradesh Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 should be strictly followed
by all the Government servants. The Government however, wish to assure the Government
servants of all ranks that, so long as they discharge their duties impartially
and in accordance with the law and instructions issued by the Government, they
will be fully protected by the government and no victimization aced be
apprehended.
6. The
District Collectors are requested to communicate these instructions to the government
servants of all grades of various offices in the District.
7. The receipt of the Government order
should be acknowledged.
(BY ORDER AND IN THE NAME OF
THE GOVERNOR OF ANDHRA PRADESH)
SAMEER SHARMA
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO
GOVERNMENT
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