State should ensure that officers don't show off operations on media: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court recently said that the Uttar Pradesh government should ensure that district-level officials do not get their operations captured by the media [Adarsh Kumar vs State of UP & 5 Others]..Justice JJ Munir took critical note that the activities of district officials are sometimes broadcast in videos with very ostentatious titles. “This Court takes judicial notice of the fact that the District Level Officials sometimes get their official operations captured by the media, which then appear in videos with very ostentatious titles,” the Bench said.The Court went on to emphasise that the government has a duty to see that no such videos and “other media profiles of government service” appear on social media or in the “form of video channels” or in the print media..The Court was hearing a matter in which it had previously asked the State to inform it of whether there was any prohibition on government officers interacting with the media under the service rules.“This Court notices that there is a general trend amongst government servants of the present day of all ranks, including those in the Central Services serving the State cadre, of casually and freely speaking to the media,” Justice Munir had remarked while asking the Additional Chief Secretary of the Department of Personnel to file an affidavit. .On May 3, the Court said it was not satisfied with the affidavit filed by the Secretary (Personnel) who apparently had filed a compilation of the Service Rules before the Court. The Secretary must remember that the Court is aware of what the law and the Service Rules are, the Bench said.“The reference in paragraph 8 about what the officers are taught in the Training Schools is a very casual kind of exercise, of which this Court is always aware,” it added..The Court further opined that a lecture delivered on such issues to newly recruited government servants may have little impact, unless “there is a living reminder of the obligation."Adjourning the matter till May 10, the Court asked the Secretary to file a better affidavit. Advocate Anubhav Srivastava represented the petitioner..[Read Order]