No verbal orders from politicians, no frequent transfers: Supreme Court orders for babus

A bench headed by Justice KS Radhakrishnan said officials must have a fixed tenure to promote professionalism, efficiency and good governance.

"Frequent transfers should be avoided so that the implementation of the policies and programmes of the government reach the poor people," the judges said.

The court said officials should not act on verbal instructions from political bosses, observing that this encourages corruption. "If civil servants act on oral instructions they must record it in writing, otherwise the purpose of the RTI will be defeated,' said the court.

The court also asked Parliament to enact a law to regulate postings, transfers and disciplinary action against bureaucrats. Much of the deterioration in bureaucracy is due to political interference, said the judges.

The Central and state governments have been asked to set up, within three months, a civil service board to decide on the transfer and posting of bureaucrats. A petition had asked for such a board to rid the bureaucracy of political interference, corruption and inaction.

The judges said the reforms would bring a more professional approach in the government and among high-ranking officials.

"This is a landmark judgement. Public servants are not private servants and the government can't deal with them as domestic servants," said former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian.

Mr Subramanian is among the 83 former bureaucrats who had petitioned the court for sweeping reforms to protect the fraternity from politicians.

There had been widespread anger over the alleged persecution of bureaucrats like Uttar Pradesh IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, whose suspension in August was seen as 'punishment' for her crackdown on the politically connected sand mafia. She was reinstated last month.

Another officer, Ashok Khemka, has alleged that he is being hounded for cancelling a land deal involving Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son Robert Vadra.