MHA Directs AGMUT Cadre to Report Cases, Arrests Against IAS, IPS Officers Within 48 Hours
The Ministry of Home Affairs has told all segments of the AGMUT cadre to report within 48 hours any FIR, arrest, adverse court order or action by an investigating agency involving IAS, IPS, DANICS and DANIPS officers, as it tightens monitoring of disciplinary and criminal proceedings across the cadre.
The instruction was issued at a review meeting chaired by the Ministry after it found that local departments had often failed to report in time investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate and the Anti-Corruption Bureau. The AGMUT cadre covers Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Mizoram, along with the Union Territories of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh, Puducherry, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
48-hour reporting requirement
Under the new instruction, cadre segments must alert the Ministry within 48 hours of any first information report, arrest, adverse court order or investigative action involving officers of the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Police Service, the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Civil Services (DANICS), and the corresponding police service, DANIPS. The aim is to ensure that the cadre-controlling authority receives prompt information on criminal and departmental developments involving its officers.
Disciplinary cases due by October 15
The Ministry has also asked all AGMUT segments to submit details and supporting documents in pending disciplinary cases by October 15. Each submission must clearly specify whether the matter is at the pre-charge-sheet or post-charge-sheet stage.
The Centre has said proposals must be complete and include a clear statement of facts, a chronology of events, authenticated copies of all relied-upon documents, a list of witnesses, a draft charge-sheet, a specific recommendation on whether a major or minor penalty is proposed, and the reasons for initiating proceedings. Any incomplete proposal returned by the Ministry will have to be resubmitted within 15 days.
Closer scrutiny of prolonged leave
In a separate direction, the Ministry has ordered tighter scrutiny of officers on prolonged leave. Administrations have been asked to verify leave accounts, the nature and duration of leave, any extensions granted, and the officer’s place of stay. Salary is to be paid only for periods covered by available and duly sanctioned leave, while excess payments are to be identified and recovered under the rules.
Ladakh, Puducherry, Mizoram, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Arunachal Pradesh have specifically been asked to verify leave accounts and initiate recovery wherever applicable. The Ministry has also said that unexplained prolonged absence, or failure to resume duty despite repeated directions, may invite disciplinary proceedings and other adverse consequences under the service rules.
Training, induction and recruitment
On mandatory training, the Ministry said requests for exemption should be limited to genuinely exceptional situations. It has asked each segment to put in place an internal tracking mechanism, and said officers nearing eligibility for promotion should be relieved for training on priority.
The Arunachal Pradesh government has been directed to send its proposal for induction of State police service officers into the IPS, for the select list of 2025, to the Union Public Service Commission at the earliest. Jammu and Kashmir has been asked to complete the collection of Annual Performance Assessment Reports and prepare the statements and documents needed for pending IAS and IPS induction proposals, without waiting for the Centre to finalise vacancies. Those proposals are to be kept ready for immediate submission to the UPSC once vacancies are determined.
The Ministry has also asked AGMUT segments to ensure continuous and expeditious direct recruitment in the entry grades of the State civil and police services, and to clear existing recruitment backlogs.
