Conduct Rule No.3: General

3.     General:

(1)   Every railway servant shall at all times;

(i)   Maintain absolute integrity;

(ii)   Maintain devotion to duty;

(iii)   Do nothing which is unbecoming of a railway servant;

(iv)   Commit himself to and uphold the supremacy of the Constitution and democratic values;

(v)   defend and uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, public order, decency and morality;

(vi)   Maintain high ethical standards and honesty;

(vii)   Maintain political neutrality;

(viii)  promote the principles of merit, fairness and impartiality in the discharge of duties;

(ix)   Maintain accountability and transparency;

(x)    Maintain responsiveness to the public, particularly to the weaker section;

(xi)   Maintain courtesy and good behavior with the public;

(xii)   Take decisions solely in public interest and use or cause to use public resources efficiently, effectively and economically;

(xiii)  Declare any private interests relating to his public duties and take steps to resolve any conflicts in a way that protects the public interest;

(xiv)   Not place himself under any financial or other obligations to any individual or organization which may influence him in the performance of his official duties;

(xv)   Not misuse his position as railway servant and not take decisions in order to derive financial or material benefits for himself, his family or his friends;

(xvi)   Make choices, take decisions and make recommendations on merit alone;

(xvii)  Act with fairness and impartiality and not discriminate against anyone, particularly the poor and the under-privileged sections of society;

(xviii)  Refrain from doing anything which is or may be contrary to any law, rules, regulations and established practices;

(xix)   Maintain discipline in the discharge of his duties and be liable to implement the lawful orders duly communicated to him;

(xx)   Maintain confidentiality in the performance of his official duties as required by any laws for the time being in force, particularly with regard to information, disclosure of which may prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, friendly relation with foreign countries or lead to incitement of an offence or illegal or unlawful gain to any person and;

(xxi)   Perform and discharge his duties with the highest degree of professionalism and dedication to the best of his abilities.

[Authority: RBE No.01/2015, No.E(D&A)2014GS1-3, 12.01.2015, ACS No.125]

(2) (i) Every railway servant holding a supervisory post shall take all possible steps to ensure the integrity and devotion to duty of all railway servants for the time being under his control and authority;

(ii)    No railway servant shall, in the performance of his official duties, or in the exercise of powers conferred on him, act otherwise than in his best judgment except when he is acting under the direction of his official superior;

(iii)   The direction of the official superior shall ordinarily be in writing, and where the issue of oral direction becomes unavoidable, the official superior shall confirm it in writing immediately thereafter; and

(iv)   A railway servant who has received oral direction from his official superior shall seek confirmation of the same in writing as early as possible, whereupon it shall be the duty of the official superior to confirm the direction in writing.

Explanation:-

I –    A railway servant who habitually fails to perform the task assigned to him within the time set for the purpose and with the quality of performance expected of him shall be deemed to be lacking in devotion to duty within the meaning of clause (ii) of sub-rule (1).

II – Nothing in clause (ii) of sub-rule (2) shall be construed as empowering a railway servant to evade his responsibilities by seeking instructions from or approval of, a superior officer or authority when such instructions are not necessary under the scheme of distribution of powers and responsibilities.

Railway Ministry’s decision:

In the light of the provisions of Rule 3(2)(ii) it is impressed upon all Railway servants that;

(i)    Oral instructions should not, as far as possible, be issued by senior officers to their subordinates;

(ii)    If the oral instructions are issued by any senior officer they should be confirmed by him in writing immediately thereafter;

(iii)   If a junior officer seeks confirmation to the oral instructions given by the senior, the latter should confirm it in writing, whenever such confirmation is sought;

(iv)   A junior officer who has received oral orders from his superior officer should seek confirmation in writing as early as practicable;

(v)   Whenever a member of the personal staff of Minister communicates an oral order on behalf of the Minister, it should be confirmed by him in writing immediately thereafter;

(vi)   If junior officer received oral instructions from the Minister or from his personal staff and the orders are in accordance with the normal rules, regulations or procedures, they should be brought to the notice of the Secretary, or the concerned Members of the Railway Board or the Head of the Department, as the case may be, for information.

(vii) If a junior officer received oral instructions from the Minister or from his personal staff and the orders are not in accordance with the norms, rules, regulations or procedures, they should seek further clear orders from the secretary, the concerned Member of the Railway Board or the Head of the Department, as the case may be, about the line of action to be taken, stating clearly that the oral instructions are not in accordance with the rules, regulations, norms, or procedures.

[Authority: No.E(D&A)78GSI-9, 14.12.1978]