A Criminologist's Diary-52

A Criminologist’s Diary-52

Account Criminology and Criminal Ju...

HOARDING OF FILES-An Offence under Law

A Chief Minister of a State Government makes accusations against the Prime Minister of a Country saying that his urgent letters were unanswered by the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) for a considerable period of time. The issue became news of great importance in the media culminating in verbal attacks and mutual accusations of the politicians belonging to the ruling front and the same of the opposition political parties. If this is what is happening at the highest realm of administration, what will be at the bottom and middle level of governmental administration? Taking notice of an issue by the media means exerting pressure or coercing the administration to act in time. Whatever that be, the question here is:

Hoarding of edible things, construction materials, fuels and patrol etc. is made an offence in India. If that is so, why can’t the HOARDINMG OF FILES in Government offices be made an offence?

Every file is an essential commodity and behind each file there are human hearts, emotions, sympathies, needs, lives, concerns, considerations and what not? Each file is as important as or more important than patrol and fuel etc. and the incredible delay in disposing the files cause irreparable damage and loss to the people at the other end. It is sometimes victimization and as per the victimological principles, the victims ought to receive victim compensation or restitution as the case may be.

What about the number of pending files or the delay in the disposal of files- a well-meaning Member of the Legislature /Parliament may raise an occasional question in the House and often there will be a ‘ready-made’ answer to such a query. Neither the Member of Parliament /State Legislature who raised the query nor the concerned Minister who responded the usual question may be interested and an attitude of ‘Let the dead bury the dead’ is seen. The questions are::

If some delay takes place on the part of the citizenry to respond in time to the Government’s orders, he is penalized or fined. O.K., it is fine. Then, why not the same principle is applied if delay is caused by the administration in the disposal of files? Why can’t it be made a punishable offence? An attitude of “the head of the family can make the kitchen his toilet” is not a desirable administrative strategy.

‘Who is afraid of Virginia Wolf?’-the simple answer to the question may be: Fishes in the Atlantic Ocean or Birds in Siberia or Stars in the sky. Fine. They are no answers to the question. Likewise, some decisions are taken on the file and the decision taken is no decision at all. Ultimately, years and decades are taken to close the file and many who initiated the file might have died during the long process. Nobody is responsible and no one has any liability. Government decisions take their own time is a cliché and government business is nobody’s business is the approach. So long as this situation prevails, there is no salvation and the situations will go from bad to worse.

Make the DELAY-INORDIATE DELAY-EXTRAORDINARY DELAY- EXCESSIVELY INORDINATE DELAY OFFENCES under law under the caption Hoarding of Files with penalties proportionate to the gravity of the delay and the offence.