On Thursday, the Madras High Court pulled up retired state government officials and former top cops for continuing to use government housing post retirement.
According to a report in The Hindu, a division bench of Justices KK Sasidharan and P Velmurugan said, “The officers are well aware of their date of retirement. They should plan for their retirement life, including accommodation, well in advance. A retired employee cannot be heard to say that even after retirement, he should be permitted to occupy the government bungalow or apartment. This attitude must undergo a sea change.”
The issue came to the fore when a petitioner submitted to the court a list of former bureaucrats who continue to occupy prime housing in the city, years after their retirement from government service.
The Madras High Court also pulled up the state for its failure to frame appropriate guidelines as per the Supreme Court's direction in the SD Bandi case, The Hindureported.
Just a day earlier, on Wednesday, Justice Kirubakaran said he personally knew of a retired police officer who had six orderlies at his house. Explaining the colonial era origins of the system, the court asked why the practice was still in place.
Just last month, Justice Kirubakaran slammed the government for its false affidavit, which claimed that it does not employ orderlies. Orderlies are police officers employed for domestic help at the homes of senior officials.
According to a report in the Times of India, the court told the Attorney General of the state who claimed that the orderly system had been done away with, "Please warn your authorities not to file such false affidavits, I have exact numbers of orderlies in the force."
The court also wanted to know how many vehicles were at the disposal of senior officials and their families.