The Railway Service (Conduct) Rules 1966 The Railway servants are governed by the Railway Service Conduct

Rules 1966, which lays down the standard of conduct expected from every Railway Servant and members of their family. Railway service (conduct) Rules, in brief, are as under :Rule 3 : General Every Railway servants shall at all time i. Maintain absolute integrity ii. Maintain devotion to duty and iii. Do nothing which is unbecoming of a Railway or Railway employee Every Railway employee holding a supervisory post shall take all possible steps to ensure the integrity and devotion to duty of Railway servant who are under this control. No Railway servant shall in the performance of his official duties or exercise of powers conferred on him act otherwise than in his best judgement except when he is acting under the direction of his official. Superior and shall where he is acting under such direction, obtain the direction in writing wherever practicable and where it is not possible he shall obtain confirmation in writing immediately thereafter. Conduct of a Railway servant in relation to the proper maintenance of his family :It is the responsibility of the Railway employees to look after their families, failing which they can be taken up for violating the Railway Servant (Conduct) Rules 1966 for such conduct as unbecoming of a railway servant. Instances/ complaints of the failure of Railway employees to look after their families may be investigated invariably and suitable action be taken against him under Rule 6 of the RS(D&A) Rules, 1968 in all those cases where the complaints are prima facie established during the investigation. [RBE 62/2005] 3.(A) Promptness and courtesy : [RBE No. 101/95] No Railway servant shall :(a) In performance of his official duties act in a discourteous manner. (b) In his official dealing with the public or otherwise adopt dilatory tactics or wilfully cause delays in disposal of the work assigned to him. 3.(B) Observance of Governments policies : Every Railway servant shall at all tims :i. act in accordance with the Governments policies regarding age of marriage, preservation of environment protection of wildlife and cultural heritage. ii. Observe the Governments policies regarding prevention of crime against women. The Government servant who indulges in act of cruelty to animals (beats, kiks, over rides, over drive, over loads, tortures or otherwise treats any animal, to unnecessary pain or suffering) will be making him self liable for action under prevention of cruelty to Animal Act.1960. Besides punishment under the Act., he would also make himself liable for action under Rules for conduct unbecoming of a Govt. servant. [RBE No. 130/06] 3.(C) Prohibition of sexual harassment of working women : [RBE No. 96/98 &148/98] i. No Government servant shall indulge in any act of sexual harassment of any Woman at her work place. ii. Every Railway servant who is incharge of a work place shall take appropriate steps to prevent the commission of such act of sexual harassment of women at such work place . For the purpose of this rule, sexual harassment includes such unwelcome sexually determined behavior, whether directly or otherwise as :(a) physical contacts and advances ; (b) A demand or request for sexual favors ; (c) sexual colored remarks (d) Showing any pornography ; or (e) any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non verbal conduct of sexual nature. 1 PTC, NWR, Jodhpur

Rules 4 : Employment of near relatives of Railway servants in Company or firms :1. No Railway servant shall use his official position or influence directly or indirectly to secure employment for any member of his family in any company or firm. 2. No Group A officer shall, except with the prior sanction of the Government permit his son, daughter or other dependent to accept employment in any company or firm with which he has official dealings or in any other company or firm having official dealing with the Government. 3. No Railway servant shall in the discharge of his official duties deal with any matter or give or sanction any contract to any company or firm or any other person if any member of his family is employed in that company or firm. Every such matter or contract shall be sent to his supervisor authority. Rule 5 : Taking parts in Politics and elections :1. No Railway employee shall be a member of or otherwise be associated with any political party or any other organisation which takes part in politics. 2. It shall also be duty of every employee to endeavour to prevent any member of his family from taking part in any movement or activity which is subversive of the Government. Rule 6 : Joining of Associations or Unions by Railway servants :No Railway servant shall join or be a member of an association or union, the object or activities of which are prejudicial to the interests of sovereignty, integrity and security of India. When any staff is promoted to gazatted rank he shall resign the union of non-gazatted staff but in case joining such union is beneficent, he may continue as an ordinary member, but not as office bearer with such union, provided he satisfies the GM. Rule 7 : Demonstration : No Railway servant shall engage himself or participate in any demonstration which is prejudicial to the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relation with foreign state, public order, decency or morality or which involves contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence. Rule 8 : Connection with the press or Radio :No Railway servant shall except with the prior sanction of the Govt. connect with press, Radio, TV, editing a news paper or publishing a book and other media except in literary, artistic and scientific matter. Rule 9 : Criticism of Government :No Railway servant shall, in any radio broadcast, telecast through any Electronic media or in any document published in his own name or in the name of any other person or in any communication to press or in any other media make any statement of fact or opinion which has effect of an adverse criticism of any current policy of Central / State Government or embarrassing the relationship between Central and State Government or between the Central Government and the Government of any foreign state. Rule 10 : Evidence before Committee or any other Authority :No Railway employee shall, except with the previous sanction of the Government, give evidences in connection with any inquiry conducted by any person, committee or authority or in the course of giving such evidence not criticise the policy or any action of the Central or State Government. Rule 11 : Communication of official information :Every Railway servant shall, in the performance of his duties in good faith, communicate information to a person in accordance with the right to information Act, 2005 (22) of 2005)and the rules made there under, provided that no Railway servant shall, except in accordance with any general or special orders of Government or in the performance in good faith of the duties assigned to him, communicate, directly or indirectly, any official document or any part thereof or classified information to any Railway servant or any other person to whom he is not authorized to communicate such documents or classified information. [RBE No. 22/06] 2 PTC, NWR, Jodhpur

Rule 12 : Subscription :No Railway servant shall, except with the previous sanction of Government, ask for or accept contributions or otherwise associate himself with raising, of any of the funds or other collections in cash or in any kind in pursuance of any object whatsoever. Rule 13 : Gifts :1. No Railway servant shall accept, or permit any member of his family or any other person on his behalf to accept any gift (gift shall include free transport, boarding, lodging or other service or any other pecuniary advantage provided by any person other than a near relative or friend having no official dealing with Government servant). A Railway servant shall avoid accepting lavish hospitality or frequent hospitality from any individual, industry or firm having official dealing with him. [RBE No. 108/09;70/11] 2. On occasion, such as wedding, anniversaries, funerals or religious functions, when the making of gift is in conformity with the prevailing religious or social practices, a Government servant may accept gifts from his near relatives but shall report to the Government if the value of any gift exceeds :[RBE No. 59/04] i. Rs. 7000/- in the case of a Rly servant holding any Group A post. ii. Rs. 4000/- in the case of a Rly servant holding any Group B post. iii. Rs. 2000/- in the case of a Rly servant holding any Group C post. iv. Rs. 1000/- in the case of a Rly servant holding any Group D post. 3. On above occasions, a Railway servant may accept gifts from his personal friends having no official dealings with him, but he shall make a report to the Government, if the value of any such gifts exceeds:i. Rs. 1500/- in the case of a Rly servant holding any Group A & B post. ii. Rs. 500/- in the case of a Rly servant holding any Group C & D post. (Note :- Where award money is to be distributed in kind by way of gift articles involving expenditure, adequate care should be taken to ensure that normal purchase procedure is followed while processing with such purchases. (RBE 08/12) Rule 13 (A) : Dowry :No Railway servant shall :i. give or take or abet the giving or taking of dowry ; or ii. demand directly or indirectly from the parents or guardian of a bride or bride groom, as the case may be, any dowry. Rule 14 : Public demonstrations in honor of Railway servant :No Railway employee shall except with the previous sanction of Government receive any complimentary or valedictory address or accept any testimonial or attend any meetings of entertainment held in his honor or in the honor of any other Government servant. Provided that nothing in this rule shall apply to :i. a farewell entertainment of a substantially private and informal character held in honour of a railway servant or any other Government servant on the occasion of his retirement or transfer or any person who has recently quit the service of any Government; or ii. the acceptance of simple and inexpensive entertainments arranged by public bodies or institutions. Rule 15 : Private Trade or Employment :No Railway employee shall except with the previous sanction of the Government :a. Engage directly or indirectly in any trade or business; b. Negotiate for, or undertake any other employment, however a Railway employee may under take any honorary work of a social or charitable nature or occasional work of a literary, artistic or scientific manner . c. Hold an elective office, or canvass for a candidate for an elective office. d. Canvass in support of any business of insurance agency, commission agency etc. owned or managed by any member of his family; or e. Take part in the registration, promotion or management of any bank or other company or any co-operative society for commercial purpose. 3 PTC, NWR, Jodhpur

f. Participate in or associate himself in any manner in making of :[RBE No. 12/97] i. a sponsored media (radio or television) programme; or ii. a media programme commissioned by Government media but produced by a private agency; or iii. a privately produced media programme including video magazine. Rule 15 (A) : Subletting and vacation of Government Accommodation :[RBE No. 12/97] i. No Railway servant shall sublet, lease or otherwise allow occupation by any other person of Govt. accommodation, which has been allotted to him. ii. A Railway servant shall after the cancellation of his allotment of Govt. accommodation vacate the same within the time limit prescribed by the allotting authority. Rule 16 : Investment, lending and borrowing :1. No Railway employee shall speculate in any stock share or other investment. Provided that nothing in this sub rule shall apply to occasional investments made through stock brokers or other persons duly authorised or who have obtained a certificate of registration under the relevant law. [RBE No. 12/97] 2. No Railway employee shall make or permit any member of his family or any other person acting on his behalf to make any investment, which is likely to embarrass or influence him in the discharge of his official duties. For this purpose, any purchase of shares out of the quotas reserved for Directors of company or their friends and associate shall be deemed to be an investment, which is likely to embarrass the Railway servant. [RBE No. 12/97] 3. No Railway servant who is involved in the decision making process of fixation of price of an Initial Public offering or following public offering of shares of a Central Public Sector Enterprises shall apply, either himself or through any member of his family or through any other person acting on his behalf, for allotment of shares in the Initial Public Offerings or follow up Public Offerings of such Central Public Sector Enterprises. [RBE No. 128/09] 4. No Railway employee shall, save in the ordinary course of business with a bank or a public limited company, either himself or through any member of his family or any other person. (a) Lend or borrow or deposit money, as a principal or an agent, to or from or with, any person or firm, company with whom he is likely to have official dealing or otherwise place himself under pecuniary obligation to such person or firm or private limited company; or (b) Lend money to any person at interest, provided that a Railway servant may give or accept from a relative or a personal friend, a purely temporary loan of small amount free of interest. 1. Since, it is not possible to define the term small amount comprehensively each case should be decided on merit and in deciding such cases, the status of the individual concerned and the amount involved should be taken into account. 2. In the context of borrowing of money from a relative or a personal friend in terms of Rule 16(4) (i) of the Railway Service (Conduct) Rules, 1966 it is clarified as under :a. Prior sanction of the Government is required for borrowing money from a relative or a personal friend with whom the Railway servant has official dealings. However, in terms of the relaxation given in the first proviso to Rule 16(4) (i), no prior sanction is required if the loan to be taken from such a person (i.e., with whom he has official dealings) is purely temporary loan of a small amount, free of interest. b. No prior sanction of the Government is required if the Railway servant borrows money from a relative or a personal friend with whom he has no official dealings. 3. It may, however, be noted that Loan is considered as movable property in terms of Explanation-I, below Rule 18(5) of the Railway Services (Conduct) Rules, 1966 and hence, any Loan advance taken by the Railway servant that exceeds the limit prescribed under Rule 18(3) of the said Rules is to be reported to the government. It is always open to the authorities to verify the correctness / genuineness of the transaction if they have any doubt in the matter, by requiring the Railway Servant to produce necessary documents. [RBE No 19/05]

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Rule 17 : Insolvency and Habitual Indebtedness :A Railway servant shall so manage his private affairs as to avoid habitual indebtedness or insolvency. A Railway servant against whom any legal proceeding is instituted for the recovery of any debt due from him or for adjudging him as an insolvent shall forth with report the full facts of the legal proceeding to the Government. Rule 18 : Movable, Immovable and Valuable Property :1. Every Railway employee shall on his first appointment submit a return of his assets and liabilities in prescribed form (which includes immovable property, shares, debentures, cash including bank deposits and other moveable property inherited by him, owned or acquired by him and debts and other liabilities incurred by him directly or indirectly). 2. In every return, the values of items of movable property worth less than Rs. 10,000/- may also be added and shown as a lump sum. 3. (1) Every Railway servant holding Group A or Group B post shall submit an annual return in a prescribed form. (2) No Railways servant shall except with the previous knowledge of the Government acquire or dispose any immovable property by lease, mortgage, purchase, sale, gift or otherwise either in his own name or in the name of any members of his family; provided that the previous sanction of the Government shall be obtained by the Railway servant, if any such transaction is with a person having official dealings with him. [RBE 59/04] (3) Where a Railway employee enters into a transaction of moveable property either in his name or in the name of any other member of his family, shall submit the report with in one month from the date of such transaction, if the value of such property exceeds two months of basic pay of Rly. Servant provided that the previous sanction of the Government shall be obtained if such transaction is with a person having official dealing with him. [RBE No. 105/11] iv. No Railway servant shall except with the previous knowledge of the Govt. acquire or dispose of any immovable property by lease, mortgage, purchase, sale, gift either in his own name or in the name of any member of his family, if the transaction is through a reputed firm. [RBE No. 107/09] Supervisory staff of Group C (Class III) on railways working in scales of pay, the maximum of which is Rs. 900 and above (now PB-2 9300-34800 Grade Pay 4600 & above), should also submit an annual return regarding the immovable property inherited by him, or owned or acquired by him, or held by him on lease or mortgage, either in his own name or in the name of any member of his family or in the name of any other person. The return should be submitted within three months of his first appointment in the grade and thereafter in the month of January every year. The following categories of Commercial staff in all grades, viz., Reservation Clerks, Parcel Clerks, Booking Clerks, TTEs and TCs, should besides submitting a property return on their initial appointment as required in Rule 18(1) (i) of the conduct Rules, should also submit a return of their property at the time of every promotion, as also at the time of submitting documents for pension (approximately two years prior to superannuation). Sale and purchase of shares, securities, debentures, etc., are to be treated as transaction in movable property. An intimation is to be given under Rule 18(4) to the prescribed authority in the proforma laid down in the following cases : Jwellery, insurance policies the annual premium of which exceeds two months basic pay of the railway servant, shares, securities and debentures. [RBE 105/11] The above intimation will be in addition to the intimation (s) required to be given under Rule 18(3) in respect of individual transactions in shares, securities, debentures, etc., which exceeds the amount prescribed therefore.

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Rule 18 (A) Restriction in Relation to acquisition & disposal of immovable property outside India and transaction with foreigners : No Railway servant shall except with the previous sanction of the Government, acquire / dispose by Purchase / sale, lease, mortgage, gift either in his or in the name of his family, any immovable property situated outside India, nor enter with such transaction with any foreigner. Rule 19: Vindication of Acts and character of Railway servant : No Railway servant shall except with the prior sanction of Government, have recourse to any court or to the press for the vindication of any official act which has been subject matter of adverse criticism or an attack of a defamatory character. Provided that if no such sanction is received by the Railway servant within a period of three months from the date of receipt of the request by the Government, he shall be free to assume that the permission as sought for has been granted to him. [RBE No. 115/96] Rule 20 : Canvassing of Non-Official or other Influence :No Railway servant shall bring or attempt to bring any political or other influence to bear upon any superior authority to further his interests in respect of matters pertaining to his service under the Government. Rule 21 : Restrictions regarding Marriage :i. No Railway employee shall enter into, or contract a marriage with a person having a spouse living and ii. No Railway servant, having a spouse living shall enter into, or contract, a marriage with any person, iii. A Railway servant who has married or marries a person other than of Indian Nationality shall forthwith intimate the fact to the Government. Government may permit a railway servant to enter into or contract any such marriage if it is permissible under the personal law applicable to such Railway servant and there are other grounds for doing so. Rule 22 : Consumption of Intoxicating Drinks and Drugs :1. (a) A Railway servant shall strictly abide by the law relating to intoxicating drinks or drug during the course of his duties (b) Refrain from consuming any intoxicated drink or drug in a public place. 2. A Railway servant shall not :(a) appear in public place in a state of intoxication; (b) use any intoxicating drink or drug to excess; (c) A Railway servant if he belongs to the running category (both Loco and Traffic) or is directly connected with train passing duty, have taken or used any intoxicating drinks/drug within eight hours of the commencement of duty or take such drinks or drug during the course of duty. Rule 22 (A) : No Railway servant shall employ to work a child below the age of 14 years. [RBE No 3/2000]

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