it is clarified that the views expressed by the author are his personal views and should not be taken as the official view.
Grievances cannot be redressed until they are known; and they cannot be known but through complaints and petitions. If these are deemed affronts, and the messengers punished as offenders, who will henceforth send petitions? And who will deliver them? Wise governments encouraged the airing of grievances, even those that were lightly founded foolish governments did the opposite – to their peril. Where complaining is a crime, hope becomes despair. – Benjamin Franklin
The term ‘grievance’ has originated from the Latin word ‘gravis’ meaning ‘heavy’. it denotes a wrong or hardship suffered, which may trigger a complaint. In the past, the word has been used as a synonym for infliction or cause of hardship. In bureaucratic parlance, a grievance is a formal complaint that is raised by an employee or customer towards an employer/service provider. There may several reasons to raise a complaint and methods of dealing with it may also vary. Basic reason for a grievance is breach of the terms and conditions of a contract, or lack of agreed upon services.
At present, complaint system has been categorized under the conflict management system or dispute resolution system. Grievance Redressal Mechanism plays an important part in the smooth functioning of any organization, including Government. Without efficient grievance redressal mechanisms, the efficiency of administration cannot be measured. Democratic system permits citizen to come forward with their grievances. Grievances may arise on issues ranging from poor status of law and order, the shortage of food, overcrowded public transport, late running of trains, poor sanitation, or inefficiency of government machinery etc. A transparent policy on it may result in identifying the common issues.
A grievance can be dealt with informally or formally or both. If the[1] first step to reconcile fails, grievance is processed formally under the prescribed rules. A record of such grievance is useful for the organization.
HISTORY
Hindu mythology recognizes the concept of ‘Ram-Rajya’. It implies a welfare state free of grievances, also endorsed by the Gandhian philosophy.
‘The Arthashastra’ is an ancient Indian treatise on governance and statecraft. It was presumably written between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE by Chanakya, the chief advisor to emperors Chandragupta and his son Bindusara. The book covers broader area on the nature of government and serves as a manual on governance. It has been observed- “In the happiness of his subjects lies the king’s happiness, in their welfare his welfare. He shall not consider as good only that which pleases him but treat as beneficial to him whatever pleases his subjects”. {1.19.34}. It can be safely inferred that keeping the subjects happy and satisfied by the redressal of their grievances has been held as a priority work for the king.
Kautilya addressed financial fraud risks in 4th century BC. He realized that a lenient administration was a potential area of public grievances. In his above book, in Chapter VIII. ‘Detection of What is Embezzled by Government Servants out of State Revenue’- he has laid down steps essential to financial prosperity of the state. It has been prescribed that- “Every government servant is subject to punishment or transfer if he is found corrupt, slack or insensitive to public grievances”. Citizens were encouraged to raise voice to air their legitimate grievances. An elaborate network of spies was prescribed by him for detecting financial misappropriation and judicial impropriety, for minimizing grievances.
Whenever a public servant was found guilty of misappropriation of public funds, a proclamation in public would be made to announce that whoever has suffered at the hands of this offender may make their grievances known to the king and seek compensation. It is amazing that Kautilya identified forty different ways, used to embezzle the treasury. It served as a guide for supervisors. The list of forty embezzlement is so vast that even after two thousand years, a financial scam may be classified under it.
Kautilya appears to be well-versed with the characteristics of bureaucrats and statesmen and laid down rules to prevent misuse of authority. It has been stated that those officials who do not eat up the king’s wealth but increase it in just ways and are loyally devoted to him shall be made permanent in service.” {2.9.36} “. Pleasure trips by officials have also to be checked. It has been observed that-. ‘It is possible to mark the movements of birds flying high up in the sky; but not so is it possible to ascertain the movement of personnel of hidden purpose’. He recommends strictest punishment, both material and corporal, as a disincentive to cheat. Kautilya prescribed that the king’s schedule must include attending to public grievances daily.
Thirukkural is a classic of rhyming Tamil couplets, possibly written around the year 31 BC, by St. Thiruvalluvar, a weaver saint, born near present-day Chennai. It is one of the most revered ancient works in the Tamil language, providing a guide for human morals and betterment in life. Thiruvalluvar considered humans to be naturally good and productive. While Kautilya gave pragmatic advice to tackle destructive human instincts, Thiruvalluvar believed in benevolent nature of men and warned against institutional interference.
One of the notable rulers of South India was King Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara. He was much inspired by Telugu philosopher ‘Badenna’, who believed “Justice is the way to make the people prosper and the people’s prosperity is the way to wealth”. He advised king to emphasize on Nyaya (justice) over Niti (policy) for public prosperity.
Inside the grand fort of Agra, a marble plaque marks the spot of a legendary chain hung in the seventeenth century. This extraordinary “chain of justice,” is said to have been made of 240 kilograms of gold, was eighty feet long, and had sixty bells attached to it. It was one of Emperor Jahangir’s very first acts after taking over the reins of the Mughal Empire. It allowed the ordinary people to get the emperor’s attention. As Jahangir described it in his memoir, “If those engaged in the administration of justice should delay or practice hypocrisy . . . the oppressed might come to this chain and shake it so that its noise might attract attention.”
This chain of justice has been described as follows[2]– A rope with ringing bells, plated with gold, was fastened to two pillars in the King’s chamber, with an end hanging over the ground opposite the palace. Any poor man who demanded justice, shook the rope, and the King hearing the bells ring called him forthwith, heard him and did justice to his cause.
A Persian poem[3] beautifully inscribed in the Khas Mahal inside the Agra Fort says-
. . . By the chain of its justice the hands of tyranny are bound.
Proud am I of the king’s chain of justice,
For it is ever ready to do justice to those who seek it. . .
No record is available about whether the chain was ever used, yet the fascinating is the chain’s symbolism. It represented a potent idea, well ahead of time. Any citizen suffering injustice at the hands of the mighty kingdom had a right to seek redress directly from the emperor. The chain must have given the dissenting administrators many sleepless nights. The very idea of direct approach to king could persuade errant bureaucrats to act justly or face the consequences. The chain might have ebbed the potential discontent against the empire and the aggrieved would seek justice rather than rebel. What a novel idea to keep the vast administration on toes!
Magna Carta is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England in 1215. It was first drafted to make peace between the unpopular king and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments (as tax) to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of barons. Neither side stood behind their commitments, and the charter was later annulled. It was followed by the Petition of Rights in 1628. It is the petition sent by the English Parliament to King Charles-I complaining of a series of breaches of law. The petition sought recognition of four principles: no taxation without the consent of Parliament, no imprisonment without cause, no quartering of soldiers on subjects, and no martial law in peacetime. The Petition of Right came to be regarded as a constitutional document of the government of the United Kingdom.
No Taxation Without Representation– ‘The grievances’ form a section in the ‘Declaration of Independence’ where the colonists listed their problems with the British government. The Declaration of Independence included twenty-seven specific grievances about the conduct of the King and British government around 1774. The main complaints of people were about the taxes, British troops, tea, the Intolerable Acts, and King George. No taxation without representation” is a political slogan that originated in the American Revolution and expressed one of the primary grievances of the American colonists against Great Britain. The firm belief that the government should not tax a populace unless it is represented in some manner in the government.
GRIEVANCES RESOLVING MECHANISM IN INDIA
Public grievances can be broadly classified into the categories like, Grievances against policies of the Government, grievances due to maladministration and grievances due to corruption, due to a lack of integrity among officials working in the administration. Grievances arise when Government policies are not implemented efficiently by the administration due to lack of coordination between different departments or due to inefficiency of officials. Grievances may be presented direct to the administration, if it is sensitive towards the citizen, otherwise, it is raised through media or public representatives While citizen in urban areas have some basic infrastructure available to them, rural population is at the receiving end causing higher levels of grievances. Nodal Agencies for Grievance Redressal– at the Central Government level are-
Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG)- having the primary role to plan and implement citizen-centric measures in the domain of public grievances and carry out administrative reforms so that the Government is able to deliver quality public services without any obstacles. The grievances received are forwarded to the respective ministries, departments, and state governments. The cases will be followed until it is resolved. The task of formulating and operationalizing Citizens’ Charter was undertaken by DARPG to bring in transparency in public services and to streamline public work. The idea of Citizen Charter was first pioneered in the United Kingdom in 1991, with a focus on public services.
Directorate of Public Grievances (DPG) was set up in the Cabinet Secretariat in 1988. It handles complaints pertaining to various Central Government Organizations.
Ombudsman– This concept was first implemented in Sweden in 1809. It means an officer appointed by the Legislature to handle complaints against a service or administrative authority. In India Government has appointed Ombudsmen to resolve grievances in the sectors like Insurance, Banking. Recently the post of Income Tax Ombudsman has been recently abolished.
Lokpal– Lokpal was established under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013 to investigate corruption against public functionaries, even the Prime Minister. Lokpal can order investigation from its internal inquiry wing, Central Bureau Investigation (CBI), Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) etc.
Tribunals– Tribunals are formed to dispose of cases faster than courts. These are quasi-judicial institutions. Some of the important tribunals are Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Railway Claims Tribunal, Debt Recovery Tribunal, Customs, Excise and Service Tax Tribunal, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and Labour Tribunal.
Committee on Petitions is a Parliamentary Committee on redressing grievances of the public, and a citizen can submit petitions to it.
Consumer Redressal Forums– The Consumer Protection Act, 1986, replaced by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, applies to all goods and services, excluding goods for resale or for commercial purpose and services rendered free of charge and under a contract for personal service. The provisions of the Act are compensatory in nature. It covers public, private, joint, and cooperative sectors. There are frequent attempts to cover all services offered by government agencies under this Act. Fortunately, a taxpayer has still not been classified as a consumer, so we can breathe easy for the time being.
An interesting grievance was received by Railways in the year 1909. One Shri Okhil Chandra Sen had written a letter highlighting his genuine grievance to the Sahibganj divisional railway office in 1909. The letter is on display at the Railway Museum in New Delhi. This letter supposedly led to the introduction of toilets on trains.
“I am arrive by passenger train Ahmedpur station and my belly is too much swelling with jackfruit. I am therefore went to privy. Just I doing the nuisance that guard making whistle blow for train to go off and I am running with ‘lotah’ in one hand and ‘dhoti’ in the next when I am fall over and expose all my shocking to man and female women on plateform. I am got leaved at Ahmedpur station. This too much bad, if passenger go to make dung that dam guard not wait train five minutes for him. I am therefore pray your honour to make big fine on that guard for public sake. Otherwise I am making big report to papers.”
Taking off the shield of sovereignty from the public utilities, a landmark judgment was delivered by State Consumer Forum[4] Bihar. The General Manager, Southeastern Railway, Kolkata was asked to pay Rs. 10,000 as compensation to Anand Prasad Sinha for poor consumer services. On the appeal of Railways, the National Consumer Redressal limited it to Rs. 1,500.
In Indian Medical Association v. V P Santha[5], Hon’ Supreme Court ruled that medical practitioners and their services are covered under this Act. However, Hon’ Supreme Court in another case noted that just because a doctor draws a salary from the hospital, the services which they have provided for free cannot fall under Consumer Protection Act. (Nivedita Singh versus Dr. Asha Bharti & ors[6]]. In the case of Bombay Hospital & Medical Research Centre v. Asha Jaisawal & Others[7]– Hon’ Supreme Court held that Doctor cannot be held guilty only because something has gone wrong. For fastening criminal liability, very high degree of such negligence is required to be proved.
In Manu Solanki vs Vinayaka Mission University[8], Hon’ Supreme Court held that Educational Institutions do not fall within the ambit of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and education which includes co-curricular activities such as swimming, is not a “service” within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act. Hon’ Supreme Court in the case of Vodafone Idea Cellular Ltd v. Ajay Kumar Agarwal[9], has held that Consumer complaints against Telecom companies are maintainable before consumer forums/commissions.
The operation of banking and nonbanking companies is a potential grievance breeder. RBI has launched a “Complaint Management System[10] (CMS), to facilitate the grievance redressal processes. Citizens can lodge online complaints against any of the entities regulated by RBI. It has features like acknowledgement through SMS/mail notification, status tracking through unique ID, receipt of closure advises and filing of appeals. It also solicits feedback on the customer’s experiences. The system provides facilities for generation of a diverse set of reports to monitor and manage grievances by the Regulated Entities. Information from CMS can be used to analyses and initiating appropriate corrective action. CMS can be used for regulatory and supervisory interventions. With CMS, the processing of grievances in the offices of Banking Ombudsman (BO) and Consumer Education and Protection Cells (CEPCs) of RBI has been digitalized.
E-GOVERNANCE – to suggest better ways to address public grievances, Administrative Reforms Commissions (ARC) were appointed by the Government of India. It recommended reforming the Public Administration System in India. The first ARC was established on 5th January 1966, chaired by Morarji Desai and was later by K. Hanumanthaiah. It was mandate to suggest measures to improve financial, personnel, economic, district and agricultural administrations. The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) was constituted on 31st August 2015. Shri Veerappa Moily was the chairman, tasked to revamp the administrative system. This ARC submitted 15 reports, like Right to Information (RTI), Ethics in Governance, Local Governance, Public Administration, E-Governance and Combating Terrorism etc. Some of the suggestions, which were actively implemented are-
Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) – is a multi-modal and multi-purpose grievance redressal system designed by the PMO and NIC. It increases the cooperation and coordination between the Union Government and State Government in addressing the grievances and monitoring government schemes.
Unified Mobile Application for New-Age Governance (UMANG) – It is a single platform through which citizens across India can access e-governance services, starting from Central Government to local government bodies.
Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism (INGRAM) – It is a portal launched by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs to address grievances of the public when they purchase any goods or services.
Sevottam is a standard model for grievance redressal mechanisms and to plug the loopholes of the Citizen Charter, focusing on improving the quality of service delivered to the citizens in the public domains. Government has been working on addressing the public grievances by utilizing Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Some of the noteworthy efforts were to implement E-governance to reduce Public Grievances in a timely manner. Taking a cue, other portal/app made available are, MyGov, E-Nivaran- (CBDT), Nivaran (Railway), Digital India, India.gov.in, meity.gov.in, PM India, Mera Aspataal (National Health Mission), Aarogya Setu and CoWIN (Covid-19}.
CPGRAMS- Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System is online platform available 24×7 to lodge their grievances on any service delivered by 94 departments. It is a single portal connected to all the Ministries/ Departments. Every Ministry and States have role-based access to this system. CPGRAMS, operative from 2007, is also accessible through mobile application integrated with UMANG. The status of the grievance can be tracked with the unique ID. CPGRAMS also provides appeal facility against the resolution offered, or provide feedback also. Only Sub-judice cases, Personal and family disputes and RTI matters are excluded from it. It is actively monitored by the PMO. The diagnostic study[11] is undertaken by the Quality Council of India for Grievance Data Analysis for identification of key issues and for Systemic Reforms Recommendations to prevent recurrence. A deep dive analysis of the data pertaining to the period 1/04/2014 to 1/09/2015, identified inefficiency in refunds had the impact on 70% of grievances, followed by issues with PAN/Returns in 19% of the cases in the Income Tax Department. CPGRAM’s performance[12] can be viewed online.
GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL IN THE INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT
Income tax Department maintains websites, which provide all the information to the taxpayers. At the same time, it archives the returns/documents of the taxpayers. Website of Income tax Department has won several awards for its useful and up to-date content. It facilitates grievance redressals. It carries along with taxpayers’ services, Taxpayers’ Charter, policy details and contacts of Ask Centers, designed specifically to help small taxpayers. Procedure for grievance redressal in the Income tax Department can be viewed on Department’s website[13].
OTHER OPTIONS FOR CITIZENS’ GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL
Right to Information Act 2005 – The RTI Act was passed in 2005. It empowers the citizens to seek information from the Government, to obtain and inspect Government documents. This Act not only empowers as well as promotes transparency and accountability in the functioning of Government.
The Right to Public Services legislation in India is a statutory law which guarantees time bound delivery of services rendered by the Government to citizen. It provides mechanism for punishing the errant public servants, deficient in providing the stipulated service. Right to Service legislation are meant to reduce corruption and to increase transparency and public accountability. Madhya Pradesh was the first state in India to enact Right to Service Act in 2010. It was followed by Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Kerela, Uttrakhand, Haryana, UP, Odisha, Jharkhand, Maharashra and West Bengal.
Grievances related to the Sexual harassment– Such harassment violates the women’s fundamental right of gender equality and life with dignity under article 14 and article 21 of Indian Constitution. In a landmark judgment in Vishaka & others Vs. State of Rajasthan & others[14] Hon’ Supreme Court laid down the guidelines, recognizing it not only as a private injury to a woman but also as the violation of her fundamental rights. Vishaka guidelines have been superseded by the Sexual Harassment of women at the workplace (prevention, prohibition, and redressal) Act, 2013.
MEDIATION is a structured, interactive process where impartial third-party assist the disputing parties in resolving conflict using specialized communication and negotiation techniques. The process of resolving grievance through mediation appeared in very ancient times, first developed in Ancient Greece. Mediator were known as ‘Proxenetas’. Under the Roman law, starting from Justinian’s Digest of 530–533 CE, recognized the process of mediation. Such persons were at times known as by various names, like- interpolator, interlocutor, interpres, and finally as mediator. Following the war against Rome, the Kushites sent mediators to Augustus, in the year 21/20 BC, a peace treaty was concluded. Now mediation is a form of professional service.
OMBUDSMAN– An organizational ombudsman is a designated neutral or impartial dispute resolution practitioner whose major function is to provide independent, impartial, confidential, and informal assistance. Ideally Ombudsman have no other duties, to avoid conflict of interests. The concept has been widely implemented. Office of Income tax Ombudsman has been abolished recently.
PROTECTION TO WHISTLEBLOWER– is a person, who exposes information or activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal or immoral. Kautilya promoted the concept of ‘whistle blower’. He writes in Arthashastra– “Any informant who supplies information about embezzlement just under perpetration shall, if he succeeds in proving it, get as reward one-sixth of the amount in question; if he happens to be a government servant, he shall get for the same act one-twelfth of the amount.” The punishment for fraud depended on the nature and value of fraud. It ranged from nominal fines to death penalty. The aggrieved victim was compensated for the losses suffered. In India, whistleblowers are protected by the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014. The law provides for the protection of their identity and also has strict norms to prevent their victimization. The phrase whistle blower attached itself to law enforcement officials in the 19th century because they used a whistle to alert the public. A newspaper, Janesville Gazette, published from Wisconsin, carried a story in 1883 about a policeman the whistleblower, who used his whistle to alert citizens.
All said and done, despite above measures, grievances will keep coming. It is a part of the administrative process, which must be followed with zest. Each officer in an organization should be trained to be a ‘Grievance handler’ rather than leaving it to a ‘bystander’s apathy’. Common challenges to an effective grievance redressal procedure are- lack of awareness about means to report, intentional discouragement, lack of common authority over several departments, communication gap of decision-makers with customers, hesitation of front-end managers to report negative feedback, fear of citizens to report malpractices, deterrent cost to set up mechanisms, inaccurately designed feedback forms, delayed response and sometimes misuse of this process by the chronic complainants.
Author: (Chandra Prakash Bhatia) | Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, Kolkata
[1] Kautilya’s Arthasastra,Translated byDr. R. Shamasastry with An Introductory Note by Dr. J. F. fleet, I.C.S. Published by Mysore Printing and Publishing House, Mysore, 1915.
[2] Akbar And His Court And of the Modern City of Agra- By Syad Muhammad Latif, Printed at the Calcutta Central Press Company, Limited, 40, Canning Street, Calcutta, 1896, page 27.
[3] Akbar And His Court And of the Modern City of Agra- By Syad Muhammad Latif, Printed at the Calcutta Central Press Company, Limited, 40, Canning Street, Calcutta, 1896, page 84.
[4] Order 13th April 1989 in Complaint No. 3/SC/1989
[5] 1995 SSC (6) 651
[6] Civil Appeal no(s).103 of 2012, Order dated 7/12/2021
[7] Civil Appeal no 1658 of 2010 with CA no. 2322 of 2010
[8] (2020) CPJ 210 (NC)
[9] CA No 923 of 2017 dated 16/02/2022
[10] https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/Complaints.aspx
[11] https://darpg.gov.in/sites/default/files/5%20Central%20Board%20of%20Direct%20Taxes.pdf
[12] https://dpg.gov.in/AuthPages/PastPerform.aspx
[13] https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/Documents/citizen-charter-grievances-redressal.pdf
[14] (1997) 6 SCC 241 dated 13/08/1997
Author Bio
Income tax department at Bangalore and Tirupati not responding to my grievances and d E mails for the last 18 months @ rectification request is still pending @ refund amount not deposited to my bank account @ the amount was adjusted to tje outstanding demand @ Even though the notice under section 154 is not correct and not genuine @ they are creating mental agony to Pensioners / senior citizens @ we are corresponding with income tax department several times but they are not solving my problem.
Padaga Chalapathi Rao
Aftpp2254h
Pensioner
Senior citizen
Kakinada
533003
9441435566
Please take necessary Action.
Email
cpadaga gmail.com