The Directorate of Family Welfare, MCH & Immunisation, Jammu and Kashmir, has issued new social media guidelines for its employees, prohibiting them from criticising government policies or actions on social media and from posting content that is political, anti-secular, or communal in nature.
“No government employee shall, in any radio broadcast or in any document published in his own name or anonymously, pseudonymously, or in the name of any other person, or in any communication to the press or public utterance, make any statement of fact or opinion,” states an official order.
In addition, employees shall not, directly or indirectly, publish, post, or release any information on social media that is considered confidential or that is not intended for public dissemination, nor shall they pass any official documents or portions thereof to any government employee or person to whom he is not authorised to communicate such document or information.
“No government employee shall, through any post, tweet, or other means, discuss or criticise on social media any policy pursued or action taken by the government, nor shall he or she, in any way, participate in any such discussion or criticism on social media pages, communities, or microblogs,” reads an order.
According to the order issued by Dr. Tabassum Jabeen, Director, Family Welfare, MCH & Immunisation, J&K, “it has been observed that some employees in the Department of Family Welfare, MCH & Immunisation, J&K are misusing the social media platform by posting vulgar, obscene, and unnecessary tweets, contents, and comments against the department that defame the department’s workings and reputation.”
According to the relevant rules, disciplinary action may be taken against the “administrator” of the aforementioned social media platform, as well as any departmental employees involved.
“All employees of the Department of Family, MCH, and Immunisation in J&K have been instructed to rigorously adhere to the guidelines and legal principles outlined in the order and issued by the government and to refrain from engaging in unwarranted debates and sharing or commenting. On social media platforms, posting inappropriate content. The violation of these guidelines and rules constitutes malfeasance and will result in disciplinary action being taken against the offender in accordance with the applicable rules.”
The penalties for noncompliance enumerated in the guidelines include censure, fines, withholding of increments and promotions, demotion to a lower position, and recovery of monetary losses incurred by the government as a result of negligence or violation of orders. In extreme circumstances, employees may encounter early retirement or even dismissal from government service, which could disqualify them for future employment.
