People of Kerala should no more tender an apology to the state government for failing to apply for government services on time. Kerala government has done away with the system of seeking letters or petitions of apology from people for failing to submit applications on time for availing government services. The Kerala government has come out with an order in this regard.
As per an official statement issued by Kerala government, “those who are unable to submit their applications for government services within the time limit will no longer need to provide an ‘apology’ for the delay in their application. The application should not be submitted with an apology for not being able to submit it on time. Instead of using the phrase ‘apologise for the delay,’ the phrase ‘Regardless of the delay’ can be used to assess the application.”
Additional Chief Secretary A Jayathilak, who issued the government circular on May 17, specified that the word “apology” implied regretful acknowledgement of a serious offence rather than a mere lapse of time. A report by The Hindu said “the circular has asked different government departments to consider delays and lapses of deadlines in people’s applications for various services without seeking their apologies.
The report also quoted Boban Mattumantha, a rights activist whose long fight made the government scrap the system of apology, as saying “As per our Constitution, only the Indian President and the judiciary have the right to pardon someone. The government and its officials have no right to pardon or seek an apology from the people.”
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