Report No. 58
The civil service-the legal background
8.2. Before we go into the actual question, it is desirable to explain the legal background in which the question was framed. The question is primarily concerned with the civil service. Service under the Crown in England (or under the State in another country) has come to be known as the "civil service". It may be of interest to note that this expression itself has an association with India; the expression civil service" originated in India connection with the East India Company.1 It was provided in the Charter Act2 that the East India Company could engage "civil servants".
In order that decisions of the Government may be first formulated and then implemented, a corps of Government officials is essential.3 is the function of the civil service, so called in contra-distinction to the Armed Forces and to the exclusion of political servants.
1. See Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.
2. Charter Act of 1793.
3. Gamer Administrative Law, (1967), p. 34.
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