ARE you a retired civil servant and write (retd) on your visiting card. Be careful as a case was registered against KS Premachandra Kurup, a former IAS officer and former director of state-run Cooperative Academy of Professional Education (CAPE), stating that he misused the IAS title by using it after retirement, and hence he should be punished under Section 170 of IPC. Writing IAS after retirement is highly irregular and quite unbecoming of an officer, it was alleged by the state government. Section 170 of the IPC says: “Whoever pretends to hold any particular office as public servant, knowing that he does not hold such office or falsely personates any other person holding such office, and in such assumed character does or attempts to do any act under colour of such office, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.” A single bench of the Kerala High Court in an order dated November 23, 2012, observed that “use of naming such service with or without suffix ‘retired’ by a former member is an impropriety, but, certainly it cannot be treated as an offence, nonetheless an offence under Section 170 of the Penal Code.” The order pronounced by Justice SS Satheesachandran, however, clearly said: “To use with the name either IAS or IAS (retd.) after leaving the service, no doubt, is not proper.” The state government, which was not happy with the judgement filed a review petition. But the larger bench comprising Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice K Vinod Chandran validated the order. The problem between the state co-operative department and Kurup cropped up when the latter filed an affidavit in the High Court alleging that he was asked to conduct recruitment based on a list forwarded by cooperation minister CN Balakrishnan’s office when he headed CAPE after retirement. Kurup was CAPE’s director for one year between June 2011 and June 2012. This is what the bench comprising Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice K Vinod Chandran said: “Looking at the totality of the facts and circumstances, we cannot but say that if such bickering in administration led to initiation of criminal prosecution, it is very unfortunate. We leave it at that.”