Sources said the EC took this step after it found that many senior officials misused their positions to nurture their prospective constituencies before finally quitting their jobs to contest elections. In many cases, officials also became closely aligned to political parties and, after retirement, accepted tickets to fight the polls.

In the ongoing Punjab Assembly elections, P S Gill, who was DGP, Punjab, till sometime back, and Darbara Singh Guru, who was Principal Secretary to the Punjab Chief Minister, are contesting from the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal).

Former Indian hockey captain Pargat Singh, who was in the Punjab Police and Director, Sports, in the SAD-BJP government, is also contesting on SAD ticket. A former DGP, Mohammed Izhar Alam, was also in the reckoning for the SAD ticket from Malerkotla constituency but backed off due to opposition to his candidature. The party has fielded his wife instead.

Former Punjab and Maharashtra DGP S S Virk was also an aspirant for the Congress ticket but couldn’t get it.

In a letter to the Department of Personnel and Trainings (DoPT), the EC has recommended amendments in the service rules of IAS, IPS and class ‘A’ officials to prevent them from either joining a political party or contesting elections before the “cooling off” period.

The Commission has also asked the government to suggest a “suitable” cooling off period so that the officials remain impartial during their tenure as civil servants.

At present, a civil servant who has held a senior government position cannot take up a private job for at least a year after retiring or resigning from service. However, there are no rules regarding joining political parties or contesting elections.

Sources in the DoPT said the department was “studying” the EC’s letter and a final decision would be taken in due course.