Para 16 — CSMOP
Original Rule Text
# 16. Modification of notes or orders -
(i) Senior officers should not require any modification in, or replacement of, the notes recorded by their juniors once they have been submitted to them. Instead, the higher officers should record their own notes giving their views on the subject, where necessary correcting or modifying the facts given in earlier notes.
(ii) Pasting over a note or a portion of it to conceal, shall not be done. Where a note recorded in the first instance requires any modification on account of additional facts or any error having come to notice, a subsequent note may be recorded, keeping the earlier note intact.
(iii) Where a final decision already communicated to a party is found later on to have been given on a mistaken ground or incorrect facts or wrong interpretation of rules due to misunderstanding, such withdrawal may have also legal implications. In all such cases, in addition to consulting the Ministry of Law, wherever necessary,
such a withdrawal should be permitted only after the approval of an officer higher than the one, who took the original decision, has been obtained and reasons for the reversal or modification of the earlier decision have been duly recorded on the file.
What This Means
Para 16 addresses a potentially sensitive situation in government offices: what happens when a senior officer disagrees with or wants to change a note recorded by a junior officer. The rule is clear that senior officers must not ask juniors to modify or replace notes they have already submitted upwards. Instead, the senior officer must record their own note with their own views — leaving the junior's original note intact. This protects the integrity of the file and prevents a culture of officials changing their records retrospectively to match what the senior wants.
Pasting over any part of a note to hide it is explicitly prohibited. If additional facts emerge or an error is discovered in a note already on the file, the correct approach is to record a fresh subsequent note that acknowledges and corrects the earlier one — while keeping the original note readable. This maintains the complete history of how a case was processed.
The most sensitive situation arises when a final decision that was already communicated to a party outside the government needs to be withdrawn or reversed — perhaps because it was based on wrong facts or a misinterpretation of rules. Para 16 requires that in such cases: (a) the Ministry of Law must be consulted where necessary, (b) the reversal must be approved by an officer senior to the one who made the original decision, and (c) the reasons for reversal must be recorded on the file.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Senior officers cannot instruct juniors to modify notes already submitted — they must record their own views instead.
- 2Pasting over or hiding any part of a note is strictly prohibited.
- 3Corrections to earlier notes are made by recording a subsequent note, keeping the earlier note intact.
- 4Withdrawing a decision already communicated to a party has potential legal implications.
- 5Any reversal of a communicated decision requires approval of an officer senior to the original decision-maker.
- 6The Ministry of Law must be consulted when reversing decisions with legal implications.
- 7Reasons for any reversal must be recorded on the file.
Practical Example
A Section Officer records a note recommending a contractor's claim be rejected. The Under Secretary disagrees and wants the SO to change the note. This is not permitted. Instead, the Under Secretary records their own note on the next page, explaining why they disagree and recommending acceptance. Both notes remain on the file. Separately, if a sanction letter was already issued to the contractor based on an incorrect interpretation, and the ministry wants to withdraw it, the matter must be referred to the Joint Secretary (who is senior to the Under Secretary who approved the original sanction), and legal advice from the Law Ministry should be obtained before the withdrawal letter is sent.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
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This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.