Para 37 — CSMOP
Original Rule Text
37. Correspondence with Members of Parliament and VIPs -
(i) Communications received from Members of Parliament and VIPs should be attended to promptly.
(ii) Where a communication is addressed to a Minister, it shall, as far as possible, be replied to by the Minister himself. In other cases, a reply should normally be signed by an officer of the rank of Secretary only.
(iii) Where, however, a communication is addressed to the head of an attached or
subordinate office, Public Sector Undertakings, Financial Institutions (including nationalized banks) Division/Branch In charge in a Ministry/Department /Organisation, shall be replied to by the addressee himself. In routine matters, he may send an appropriate reply on his own. In policy matters, however, the officer should have prior consultation with higher authorities before sending a reply. It should, however, be ensured that the minimum level at which such replies are sent to Members of Parliament and VIPs is that of Under Secretary and that also in letter form only.
(iv) Normally information sought by a Member/VIP should be supplied unless it is of such a nature that it would have been denied to him even if asked for on the floor of the Houses of Parliament.
(v) In case, a reference from an ex-Member of Parliament is addressed to a Minister or Secretary, reply to such reference may be sent by a Joint Secretary level officer after obtaining approval of the Secretary of the Ministry/Department. In case the reference is addressed to a lower level officer, reply to such reference could be sent by the officer on his own in non-policy cases and after obtaining approval of the higher authorities in policy cases,. However, the minimum level at which reply could be sent should be that of an Under Secretary and that too in a polite letter form only.
(vi) Each communication received from a Member of Parliament/VIP, shall be acknowledged within 15 days, followed by a reply within the next 15 days of acknowledgement sent.
(vii) Appropriate record shall be maintained in respect of communications received from Members of Parliament and VIPs and monitored by all concerned. A similar procedure may also be followed for judicial/quasi-judicial matters.
What This Means
Para 37 is an extensive and important rule dealing with correspondence received from Members of Parliament (MPs) and VIPs. MPs are elected representatives with constitutional status, and their communications must be handled with both promptness and care. The rule sets specific time limits, minimum officer levels for replies, and record-keeping requirements.
When an MP writes to a Minister, the Minister himself should reply wherever possible. For communications addressed to other officers (like the head of an attached office or PSU), the addressee should reply. In all cases, replies must be in letter form and at minimum at the Under Secretary level. The minimum reply timeline is tight: an acknowledgement within 15 days, followed by a substantive reply within 15 more days (30 days total). Appropriate records of all MP/VIP communications must be maintained and monitored. The rule also applies, by analogy, to judicial/quasi-judicial matters.
For ex-MPs, the protocol is slightly different but still requires care: if the reference is addressed to a Minister or Secretary, the reply goes out at the Joint Secretary level after the Secretary's approval. Policy matters always require higher authority approval before reply. The minimum level for any reply to an ex-MP remains Under Secretary, in a polite letter form.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Communications from MPs and VIPs must be attended to promptly.
- 2If addressed to a Minister, the Minister should reply personally wherever possible.
- 3All replies to MPs/VIPs must be in letter form and at a minimum at the Under Secretary level.
- 4Acknowledgement within 15 days; substantive reply within 15 days of acknowledgement (30 days total).
- 5Normally, information sought by an MP should be supplied unless it would have been denied in Parliament.
- 6Records of MP/VIP communications must be maintained and monitored.
- 7For ex-MPs addressed to Minister/Secretary: reply at Joint Secretary level after Secretary's approval.
- 8This procedure also applies to judicial/quasi-judicial matters.
Practical Example
An MP writes to the Minister of Labour about a delay in ESI benefits for workers in her constituency. The letter is received on 1 April 2026. The Minister's office routes it to the ESI Section. The Section Officer acknowledges the MP's letter by 15 April 2026. The SO then coordinates with the ESI Corporation to get the facts. By 30 April 2026, a substantive reply must go out — signed at minimum by an Under Secretary — giving the factual position and action taken. The reply must be in Letter format. The SO records this correspondence in the MP communication register maintained by the section and flags it for monitoring until the reply is confirmed 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.