Salary-Calculator.in

CCS (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965

The CCS (CCA) Rules 1965 in 35 rules: Rule 10 suspension, the ten Rule 11 penalties, the Rule 14 inquiry, Rule 19 dispensation, and appeal under Rule 23.

Updated 20 August 2026

The Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, universally abbreviated the CCS (CCA) Rules, are the disciplinary code for the central government’s civil servants. They run to 35 rules, were published in the Gazette of India by notification S.O. 3703 dated 20 November 1965, came into force on 1 December 1965, and decide how a government servant is classified, suspended, charged, inquired against and punished, and how that punishment can be undone on appeal. Where the CCS (Conduct) Rules 1964 set the standards of behaviour, the CCS (CCA) Rules are the enforcement machinery.

The enabling power is dual, and both halves matter. The rules were made under the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution, which lets the President frame rules on the conditions of service of persons serving the Union until Parliament legislates, read with clause (5) of Article 148 and after consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor-General in relation to persons serving in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department. That second limb is why the CAG appears by name inside Rule 10, Rule 12(4)(a) and Rule 29(1) as an authority in its own right. The rules were published by Ministry of Home Affairs notification No. F-7/2/63-Ests.(A) dated 20 November 1965 and replaced the CCS (CCA) Rules 1957, which Rule 34 repeals.

Above the rules sits the constitutional frame. Article 310 preserves the doctrine that a civil servant holds office during the pleasure of the President, and Article 311 fences that pleasure with safeguards, so that no civil servant is dismissed, removed or reduced in rank except by a competent authority and after a reasonable opportunity of being heard. The CCS (CCA) Rules are the detailed procedure that gives those safeguards operational shape, and Rule 19 is the point at which the constitutional exceptions enter the rules.

For the reader of this site, the code matters most because of where a serious penalty leads. The three gravest penalties end the service, and each carries a distinct pension consequence: compulsory retirement preserves the pension at not less than two-thirds under Rule 40 of the CCS (Pension) Rules 2021, while dismissal and removal forfeit it, leaving only a discretionary compassionate allowance capped at two-thirds under Rule 41.

This article maps the whole code rule by rule: the application clause, the classification of services and posts, the Article 311 frame, suspension under Rule 10 with its 90 day limit, the ten penalties and the nine non-penalties in Rule 11, the disciplinary authorities, the Rule 14 inquiry and the Rule 16 short route, the Rule 19 dispensation, common proceedings and lent officers, appeal, revision and review, the judicial remedies that follow, and the pension outcome of each penalty.

What the rules are, and the power they are made under

The CCS (CCA) Rules 1965 are subordinate legislation with the force of law, made by the President under the proviso to Article 309 read with clause (5) of Article 148 of the Constitution, and in force since 1 December 1965. They are not an Act of Parliament, and Article 309 itself makes them provisional in principle: they hold the field only until Parliament legislates on the conditions of service of Union employees, which in more than six decades it has not done for the civil services generally.

The title is the structure. Classification is Part II, Rules 4 to 7. Control is Parts IV to VI, covering suspension in Rule 10, penalties in Rule 11 and procedure in Rules 14 to 19. Appeal is Part VII, Rules 22 to 28, with revision and review added in Part VIII, Rules 29 and 29-A. Part IX carries the miscellaneous provisions, Rules 30 to 35. The nine Schedules at the end name the services in each group and the authorities competent to appoint, punish and hear appeals for each of them.

Three neighbouring codes must be read with this one. The CCS (Conduct) Rules 1964 lay down what a government servant may and may not do, and a breach of them is the usual starting point for a charge under these rules. The Fundamental Rules govern the ordinary conditions of service, including the subsistence allowance under FR 53 during suspension and the separate, non-punitive power of premature retirement in the public interest under FR 56(j). And the CCS (Pension) Rules 2021 decide what a penalty costs the employee after retirement.

Who the rules cover, and the five exclusions in Rule 3

Rule 3(1) applies the rules to every Government servant including every civilian Government servant in the Defence Services, and then excludes five categories. The excluded categories are railway servants as defined in Rule 102 of Volume I of the Indian Railway Establishment Code; members of the All India Services; persons in casual employment; persons subject to discharge from service on less than one month’s notice; and persons for whom special provision is made in respect of matters covered by these rules, by or under any law in force or by an agreement entered into with the previous approval of the President.

Members of the armed forces are outside the rules, but not because Rule 3 excludes them. They are not civil servants at all, and the rules reach only the civil side. The distinction is worth holding because Rule 3(1) does the opposite for defence civilians: a civilian storekeeper, clerk or engineer in an ordnance establishment or a defence headquarters is squarely inside the code, and is charged, inquired against and punished under Rule 14 like any other central civil servant.

Railway servants and All India Service officers have their own codes built on the same constitutional foundation. A railway employee is governed by the Railway Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules 1968, and an officer of the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Police Service or the Indian Forest Service by the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules 1969. Both codes track the CCS (CCA) structure closely, with their own penalty lists and inquiry procedures.

Two saving provisions close the gaps. Rule 3(3) applies the rules to a government servant temporarily transferred to a service or post covered by the railway or special-provision exceptions, where the rules would otherwise have applied but for the transfer. Rule 3(4) refers any doubt about whether the rules apply to a person, or about which service a person belongs to, to the President for decision. Rule 3(2) runs the other way, letting the President exclude any group of government servants from all or any of the rules by order.

Classification of services and posts under Rules 4 to 7

Rule 4 classifies the civil services of the Union into four groups, Central Civil Services Group A, Group B, Group C and Group D, and Rule 6 classifies civil posts under the Union into the same four groups by a general or special order of the President. The two rules are distinct and are frequently conflated: Rule 4 classifies services, Rule 5 constitutes them by naming in the Schedule the services and grades that make up each group, and Rule 6 classifies posts. Rule 4(2) allows different grades of a single service to sit in different groups.

Group D survives in the text of Rules 4 and 6 but no longer has any occupant. The 6th Central Pay Commission merged the Group D pay scales into pay band PB-1, after which the erstwhile Group D posts were upgraded and reclassified as Group C, which is why the multi-tasking staff cadre at Level 1 is Group C rather than the older Class IV. The classification of posts in force today runs on the pay level: under Department of Personnel and Training notification S.O. 3964(E) dated 9 August 2018, made under the proviso to Article 309 read with Rule 6 and superseding S.O. 3570(E) dated 9 November 2017, a post carrying Levels 10 to 18 in the pay matrix is Group A, Levels 6 to 9 is Group B, and Levels 1 to 5 is Group C.

Rule 6-A does the historical translation. Every reference to Class I, Class II, Class III and Class IV in any rule, order, schedule, notification, regulation or instruction in force immediately before 1 December 1965 is to be read as a reference to Group A, Group B, Group C and Group D respectively, and any reference to “class” or “classes” as a reference to “group” or “groups”. Rule 7 catches the residue: a central civil post of any group not included in any other central civil service is deemed to be in the General Central Service of the corresponding group.

Classification is not an administrative label here. It decides who may punish. Rule 12(3) gives the Secretary of a Ministry or the head of an office the power to impose penalties on a Group C servant, Rule 24(1) fixes the appellate authority differently for Group A and Group B servants than for Group C, and Rules 8 and 9 fix the appointing authority by group, with all Group A appointments made by the President subject to delegation. Explanation II to Rule 12 adds that a servant promoted, whether on probation or temporarily, to a post of the next higher group is deemed for the purposes of that rule to belong to the higher group.

The constitutional frame: Articles 309, 310 and 311

Article 311 is the safeguard that shapes every procedural rule in this code, and it operates independently of the rules, so a breach of it is a constitutional defect and not merely a procedural one. Article 311(1) provides that no civil servant is dismissed or removed by an authority subordinate to the one that appointed them. Article 311(2) provides that no civil servant is dismissed, removed or reduced in rank except after an inquiry in which they have been informed of the charges and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard on them.

The content of that reasonable opportunity is judicial, not statutory. In Khem Chand v. Union of India, AIR 1958 SC 300, the Supreme Court held that it includes being told the charges and the allegations on which they rest, being able to cross-examine the witnesses produced in support of the charges, being able to lead a defence by examining oneself and one’s own witnesses, and having the case considered fairly by the disciplinary authority. Those four elements are what sub-rules (3) to (24) of Rule 14 translate into procedure. Managing Director, ECIL, Hyderabad v. B. Karunakar, (1993) 4 SCC 727, added the further requirement that the inquiry report reach the servant before the penalty is decided, which Rule 15(2) now carries.

Article 311(2) admits three exceptions, all three in its second proviso, and Rule 19 mirrors them exactly. The clause carries two provisos and no more: the first, inserted by the 42nd Amendment, removes any hearing on the penalty proposed, and the second, opening “Provided further that this clause shall not apply”, carries the exceptions. The finality rule is in Article 311(3), a separate clause and not a third proviso. They are conviction on a criminal charge, a written record by the disciplinary authority that an inquiry is not reasonably practicable, and the President’s satisfaction that an inquiry is not expedient in the interest of the security of the State. In Union of India v. Tulsiram Patel, (1985) 3 SCC 398, a Constitution Bench held that once an exception is validly attracted the right to a hearing stands excluded and cannot be reintroduced through the equality guarantee in Article 14.

One historical point still causes confusion. Until 1976, Article 311(2) gave a second-stage opportunity, a right to represent against the penalty proposed after the inquiry had concluded. The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act 1976 removed it, and Rule 15(6) now states the consequence in terms: where the disciplinary authority decides on a major penalty after the inquiry, it is not necessary to give the government servant any opportunity of making a representation on the penalty proposed.

Suspension under Rule 10

Suspension is not a penalty and does not appear in Rule 11; it is a holding measure under Rule 10 that keeps a government servant away from the post while a proceeding runs. Rule 10(1) empowers the appointing authority, any authority to which it is subordinate, the disciplinary authority, or any other authority the President empowers, to place a servant under suspension on three grounds: where a disciplinary proceeding is contemplated or pending, where in the opinion of the authority the servant has engaged in activities prejudicial to the interest of the security of the State, or where a case against the servant in respect of a criminal offence is under investigation, inquiry or trial. A servant can therefore be suspended and later fully exonerated, and the suspension article works through the mechanics in detail.

Rule 10(1) carries a reporting proviso. Where the order of suspension is made by an authority lower than the appointing authority, that authority must forthwith report to the appointing authority the circumstances in which the order was made. The proviso exempts an order made by the Comptroller and Auditor-General in regard to a member of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service, or an Assistant Accountant General or equivalent.

Deemed suspension under Rule 10(2)

Rule 10(2) makes a servant deemed to have been placed under suspension by an order of the appointing authority, with no separate order at all, in two situations. The first is detention in custody, whether on a criminal charge or otherwise, for a period exceeding 48 hours, with effect from the date of detention. The second is conviction for an offence where the servant is sentenced to a term of imprisonment exceeding 48 hours and is not forthwith dismissed, removed or compulsorily retired in consequence, with effect from the date of conviction. The Explanation to Rule 10(2) computes the 48 hours from the commencement of the imprisonment after conviction, taking intermittent periods of imprisonment into account.

Rule 10(3) and Rule 10(4) revive a suspension that had lapsed into a penalty. Where a penalty of dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement is set aside in appeal or on review and the case is remitted for further inquiry, the suspension is deemed to have continued in force from the date of the original penalty order. Rule 10(4) does the same where a court sets aside or voids the penalty and the disciplinary authority decides to hold a further inquiry, with a proviso that no such further inquiry is ordered unless it meets a situation where the court decided on purely technical grounds without going into the merits.

The 90 day limit and the 180 day extension cap

Rule 10(7) makes an order of suspension invalid after 90 days unless it is extended, after review, before those 90 days expire. Rule 10(6) supplies the review machinery: the authority competent to modify or revoke the suspension must review the order before the expiry of 90 days from the effective date of suspension, on the recommendation of the Review Committee constituted for the purpose, and pass orders either extending or revoking it. Subsequent reviews must be made before the expiry of each extended period, and no single extension may exceed 180 days.

A proviso to Rule 10(7) handles the servant still in custody. No review is necessary in a deemed-suspension case under Rule 10(2) if the servant remains under suspension when 90 days are completed; in that case the 90 day period counts from the date the servant is released from detention or the date the release is intimated to the appointing authority, whichever is later.

The statutory limit sits alongside a judicial one. In Union of India v. Ajay Kumar Choudhary the Supreme Court held that a suspension must not continue beyond three months unless a charge sheet has been served, so a department that suspends and then sits on the case cannot extend the suspension indefinitely through mechanical reviews. Rule 10(5)(c) requires revocation whenever the ground falls away, and an order of suspension is separately appealable under Rule 23(i).

Subsistence allowance under Fundamental Rule 53

A suspended servant is not paid pay, and the substitute is the subsistence allowance under Fundamental Rule 53, not under these rules. For the first three months the rate is leave salary on half pay, roughly 50% of pay, plus dearness allowance on that amount and the house rent and compensatory allowances admissible on the pay drawn before suspension. After three months the allowance must be reviewed and may be increased or decreased by up to 50% of the original rate, depending on whether the delay in concluding the proceeding is attributable to the servant. Payment is conditioned on a certificate that the servant is not engaged in any other employment, business, profession or vocation.

The ten penalties in Rule 11

Rule 11 lists ten penalties that may be imposed on a government servant for good and sufficient reasons: five minor in clauses (i) to (iv) including the inserted clause (iii-a), and five major in clauses (v) to (ix). The division is not merely one of severity. It decides the procedure, because a major penalty may be imposed only after the Rule 14 inquiry, subject to Rule 19, while a minor penalty follows the shorter Rule 16 route. The major versus minor penalty proceedings article works through the seam in detail.

The five minor penalties

The minor penalties are censure under clause (i); withholding of promotion under clause (ii); recovery from pay of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused to the government by negligence or breach of orders under clause (iii); reduction to a lower stage in the time-scale of pay by one stage for a period not exceeding three years, without cumulative effect and not adversely affecting the pension, under clause (iii-a); and withholding of increments of pay under clause (iv).

Clause (iii-a) is the newest of them and the most exactly drafted. It was inserted to carve a limited pay reduction out of the major penalty in clause (v), and clause (v) acknowledges the carve-out in its opening words, “save as provided for in clause (iii) (a)”. Four limits keep a pay reduction inside the minor class: one stage only, not more than three years, without cumulative effect, and not adversely affecting the pension. Breach any one of the four and the penalty becomes clause (v), which needs a Rule 14 inquiry.

The five major penalties

Clause (v) is reduction to a lower stage in the time-scale of pay for a specified period, with further directions on whether the servant will earn increments during the period of reduction and whether, on its expiry, the reduction will have the effect of postponing future increments. Clause (vi) is reduction to a lower time-scale of pay, grade, post or service for a specified period, which operates as a bar to promotion during that period, with directions on whether the period will postpone future increments and whether the servant regains the original seniority in the higher grade.

Clause (vii) is compulsory retirement. Clause (viii) is removal from service, which the rule says shall not be a disqualification for future employment under the Government. Clause (ix) is dismissal from service, which the rule says shall ordinarily be a disqualification for future employment under the Government. That single word “ordinarily” is the entire textual difference between the two gravest penalties on the question of future employment, and the pension consequence of the two is identical.

The mandatory penalty in corruption cases

The first proviso to Rule 11 removes the disciplinary authority’s discretion in two categories of proved charge. Where the charge of possession of assets disproportionate to known sources of income is established, or the charge of acceptance from any person of any gratification other than legal remuneration as a motive or reward for doing or forbearing to do any official act is established, the penalty in clause (viii) or clause (ix), that is removal or dismissal, shall be imposed. Nothing lighter is available on those two findings.

The second proviso reopens a narrow door. In any exceptional case, and for special reasons recorded in writing, any other penalty may be imposed. The reasons must be written and the case must be exceptional, so the ordinary corruption case ends in removal or dismissal, and the Central Vigilance Commission is consulted at defined stages before it does.

The nine actions that are not penalties

The Explanation to Rule 11 lists nine actions that do not amount to a penalty within the meaning of the rule, and this list resolves most of the disputes about whether a disciplinary proceeding was required at all. They are: withholding increments for failure to pass a departmental examination in accordance with the rules governing the service; stoppage at the efficiency bar on the ground of unfitness to cross it; non-promotion after the case has been considered; reversion of a servant officiating in a higher service, grade or post on the ground of unsuitability or on any administrative ground unconnected with conduct; reversion of a servant appointed on probation to the permanent grade during or at the end of probation in accordance with the terms of appointment; replacement of a servant borrowed from a State Government at the disposal of the lending authority; compulsory retirement in accordance with the provisions relating to superannuation or retirement; termination of a probationer, of a temporary servant under sub-rule (1) of Rule 5 of the CCS (Temporary Service) Rules 1965, or of a servant employed under an agreement, in accordance with the applicable terms; and any compensation awarded on the recommendation of a Complaints Committee inquiring into a complaint of sexual harassment within the meaning of Rule 3-C of the CCS (Conduct) Rules 1964.

The seventh item is the one this site is asked about most. Compulsory retirement in accordance with the superannuation or retirement provisions, which is premature retirement in the public interest under FR 56(j), is not a penalty at all and needs no charge sheet, no inquiry and no disciplinary authority. Compulsory retirement under clause (vii) of Rule 11 is a penalty and needs the full Rule 14 inquiry. The two share a name and nothing else, and the pension consequence differs: FR 56(j) retirement carries the full pension, while penal compulsory retirement carries the Rule 40 pension of not less than two-thirds.

Who can punish: Rules 12 and 13

Rule 12(1) empowers the President to impose any Rule 11 penalty on any government servant, and Rule 12(2) devolves that power on the appointing authority or the authority specified in the Schedule for the service concerned. For a member of a central civil service other than the General Central Service, the disciplinary authority is the appointing authority, the authority specified in the Schedule, or an authority the President empowers by general or special order. For a post in the General Central Service, it is the authority the President specifies, or in the absence of such an order the appointing authority or the Schedule authority.

Rule 12(3) adds a route for the lower groups. For a member of a Central Civil Service Group C, other than the Central Secretariat Clerical Service, or Group D, the penalty may also be imposed by the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry or Department where the servant is serving, or by the head of the office where the servant is serving, except where that head is lower in rank than the authority competent under Rule 12(2).

Rule 12(4) carries the three limits that matter most. Under Rule 12(4)(a), no major penalty in clauses (v) to (ix) may be imposed by any authority subordinate to the appointing authority, which is Article 311(1) restated inside the rules, with a single exception for a penalty in clause (v) or (vi) imposed by the Comptroller and Auditor-General on a member of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service. Under Rule 12(4)(b), where a servant is temporarily appointed to another service or post, a major penalty may not be imposed without consulting the authority, not subordinate to the punishing authority, that would have been competent had the temporary appointment not been made. Under Rule 12(4)(c), the Director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration is the competent authority to impose censure or recovery of pecuniary loss on a probationer under training there, after following Rule 16.

Rule 13 separates the power to punish from the power to start. Rule 13(1) lets the President, or an authority the President empowers, institute disciplinary proceedings against any government servant, or direct a disciplinary authority to institute them. Rule 13(2) makes the practically important point: a disciplinary authority competent to impose only the minor penalties in clauses (i) to (iv) may institute proceedings for a major penalty in clauses (v) to (ix), even though it cannot impose one. The case is then decided by the authority that can, so the disciplinary authority that frames the charge and the authority that imposes the penalty are frequently different offices.

The major penalty inquiry under Rule 14

Rule 14 runs to 24 sub-rules and is the procedure that Article 311(2) requires, and Rule 14(1) bars any order imposing a penalty in clauses (v) to (ix) of Rule 11 except after an inquiry held, as far as may be, in the manner provided in Rule 14 and Rule 15, or in the manner provided by the Public Servants (Inquiries) Act 1850 where the inquiry is held under that Act. This is the procedure a departmental inquiry refers to.

Rule 14(2) starts it. Where the disciplinary authority is of the opinion that there are grounds for inquiring into the truth of any imputation of misconduct or misbehaviour, it may inquire itself or appoint an inquiring authority. Explanation (i) provides that where the disciplinary authority holds the inquiry itself, references to the inquiring authority in sub-rules (7) to (20) and (22) are read as references to it. Explanation (ii) allows a retired government servant to be appointed as the inquiring authority, with the same references applying.

Rule 14(3) requires the disciplinary authority to draw up the substance of the imputations into definite and distinct articles of charge, together with a statement of the imputations supporting each article, which must contain a statement of all relevant facts including any admission or confession, and a list of the documents by which and the witnesses by whom each charge is proposed to be sustained. That package is the charge sheet, and a charge sheet without the lists is defective.

The time limits inside Rule 14

Rule 14(4)(a) requires delivery of the articles of charge, the statement of imputations and the lists of documents and witnesses to the government servant. Rule 14(4)(b) gives the servant 15 days to submit a written statement of defence and to state whether they wish to be heard in person, extendable by not more than 15 days at a time for reasons recorded in writing, and the proviso caps the total extension at 45 days from the date of receipt of the articles of charge. No extension beyond that is available under the rule, which is why a servant seeking more time is generally better served by asking for inspection of the listed documents than by asking for a fresh extension.

If the charges are not admitted, the disciplinary authority appoints an inquiring authority and a presenting officer to present the case in support of the charges. The evidence in support is led first and the charged officer may cross-examine each witness, then lead a defence by examining themselves and defence witnesses. The charged officer may take the assistance of a defence assistant, another government servant or, in defined circumstances, a legal practitioner. Where the servant does not participate, the inquiry proceeds ex parte. The inquiring authority then records findings on each article of charge and submits an inquiry report. Both appointees draw an honorarium for the work: under Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum No. DOPT-1668597747466 dated 16 November 2022, a serving inquiring authority gets 15% of monthly basic pay per case and a presenting officer 10%, while a retired officer appointed as inquiring authority gets 90%, 70% or 60% of monthly basic pension according to whether the charge sheet cites more than 10 witnesses, 6 to 10, or fewer than 6.

Sexual harassment complaints

The proviso to Rule 14(2) diverts one category of case. Where there is a complaint of sexual harassment within the meaning of Rule 3-C of the CCS (Conduct) Rules 1964, the Complaints Committee established in each Ministry, Department or office is deemed to be the inquiring authority appointed by the disciplinary authority for the purposes of these rules. The Committee holds the inquiry as far as practicable in accordance with the procedure in these rules, unless a separate procedure has been prescribed for it. The disciplinary authority does not appoint a different inquiring officer in such a case, and an appointment that bypasses the Committee is open to challenge on that ground alone.

Action on the inquiry report under Rule 15

Rule 15 governs what the disciplinary authority does with the report, and its first duty is disclosure. The disciplinary authority considers the record and the report, and where it disagrees with any finding of the inquiring authority it records its own reasons for the disagreement. A copy of the report is supplied to the government servant for representation, the requirement Article 311 carries through ECIL v. B. Karunakar. Where consultation with the Union Public Service Commission is necessary, the advice is obtained, and Rule 15(3)(b) requires that a copy of the advice be forwarded to the servant, who may submit a written representation on it to the disciplinary authority within 15 days.

Rule 15(4) requires the disciplinary authority to consider any representation made and to record its findings before proceeding further. Rule 15(5) then allows an outcome that surprises many servants: if the disciplinary authority, on its findings, is of the opinion that a minor penalty in clauses (i) to (iv) should be imposed, it makes that order notwithstanding anything in Rule 16, so a full major-penalty inquiry can end in a censure without any fresh proceeding.

Rule 15(6) covers the opposite outcome. Where the disciplinary authority decides on a major penalty in clauses (v) to (ix), it makes the order and it is not necessary to give the government servant any opportunity of making a representation on the penalty proposed. That is the direct consequence of the 42nd Amendment’s removal of the second-stage opportunity from Article 311(2), and it is why the representation on the inquiry report is the last substantive chance to influence the quantum inside the department.

Rule 17 completes the step. The order is communicated to the government servant along with a copy of the findings on each article of charge or, where the disciplinary authority is not the inquiring authority, a statement of its findings with brief reasons for any disagreement, a copy of the Commission’s advice if any, and where the advice was not accepted, a brief statement of the reasons for non-acceptance. An order that reaches the servant without those enclosures is incomplete on the face of Rule 17.

The minor penalty procedure under Rule 16

Rule 16(1) bars any order imposing a minor penalty in clauses (i) to (iv) of Rule 11 except after informing the government servant in writing of the proposal and of the imputations of misconduct or misbehaviour on which it is proposed to be taken, and giving a reasonable opportunity to represent against the proposal. The authority must take the representation into consideration, consult the Commission where consultation is necessary, forward a copy of the advice to the servant who may represent on it within 15 days, and record a finding on each imputation. Rule 16(1)(b) allows the disciplinary authority to hold an inquiry in the manner laid down in sub-rules (3) to (24) of Rule 14 in any case where it considers one necessary.

Rule 16(1-A) makes that inquiry compulsory in three cases, and this is the most commonly missed provision in the whole code. Where, after considering the servant’s representation, it is proposed to withhold increments of pay in a way that is likely to affect adversely the amount of pension payable, or to withhold increments for a period exceeding three years, or to withhold increments with cumulative effect for any period, an inquiry under sub-rules (3) to (24) of Rule 14 must be held before the order is made. A minor penalty is therefore not a synonym for a penalty without an inquiry.

Rule 16(2) fixes what the record must contain: a copy of the intimation of the proposal, a copy of the statement of imputations delivered to the servant, the representation if any, the evidence produced during any inquiry, the Commission’s advice if any, the servant’s representation on that advice, the findings on each imputation, and the orders with the reasons for them. A minor-penalty file missing any of those eight items is vulnerable on appeal.

Dispensing with the inquiry under Rule 19

Rule 19 opens with “Notwithstanding anything contained in rule 14 to rule 18” and lets the disciplinary authority consider the circumstances and make such orders as it deems fit, without an inquiry, in three situations. They are: where a penalty is imposed on a government servant on the ground of conduct which has led to conviction on a criminal charge; where the disciplinary authority is satisfied, for reasons to be recorded by it in writing, that it is not reasonably practicable to hold an inquiry in the manner provided; and where the President is satisfied that in the interest of the security of the State it is not expedient to hold an inquiry. The three track clauses (a), (b) and (c) of the second proviso to Article 311(2) precisely.

Two provisos qualify the power. In a conviction case under clause (i), the government servant may be given an opportunity of making a representation on the penalty proposed before any order is made. And in any case under Rule 19, the Commission must be consulted where consultation is necessary and the servant must have been given an opportunity of representing against the advice within the Rule 15(3)(b) period of 15 days before orders are made.

The courts read Rule 19 narrowly. Tulsiram Patel holds that the satisfaction under clause (ii) must be genuine and the recorded reasons must show why an inquiry was not reasonably practicable, not merely assert it, and that the recorded reasons are examinable. Dispensing with the inquiry is the exception the rules permit, not a shortcut the department may take because the evidence is inconvenient.

Common proceedings under Rule 18, and officers on loan under Rules 20 and 21

Rule 18 handles the case where two or more government servants are concerned in the same matter. The President, or any other authority competent to impose the penalty of dismissal on all of them, may direct that disciplinary action against all of them be taken in a common proceeding. A Note to Rule 18(1) covers mixed competence: where the authorities competent to dismiss the servants are different, the order for a common proceeding is made by the highest of them with the consent of the others. Rule 18(2) requires the order to specify which authority functions as the disciplinary authority for the proceeding, which Rule 11 penalties that authority may impose, and whether Rule 14 and Rule 15 or Rule 16 will be followed.

Rules 20 and 21 deal with borrowed and lent servants. Where a servant’s services are lent by one department to another, to a State Government, or to a local or other authority, Rule 20 gives the borrowing authority the powers of the appointing authority for suspension and of the disciplinary authority for the conduct of the proceeding, with the lending authority brought in before a major penalty is imposed. Rule 21 makes the converse provision for a servant borrowed from a State Government or an authority under a State Government’s control. The Explanation to Rule 11 confirms that simply returning a borrowed servant to the lending authority is not a penalty, so the replacement of a servant on deputation does not by itself require a proceeding.

Appeal: Rules 22 to 28

Rule 23 lists the orders a government servant may appeal against, and Rule 22 lists the three against which no appeal lies. Under Rule 23 an appeal lies against an order of suspension made or deemed to have been made under Rule 10, an order imposing any Rule 11 penalty whether made by the disciplinary authority or by an appellate or revising authority, an order enhancing any penalty imposed under Rule 11, and certain orders affecting pay, seniority and conditions of service. Under Rule 22 no appeal lies against any order made by the President, against any order of an interlocutory nature or in the nature of a step-in-aid of the final disposal of a disciplinary proceeding other than an order of suspension, or against any order passed by an inquiring authority in the course of a Rule 14 inquiry.

Rule 24 fixes the appellate authority. Rule 24(1) allows the appeal to be preferred by a government servant “including a person who has ceased to be in Government service”, so dismissal does not extinguish the right of appeal against the order that caused it. Where the Schedule or a presidential order does not specify the authority, a Group A or Group B servant appeals to the appointing authority where the order was made by an authority subordinate to it, and to the President where the order was made by any other authority; a Group C servant appeals to the authority immediately superior to the authority that made the order. Rule 24(2) routes an appeal in a Rule 18 common proceeding to the authority immediately superior to the authority that functioned as the disciplinary authority, and Rule 24(3) gives a direct appeal to the President where the penalty relates to activities as an office-bearer of a recognised association, federation or union participating in the Joint Consultative Machinery.

Rule 25 sets the limitation at 45 days from the date on which a copy of the order appealed against is delivered to the appellant, with a proviso allowing the appellate authority to entertain a late appeal where it is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for the delay. Rule 26 requires each person to appeal separately and in their own name, to present the appeal to the authority to whom it lies with a copy to the authority that made the order, and to make it complete in itself and free of disrespectful or improper language. Rule 26(3) obliges the authority that made the order to forward the appeal with its comments and the relevant records without avoidable delay and without waiting for a direction.

Rule 27 sets what the appellate authority must consider and what it may do. On an appeal against a suspension, Rule 27(1) requires it to consider whether the suspension is justified in the light of Rule 10 and confirm or revoke it. On an appeal against a penalty, Rule 27(2) requires it to consider three questions: whether the procedure in the rules was complied with and, if not, whether the non-compliance violated the Constitution or caused a failure of justice; whether the findings are warranted by the evidence on record; and whether the penalty is adequate, inadequate or severe. It may then confirm, enhance, reduce or set aside the penalty, or remit the case with directions. Where it proposes to enhance a penalty to one in clauses (v) to (ix) and no Rule 14 inquiry has been held, it must itself hold one or direct that one be held, subject to Rule 19. Rule 28 closes the loop: the authority that made the order appealed against must give effect to the appellate order. The appeal, review and revision article sets out the practice in full.

Revision under Rule 29 and review under Rule 29-A

Rule 29 is not a presidential power alone. Rule 29(1) empowers six authorities to call for the records of any inquiry and revise any order made under these rules or under the rules repealed by Rule 34: the President; the Comptroller and Auditor-General, for a servant serving in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department; the Member (Personnel) of the Postal Services Board and the Adviser (Human Resources Development) in the Department of Telecommunications, for servants serving under their respective boards; the head of a department directly under the Central Government, for a servant in a department or office under that head’s control; the appellate authority, within six months of the date of the order proposed to be revised; and any other authority the President specifies by general or special order, within the time that order prescribes.

Rule 29(2) fixes the sequence. No proceeding for revision may commence until after the period of limitation for an appeal has expired, or until the appeal has been disposed of where one has been preferred. Rule 29(3) requires an application for revision to be dealt with in the same manner as if it were an appeal, which imports the Rule 27 considerations and the Rule 27 range of orders.

Rule 29-A is narrower and belongs to the President alone. The President may at any time, on his own motion or otherwise, review any order passed under these rules when new material or evidence which could not be produced or was not available at the time of the order, and which has the effect of changing the nature of the case, has come to notice. The proviso protects the servant: no order imposing or enhancing a penalty may be made unless a reasonable opportunity of representing against the proposed penalty has been given, and where a major penalty is proposed or a minor penalty is to be enhanced to a major one and no Rule 14 inquiry has been held, no such penalty may be imposed except after an inquiry under Rule 14, subject to Rule 19, and after consultation with the Commission where necessary with the Rule 15(3)(b) opportunity to represent against the advice.

Miscellaneous: Rules 17, 30, 31 and 33 to 35

Rule 30 requires every order, notice and other process made or issued under the rules to be served in person on the government servant concerned or communicated by registered post, which is the provision a servant relies on when a penalty order is said to have been issued but never received. Rule 31 empowers the authority competent to make any order, save where the rules expressly provide otherwise, to extend the time specified in the rules for anything required to be done or to condone any delay, for good and sufficient reasons or where sufficient cause is shown. Rule 32 has been omitted.

Rule 33 is the transitory provision: from 1 December 1965 and until the Schedules under these rules were published, the Schedules to the CCS (CCA) Rules 1957 and to the Civilians in Defence Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules 1952 continued to apply. Rule 34 repeals the 1957 rules with a saving that nothing in the 1965 rules reduces any period of limitation for an appeal or review provided by a rule in force before commencement, and it is the rule that Rule 29(1) refers to when it allows revision of an order made under the repealed rules. Rule 35 is the removal-of-doubts provision.

Beyond the department: the Tribunal and the courts

Once the departmental remedies under Rules 23 to 29-A are exhausted, the forum is the Central Administrative Tribunal, and thereafter the High Court and the Supreme Court on limited grounds. The Tribunal does not sit in appeal over the evidence. It intervenes where the inquiry was vitiated by a breach of natural justice, where there was no evidence to support a finding, or where the penalty is so disproportionate to the proven misconduct as to shock the conscience.

On quantum the position is settled and restrictive. In Union of India v. Parma Nanda, (1989) 2 SCC 177, the Supreme Court held that the Tribunal’s jurisdiction to interfere with a punishment cannot be equated with appellate jurisdiction. Where the punishment does shock the conscience, the Court’s later approach is that the Tribunal should ordinarily remit the matter to the disciplinary or appellate authority to reconsider the penalty, and substitute a penalty itself only in rare cases for cogent reasons.

Vigilance cases run on a parallel track inside the department. Where the misconduct involves corruption, the Central Vigilance Commission tenders advice at defined stages of the proceeding, and a prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 may run alongside the departmental proceeding on the same facts, since the standard of proof differs: preponderance of probability in the department, proof beyond reasonable doubt in the criminal court.

What a penalty does to the pension

The penalty chosen under Rule 11 decides what pension the employee carries into retirement, and the fork has three branches. A minor penalty leaves the pension untouched, and clause (iii-a) says so in its own text by excluding any reduction that adversely affects the pension; Rule 16(1-A) is the procedural guard on the same point for withheld increments.

Compulsory retirement under clause (vii) preserves the pension. Rule 40 of the CCS (Pension) Rules 2021 lets the authority competent to impose the penalty grant pension or retirement gratuity or both at a rate not less than two-thirds and not more than the full superannuation pension or gratuity admissible on the date of compulsory retirement. Rule 44(4) supplies the reference figure against which the band operates. Rule 40(3) requires a provisional pension at two-thirds to be sanctioned at once where the quantum order does not issue with the penalty order, Rule 40(4) requires the final order within three months, and Rule 40(2) requires consultation with the Union Public Service Commission where the President passes the order awarding less than the full pension, which is narrower than a reduction by any competent authority.

Removal and dismissal under clauses (viii) and (ix) forfeit the pension and gratuity outright under Rule 41 of the CCS (Pension) Rules 2021, leaving only a discretionary compassionate allowance of up to two-thirds in a deserving case. The two-thirds figure therefore does opposite work in the two rules: in Rule 40 it is the guaranteed floor of a pension that survives, and in Rule 41 it is the ceiling of a discretionary allowance granted against a background of forfeiture.

The disciplinary power also reaches past retirement. Where grave misconduct or negligence during service is established after a person has retired, the government may withhold or withdraw the pension in whole or in part, including on a conviction, through a proceeding that borrows the CCA machinery under Rule 8 of the CCS (Pension) Rules 2021. The rules therefore govern not only the serving employee’s discipline but, in defined cases, the security of the pension itself.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the CCS (CCA) Rules 1965?
The Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules 1965 are the disciplinary code for central government civil servants, made under the proviso to Article 309 and clause (5) of Article 148 of the Constitution and in force from 1 December 1965. Across 35 rules they classify the services and posts, govern suspension in Rule 10, list ten penalties in Rule 11, prescribe the major-penalty inquiry in Rule 14 and the minor-penalty route in Rule 16, allow the inquiry to be dispensed with in Rule 19, and provide appeal, revision and review in Rules 22 to 29-A.
How many penalties are there under Rule 11 of the CCS (CCA) Rules?
Ten. The five minor penalties are censure, withholding of promotion, recovery from pay of a pecuniary loss caused to the government, reduction by one stage in the time-scale of pay for up to three years without cumulative effect and without affecting pension under clause (iii-a), and withholding of increments of pay. The five major penalties are reduction to a lower stage of pay for a specified period, reduction to a lower time-scale, grade, post or service, compulsory retirement, removal from service, and dismissal from service. Major penalties may be imposed only after a Rule 14 inquiry, subject to Rule 19.
What is the difference between a minor and a major penalty?
The dividing line is the procedure. A minor penalty in clauses (i) to (iv) of Rule 11 follows the shorter Rule 16 route, which needs written imputations and an opportunity to represent but no full oral inquiry. A major penalty in clauses (v) to (ix) may be imposed only after the inquiry in Rule 14, with articles of charge, an inquiring authority, a presenting officer, cross-examination and a defence. The seam between clause (iii-a) and clause (v) is exact: a pay reduction of one stage, for not more than three years, without cumulative effect and without affecting pension is minor, and breaching any one of those four limits makes it a major penalty.
Do the CCS (CCA) Rules apply to defence civilians?
Yes. Rule 3(1) applies the rules to every Government servant including every civilian Government servant in the Defence Services. The exclusions in Rule 3(1) are railway servants as defined in Rule 102 of Volume I of the Indian Railway Establishment Code, members of the All India Services, persons in casual employment, persons subject to discharge on less than one month’s notice, and persons for whom special provision is made by law or by an agreement approved by the President. Members of the armed forces are not civil servants and are outside the rules for that reason, not by an exclusion in Rule 3.
How long can a government servant be kept under suspension?
Not beyond 90 days on the original order. Rule 10(7) provides that an order of suspension is not valid after 90 days unless it is extended after review before those 90 days expire, and Rule 10(6) requires the competent authority to review the order on the recommendation of a Review Committee before the 90 days run out. Any extension may not exceed 180 days at a time, and further reviews must be made before each extended period expires. In Union of India v. Ajay Kumar Choudhary the Supreme Court added that suspension must not continue beyond three months unless a charge sheet has been served.
When can a departmental inquiry be dispensed with?
In the three situations in Rule 19, which mirror the second proviso to Article 311(2): where the penalty is imposed on the ground of conduct that has led to conviction on a criminal charge; where the disciplinary authority is satisfied, for reasons recorded by it in writing, that it is not reasonably practicable to hold an inquiry; and where the President is satisfied that in the interest of the security of the State it is not expedient to hold one. In a conviction case the proviso to Rule 19 allows the servant an opportunity to represent on the penalty proposed.
What actions are not penalties under the CCS (CCA) Rules?
The Explanation to Rule 11 lists nine. Withholding an increment for failing a departmental examination, stoppage at the efficiency bar, non-promotion after consideration, reversion of an officiating servant on unsuitability or on administrative grounds unconnected with conduct, reversion of a probationer to a permanent post, replacement of a servant borrowed from a State Government, compulsory retirement under the superannuation or retirement provisions, termination of a probationer or of a temporary servant under Rule 5(1) of the CCS (Temporary Service) Rules 1965 or of a servant under an agreement, and compensation awarded on the recommendation of a Complaints Committee in a sexual harassment case. None of these attracts Rule 14 or Rule 16.
Is a minor penalty ever preceded by a full inquiry?
Yes, in three cases under Rule 16(1-A). Where the proposal is to withhold increments in a way that would adversely affect the pension payable, or to withhold increments for a period exceeding three years, or to withhold increments with cumulative effect for any period, an inquiry must be held in the manner laid down in sub-rules (3) to (24) of Rule 14 before the order is made. The disciplinary authority may also order an inquiry under Rule 16(1)(b) in any minor-penalty case where it considers one necessary.
What is the time limit for an appeal against a penalty order?
Forty-five days. Rule 25 provides that no appeal is entertained unless preferred within 45 days from the date on which a copy of the order appealed against is delivered to the appellant, with a proviso allowing the appellate authority to entertain a late appeal on sufficient cause. Rule 31 separately empowers the competent authority to extend any time specified in the rules or condone delay for good and sufficient reasons.
Which orders cannot be appealed?
Rule 22 bars an appeal against any order made by the President, against any order of an interlocutory nature or in the nature of a step-in-aid of the final disposal of a disciplinary proceeding other than an order of suspension, and against any order passed by an inquiring authority in the course of a Rule 14 inquiry. Everything in Rule 23 is appealable, including an order of suspension made or deemed to have been made under Rule 10, a penalty order under Rule 11, and an order enhancing a penalty.
Who can revise a disciplinary order under Rule 29?
Six authorities, not the President alone. Rule 29(1) names the President; the Comptroller and Auditor-General for a servant of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department; the Member (Personnel) of the Postal Services Board and the Adviser (Human Resources Development) in the Department of Telecommunications for their respective servants; the head of a department directly under the Central Government; the appellate authority, within six months of the order proposed to be revised; and any other authority the President specifies. Rule 29(2) bars a revision proceeding until the appeal limitation has expired or the appeal has been decided.
What does a penalty do to the pension?
It depends on which penalty is imposed. A minor penalty leaves the pension untouched, and clause (iii-a) of Rule 11 says so in terms. Compulsory retirement under clause (vii) preserves the pension: Rule 40 of the CCS (Pension) Rules 2021 grants a pension of not less than two-thirds and up to the full pension admissible. Removal under clause (viii) and dismissal under clause (ix) forfeit the pension and gratuity, leaving only a discretionary compassionate allowance of up to two-thirds under Rule 41. Dismissal is ordinarily a disqualification for future government employment; removal is not.

External references

References

  1. Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, made under the proviso to Article 309 and clause (5) of Article 148 of the Constitution after consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor-General, published by Ministry of Home Affairs notification No. F-7/2/63-Ests.(A) dated 20 November 1965 and in force from 1 December 1965 under Rule 1(2).
  2. Ibid., Rule 3 (application and the five exclusions), Rule 4 (classification of services), Rule 5 (constitution of the Central Civil Services), Rule 6 (classification of posts), Rule 6-A (Class to Group translation), and Rule 7 (General Central Service).
  3. Ibid., Rule 10 (suspension), including Rule 10(2) (deemed suspension on detention or conviction exceeding 48 hours), Rule 10(5) (continuance, modification and revocation), Rule 10(6) (review before 90 days on the recommendation of the Review Committee, extension not exceeding 180 days at a time) and Rule 10(7) (order invalid after 90 days without extension).
  4. Ibid., Rule 11 (ten penalties: minor in clauses (i) to (iv) including clause (iii-a), major in clauses (v) to (ix)), the first proviso (removal or dismissal mandatory on a proved charge of disproportionate assets or of gratification other than legal remuneration), the second proviso (any other penalty in an exceptional case for special reasons recorded in writing), and the Explanation (nine actions that are not penalties).
  5. Ibid., Rule 12 (disciplinary authorities, including Rule 12(4)(a) barring a major penalty by an authority subordinate to the appointing authority), Rule 13 (authority to institute proceedings, including Rule 13(2)), Rule 14 (procedure for major penalties in 24 sub-rules, including Rule 14(2) proviso on the Complaints Committee and Rule 14(4)(b) on the 15 day defence statement capped at 45 days), Rule 15 (action on the inquiry report, including Rule 15(3)(b), Rule 15(5) and Rule 15(6)), Rule 16 (procedure for minor penalties, including Rule 16(1-A)), Rule 17 (communication of orders), Rule 18 (common proceedings), Rule 19 (special procedure in certain cases), and Rules 20 and 21 (officers lent and borrowed).
  6. Ibid., Rule 22 (orders against which no appeal lies), Rule 23 (orders against which appeal lies), Rule 24 (appellate authority), Rule 25 (period of limitation of appeals, 45 days), Rule 26 (form and contents of appeal), Rule 27 (consideration of appeal), Rule 28 (implementation of orders in appeal), Rule 29 (revision by six named authorities, including the appellate authority within six months), Rule 29-A (review by the President on new material), Rule 30 (service of orders), Rule 31 (power to relax time-limit and condone delay), Rule 33 (transitory provisions), Rule 34 (repeal of the CCS (CCA) Rules 1957 and saving) and Rule 35 (removal of doubts).
  7. Constitution of India, Article 148(5) (rules for the Indian Audit and Accounts Department), Article 309 (rules regulating conditions of service), Article 310 (doctrine of pleasure) and Article 311 (safeguards against dismissal, removal or reduction in rank), as amended by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976 (removal of the second-stage opportunity).
  8. Khem Chand v. Union of India, AIR 1958 SC 300 (content of the reasonable opportunity under Article 311(2)); Union of India v. Tulsiram Patel, (1985) 3 SCC 398 (Constitution Bench, on the provisos to Article 311(2) mirrored in Rule 19); Managing Director, ECIL, Hyderabad v. B. Karunakar, (1993) 4 SCC 727 (supply of the inquiry report before the penalty is decided); Union of India v. Parma Nanda, (1989) 2 SCC 177 (the Tribunal’s jurisdiction on quantum is not appellate); Union of India v. Ajay Kumar Choudhary (suspension not to continue beyond three months without a charge sheet).
  9. Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 2021, Rule 8 (withholding or withdrawing pension for grave misconduct or negligence), Rule 40 (compulsory-retirement pension of not less than two-thirds and up to the full pension), Rule 41 (forfeiture on dismissal or removal, and the compassionate allowance capped at two-thirds) and Rule 44(4) (basis of the compulsory-retirement pension).
  10. Fundamental Rule 53 (subsistence allowance during suspension) and Fundamental Rule 56(j) (premature retirement in the public interest, which the Explanation to Rule 11 excludes from the meaning of penalty).
  11. Department of Personnel and Training notification S.O. 3964(E) dated 9 August 2018, made under the proviso to Article 309 read with Rule 6 of the CCS (CCA) Rules 1965, classifying central civil posts by pay level (Levels 10 to 18 Group A, Levels 6 to 9 Group B, Levels 1 to 5 Group C), in supersession of S.O. 3570(E) dated 9 November 2017.