ANY REPRESENTATION SUBMITTED BY THE GOVERNMENT SERVANT IN REPLY TO THE SHOW CAUSE NOTICE SHALL BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION BEFORE FINAL ORDERS ARE PASSED (RULE.14 OF THE CCS&CC&A) RULES, 1965.

In all cases where an enquiry has been held in accordance with the provisions of Rule 14 of the Central Civil Services) Classification Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965,the disciplinary authority, if it is different from the enquiry authority shall before making a final order in the case, forward a copy of the enquiry report to the Government servant concerned with the following endorsement:-- "The report of the Inquiry Officer is enclosed. The disciplinary authority will take a suitable decision after considering the report. If you wish to make any representation or submission, you may do so in writing to the Disciplinary Authority within fifteen days of the receipt of this letter " If the penalty proposed is dismissal, removal or reduction in rank, the Government servant concerned shall be supplied with a copy of the report of the enquiry officer and he shall be called upon by written notice to show cause within a reasonable time, not ordinarily exceeding one month, against the particular penalty proposed to be inflicted on him ;provided that if the disciplinary authority disagrees with any part or whole of the findings of the enquiry officer, the point or points of such disagreement together with a brief statement of the grounds there for, shall also be supplied to the Government servant. Any representation submitted by the Government servant in reply to the show cause notice shall be taken in to consideration before final orders are passed. As such the report of the enquiry officer should be carefully examined by the disciplinary authority together with the comments of the presenting officer, Thought great weight is attached to the findings of the Inquiry officer yet they lack authoritativeness unlike judicial pronouncements. It is for the disciplinary authority to take a decision after applying its mind to the material placed on record in the enquiry proceedings, the findings of the enquiry officer and representations and submissions made by the Government servant in the manner given in the para above. If the disciplinary authority holds that the charges, or any of them, against the Government servant proceeded against have been sustainable, it will arrive at a provisional conclusion in regard to the penalty to be imposed upon him after duly taking into account the past service of the official.