Office Procedure, Noting and Drafting

Content

1. Introduction
2. Dak and Who Can Open It
3. Perusal of Dak by Superintendent
4. Registration of Dak
5. Collection of Relevant Materials
6. Bearing a Receipt on a File
7. Logbook for Dealing Hand
8. Priority Marking and Timetable on Disposal of Dak
9. Action on the Cases Not Ready Within Prescribed Time
10. Page Number in the File
11. Docketing
12. Filing and Punching of Papers
13. Note by Dealing Hand
14. General Instructions regarding Noting
15. Scope and purpose of note by office
16. Responsibility of Branch Officers regarding Office Notes and Drafts
17. File and its Constituents
18. Opening and Numbering of a New File
19. Title of File
20. Opening of a Part-File and its Constituents
21. Personal File
22. Separate File For Each Distinct Subject
23. Modification of Notes or Orders
24. Standing Guard File
25. Running Summary of Facts
26. Oral Instruction by Higher Officers
27. Channel for Submission of Cases
28. Level Jumping
29. Procedure of Referencing and Use of Slip
30. Draft, its Preparation and Approval
 Office Procedure, Noting and Drafting
Content

31. Wording of a Draft

32. General Instructions regarding Drafting
33. General Instruction for Communication
34. Different Communication
35. Communication to be addressed to Officer by Name
36. Penalty for Late Attendance
37. Hours of Attendance for Peon (MTS)
38. Leave Office During Working Hours
39. Frequently Asked Questions
 Office Procedure, Noting and Drafting
1. Introduction
An office is a collection of people engaged in allotted work to fulfil the
purpose of the organization. The main work in an office consists of dealing
with correspondence. The people engaged in the offices are given certain
tasks, which they have to complete within a given period so as to achieve
the objective of the organization. The persons employed in an office work in
teams or in a hierarchy.
The office procedure may be said to be a set of rules or policies guiding the
operation of an office. It is sequences in which certain operations are carried
out in respect of what is done, who does it, when and where it is done in the
organization.
2. Dak and Who Can Open It
Dak includes every type of written communication such as letter,
interdepartmental note, file, fax, e-mail, wireless message which is received,
whether by post or otherwise, in any department for its consideration. All
incoming and outcoming paper communications of an office are called Dak.
The Daks shall be opened in the following manner:
I. The Dak under the cover having address of an officer by name and
is received in the Department/Office will be sent to him unopened at
once.
II. The Dak under the cover which are not addressed to an officer by name
will be opened by the Section Officer/Superintendent. In case of such
covers with security marking, the Section Officer/Superintendent will
do the needful as per security instructions.
III. All other covers will be opened by the Diarist. While opening the Dak,
the Diarist will check the enclosures, and in case of any found missing,
make a note of the fact on body of the receipt. After receiving the Dak,
he will send them to the Branch Officer.
3. Perusal of Dak by Superintendent
The Superintendent will go through the Dak immediately on receipt from
the Branch Officer and will -
a. sort out important and priority receipts, telegrams and reminders. He
will determine priority for action on receipts and mark the priority in
ink on the receipt itself.
b. call for the Dealing Hand and give them directions regarding disposal
of the receipt. In case of a reminder, he will put up the file immediately
to the Branch Officer explaining why timely action was not taken.
c. mark all receipts other than those at (d) to the Dealing Hand according

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 to the subjects allotted to each. He will take action on important receipts
himself.
d. sort out receipts, if any, which are missent to the Department/Office
or the subject matter of which does not pertain to it and arrange for
their transfer to the Office/Branch concerned, where necessary, with the
orders of the Branch Officer.
e. hand over the Dak to the Diarist for diarizing.
4. Registration of Dak
Dak should be registered at entry level so as to maintain accountability of
every paper received by the respective Office. The Diarist or any other Assistant
entrusted, will then enter the Dak in the Receipt Register in prescribed form.
He will at this stage complete required column of the receipt Register and
enter the diary number of the receipt in the space provided for the purpose in
the stamp put on the receipt.
After diarizing, the Diarist will distribute the receipts to the Assistants
concerned recording the Diary No of the receipt on the Personal Log Book.
5. Collection of Relevant Materials
The office will then collect the material required for taking action on a
receipt. This will ordinarily consist of-
I. the file on the subject if one already exists;
I. other files or papers, if any, referred to in the receipt; and
II. any other material which is required to draw attention, where necessary,
to the statutory or customary procedure and to point out the law and rules
and where they are to be found. For this purpose, the Dealing Hand will
consult the File Register, Precedent Register, Standing Guard File, if any,
and relevant Act, Rules, Regulation, etc. He/She will take the advice of the
Section Officer/Superintendent in difficult or doubtful cases.
6. Bearing a Receipt on a File
A receipt will be brought on to a current file if it relates to a subject on
which a file already exists. If not, it will be necessary to open a new file for
initiating action on the receipt if further correspondence is anticipated. The
miscellaneous papers may be filed suitably in a miscellaneous file. Before
placing a receipt on a file, all unnecessary pins and clips will be removed. The
receipt will then be docketed and referenced.
7. Logbook for Dealing Hand
Every Dealing Hand will maintain a logbook indicating his day to day
disposal of receipts and files in the prescribed format. After making entries in
the Receipt Register, the Receipt or Diarist will distribute the receipts to the
Assistants concerned recording the Receipt number on the Log Book.

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 8. Priority Marking and Timetable on Disposal of Dak
The higher officer of the Branch or the Head of the Office can give priority
marking on the receipt considering urgency of its disposal. The higher officers
on their part should give such marking carefully. They should besides taking
the nature of receipt into consideration, also keep in view the total priority
work sent down to the office
The following kinds of priority marking only will be used:
I. Immediate: Immediate cases should be taken up immediately on
receipt by stopping all other works and should be put on the day of
receipt or on the next working day.
II. Urgent: Urgent cases should be put within 3 days.
III. Fixed Date: Fixed Date cases should be given precedence over other
cases of ordinary nature and flag should be attached indicating the date
on which action should be taken.
The cases bearing no priority marking should be put not later than 7 days.
The Superintendent will ensure that the priority labels are removed or
changed when no longer required or the priority is changed. The Branch
Officer will check this.
9. Action on the Cases Not Ready Within Prescribed Time
A case which is not ready within the prescribed time limit will be shown
to the Branch Officer or a higher officer for extension of time limit. The officer
concerned shall indicate the further time allowed for submission of the case.
10. Page Number in the File
There will be one page number in the correspondence part of the file also
for the notes portion. Every page in each part of the file will be consecutively
numbered in separate series. Blank intervening pages, if any, will not be
numbered. The receipts or notes written or typed on both sides should be
numbered on both the sides. The numbering will be done in the ink at the top
right hand corner of the pages.
The page number once allotted to either part of the file will not ordinarily
be changed. If however, it becomes necessary to do so as per the orders of
an officer not below the rank of the Branch Officer which will be taken in the
notes portion of the file.
11. Docketing
Docketing is the process of making entries in the “Notes” portion of a file about
each receipt or issue number and date of the letter and from whom received or to
whom issued. A receipt or issue will be docketed between two lines by writing
across the page. The receipt will be entered in red and issue in blue-black ink.
The page number of the communication will be shown just outside the margin.

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 12. Filing and Punching of Papers
Filing of papers means placing the PUC in the correspondence portion and
the notes in the notes portion of a file. The paper required to be filed will be
punched on the left-hand top corner leaving one inch each on the top and
left corner and tagged onto the appropriate part of the file. Both the ‘notes
portion and ‘correspondence portion’ are to be separately page numbered.
The first page of the correspondence shall be on the top and while the last
page shall be at the bottom of correspondence portion.
13. Note by Dealing Hand
Notes are written remarks recorded on a paper under consideration to
facilitate its disposal. It consists of previous paper, statement or analysis of
the question or questions requiring decisions, suggestion regarding course of
action and final order passed thereon. The notes written by the Dealing Hand
on the papers under consideration (PUC) to facilitate its disposal are called
office notes.
14. General Instructions Regarding Noting
I. Language: The language of the note should be made in the third person.
No note should be recorded addressing the officer to whom the file is
put up in second person.
II. Remarks of Officer on Receipt: If the Branch Officer or higher officer
has made any remarks on a receipt, these should first be copied out
in the note sheet before writing a note. If it is not copied, it should be
mentioned that there is instruction on the body of the PUC. No note
should be written on the receipt except in a routine matter.
III. Concise and to the point: A note must be concise and to the point.
Lengthy notes are to be avoided. ‘Verbatim reproduction’ of extract
from or paraphrasing of the PUC, fresh receipt, or any other part of
correspondence or notes on the same file should also be avoided.
Instead, summarized version of the issues raised in PUC, are to be
brought on the note. Excessive noting with irrelevant context or
repetition of context in the PUC may confuse the higher authority to
take appropriate action and therefore, such noting should be avoided.
IV. All facts and materials: Efforts should be made to bring all facts and
materials including previous reference to the notice of the higher
authority. Any instructions/orders passed by the higher authority
on the body of the PUC should also be mentioned in the notes. The
relevant provision of Acts and rules, Office Memorandum etc should
be referred to and copy of the same should be made available in the file
with proper flags, rather than reproducing the relevant provisions in
the note.
V. Divisions of notes into some paragraphs: A note will be divided into

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 some paragraphs. The first paragraph will give details of the paper
under correspondence and what action has been sought for. Another
paragraph should give the provision of the Acts, Rules, order etc
for disposal of the case. And the final paragraph should weigh the
arguments and make recommendation for action.
VI. Placing of relevant Act/Rules etc: Relevant Extract of the provisions of
the Act, Rules and/or guidelines will be placed on the file and attention
to it will be drawn in the note, rather than reproducing the relevant
provision in the note, unless such an extract on the note is essential to
arrive at a decision.
VII. Margin of note page: A small margin of about one inch will be left on
all sides (left, right, top and bottom) of each page of the note sheet to
ensure better preservation of notes recorded on the files as at times the
paper gets torn from the edges making of the documents difficult.
VIII. Confinement in actual point: When passing order or making
suggestions, an officer will confine his/her note to the actual points he/
she proposes to make without reinterring/repeating the ground already
covered in the previous notes. repeating the contents of the previous
notes. If he/she agrees to the line of action suggested in the preceding
note, he/she will merely append his/her signature. In case, he/she takes
a decision different from the one suggested on file, he may do so giving
reasons for his decision.
IX. Initial of Dealing Hand and Officer: The Dealing Hand will append
his initial with the date on the left side just below his note. The
Superintendent will also likewise put his dated initial on the left side
just below the signature of the dealing hand or below the note, except
when disposing of a paper within his powers in which case he will
sign his name in full on the right hand side. An officer will append his
full signature with date on right hand side. In recording the date with
initials or signatures appended to notes, the month and the year should
also be indicated along with the date.
X. Maximum notes by Officer: There should not ordinarily be more than
two notes by officers including the Branch Officer, in addition to the
office note. This can be achieved by discussing the important cases with
their higher officers by officer at different subordinate levels.
XI. Pasting of slip of officer: When a higher officer passes an order or calls
for important information on a slip of paper, the slip should be pasted
on the note sheet concerning the file and the note given under it.
XII. Ending of notes: Care should be taken to see that notes submitted to
higher officers for orders do not end at the bottom of a note sheet in
such a way as would leave not sufficient space at the bottom for short
orders to be passed. A blank note sheet should always be attached to
the ‘Notes’ portion of the file.

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 15. Scope and Purpose of Note by Office
The office note will cover the following:
I. to see whether all the facts, so far they are open to check, are correct;
II. to point out any mistakes or mis-statement of facts;
III. to draw attention where necessary, to the statutory or customary
procedure and to point out the law and rules and where they are to be
found;
IV. to supply other relevant facts and figures available in the Department
and to put up the Standing Guard File or Precedent Register;
V. to state the question or questions for consideration to bring out clearly
the points requiring decision; and
VI. to avoid any opinions or comments regarding the action of officers or
other Department and also to avoid any personnel views on the case.
16. Responsibility of Branch Officers regarding Office Notes and Drafts.
The Branch Officer will be responsible for the accuracy of the facts stated
in the notes and drafts put up to the higher officers and will therefore, satisfy
himself that the office has brought out the facts in the notes and drafts fully
and correctly. Subject to any general or special orders enforce, a Branch Officer
or higher officer should ordinarily dispose of the majority of cases coming up
to him in his responsibility.
An officer will confine his note to the actual points without repeating the
contents of. the previous notes. When he agrees with the recommendations
made in the preceding note, he will merely append his signature.
There should not ordinarily be more than two notes by officers including
the note by the Branch Officer, in addition to the office note. This can be
achieved by officers at different subordinate levels discussing the important
cases with their higher officers. After discussion an officer will take action as
follows:-
a. Where a subordinate officer agrees with his higher officer, he may pass
the order and take responsibility for such a decision ; or
b. where he does not agree with the higher officer, he will send the file
with his views to the higher officer for passing orders ; or
c. in important cases, that file, after discussion maybe handed over to the
higher officer for giving a note or passing.

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 17. File and its Constituents
File means a folder consisting of related papers on a specific subject
consisting of following main two parts:
I. Notes portion: It contains notes recorded on a Paper Under
Consideration. It contains process how decision is taken.
II. Correspondence: It contains all incoming written communications that
are input to take decision and office copy of communication sent by
office.
When the ‘notes’ or the ‘correspondence’ portion of a file becomes bulky
(say, exceeds about 100 pages on any side), it will be kept in a separate cover
and marked ‘Volume I’. Further action on the subject will be continued on a
new volume of the same file, the cover of which will be marked ‘Volume II’
and so on.
18. Opening and Numbering of a New File
A new file will be opened in a branch with the orders of the Section Officer/
Superintendent or higher officer. Its title will be given by the Superintendent.
‘A new file will be given a fresh file number. The file number consists of (a)
initial letters used for identifying the Branch or office and the group of subjects
; (b) the serial number of the file in the File Register.
19. Title of File
The subject given to a file is called its “title”. It should be as brief as possible
but should give sufficient indication of contents of the file at a glance. The title
is divided as follows:
I. Head: The important word that is placed first in the title by which
its alphabetical position in the index to the file register is determined
and on which primarily depends the possibility of finding the title is
called the head. The wording of the head should not be too common
or general.
II. Sub-head: The head will be followed by a sub-head or sub-heads which
should be more indicative. The consideration to be borne in mind will
be the same in selecting sub-head and sub- heads.
III. Contents: After the head and sub-head will come the content. This
must be brief and compatible with expressing clearly the exact subjects
of the paper, it is good content.
20. Opening of a Part-File and its Constituents
A Part-File may be opened only when the main file is not likely to be available
for some time or when it is desired to consult simultaneously other branches
or officers and it is necessary for them to see the Paper Under Consideration.
The reference and page number in a Part File will be given in pencil. The
Part File will be amalgamated with the main file as soon as the latter becomes
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available. On amalgamation, the references will be revised and the page
numbers will be given in ink. When more than one Part File is opened, each
one will be given distinct number.
21. Separate File For Each Distinct Subject
There should be a separate file for each distinct subject. If the subject of a
file is too wide or too general, there will be a tendency to place in it receipts
dealing with different aspects of the matter which apart from -making the file
unwieldy will Impede business. If the issues raised in a receipt or in the notes
or in the orders are beyond the original subject, relevant extracts will be taken
and dealt with separately in new files.
In some cases, however, it may become necessary to open a miscellaneous
file to contain miscellaneous unimportant papers, on which further
correspondence is not likely to arise.
22. Personal File
A personal file will be maintained for every member of the service
administered by a Department. It will contain all establishment orders like
appointment, leave, transfer and posting, punishment etc relating to the
Government servant starting from his entry into the office. On transfer from
one service to another, the personal files are transferred to the Department/
Office concerned. In such case, the numbers of the personal files are changed
according to serial number in the File Register for that service.
23. Modification of Notes or Orders
The higher officers should record their own notes giving their views on
the subject, where necessary, correcting or modifying the facts given in earlier
note. In any case, the replacement or modification of the notes which have
already been recorded on a file, when file has been further noted upon by
others, should not be permitted. Where a final decision already communicated
to a party is found later on to have been given on a mistaken ground or
wrong 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 Law Department, 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.
Pasting over a note or a portion of it to conceal what has been recorded
is not desirable. 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.

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 24. Standing Guard File
There should be Guard File in each Department containing all important
Office Memoranda/Notifications/Resolutions issued by the Government in
different Departments in a chronological order and this Guard File is called
Standing Guard File. It is prepared and maintained in different parts subject-
wise. Whenever any new decision is taken on the subject it will be suitably
incorporated in the relevant section of the Guard File by the Section Officer/
Superintendent or under his direction by the Dealing Hand. As soon as a new
officer joins a Department, it will be the duty of the Superintendent to bring
the Standing Guard File of the Department/Office to the notice of the officer
concerned. The officer should study the file carefully.
25. Running Summary of Facts
To facilitate consideration and to obviate repeated recapitulation, a running
summary of facts or a précis should be prepared and placed on the file in a
separate folder labelled as such in every case in which it is evident that such
a summary would contribute to its speedy disposal. This summary will also
include the advice or views of other departments consulted in the matter but
not opinions of individual officers within a department. It should be kept up
to date, incorporating changes whenever further developments take place
through a newer version. Running summary of facts will also be maintained
in electronic form in a computerized environment. It will be the duty of the
Superintendent and the Branch Officer to see —
I. that a summary is prepared at the earliest appropriate stage in suitable
cases;
II. that a summary is kept up-to-date by making suitable additions as
further factual developments occur.
The summary will be signed by the Assistant and Superintendent. The
Branch Officer will be responsible for checking that all the facts have been
fully and correctly brought out in it. He will also sign it. A higher officer
making use of the summary may initial it as a note of having made use of that
summary.
26. Oral Instruction by Higher Officers
Where an officer is giving direction (including telephonic, social media
platforms and SMS) for taking action in any case in respect of matters on
which he or his subordinate has powers to decide, he shall ordinarily do so
in writing. If, however, the circumstances of the case are such that there is
no time for giving the instructions in writing, he should follow it up with a
written confirmation at his earliest.
An officer shall, in the performance of his official duties, or in the exercise
of the powers conferred on him, act in his best judgment except when he is
acting under instructions of an official superior. In the latter case, he shall

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obtain the directions in writing wherever practicable before carrying out the
instructions, and where it is not possible to do so, he shall obtain written
confirmation of the directions as soon thereafter as possible. If the Officer
giving the instructions is not his immediate superior but one higher to the
latter in the hierarchy, he shall bring such instructions to the notice of his
immediate superior at the earliest.
27. Channel for Submission of Cases
The channel for submission of cases will ordinarily be Superintendent-
Section Officer-Branch Officer-Head of Office. However, the selected Assistant
may be authorized to submit cases direct to Section Officer or Branch Officers.
The Superintendent may be permitted to submit certain types of cases direct
to Branch Officer and the Section Officer may also be permitted to submit file
directly to Head of Office.
After orders have been passed by a competent officer, the files and receipts
should go back to the Branch through all officers at intermediate stages dealing
with all the subjects to keep them informed of the decision taken.
28. Level Jumping
Normally, the files are put to the next immediate higher authority. But,
when a file by the Section Officer or the Branch Officer is put up to the Head
of Office directly without routing through the middle-level officers, it is called
level jumping. The level jumping is permitted only in the following cases:
a. When a higher officer calls for the papers directly;
b. Where by a specific order, it has been laid down that certain categories
of cases will be put up directly to higher officers without passing
through the specified intermediary levels.
29. Procedure of Referencing and Use of Slip
Referencing is the process of putting up and referring to connected records,
precedents, rules, regulations; books .or any other paper having a bearing on
a case. Such papers will be flagged with alphabetical slips to facilitate their
identification. The slip “P.U.C.” will be attached to the paper which is under
consideration. No slip other than ‘PUC’ will be attached to any paper on a
current file. Reference to such a paper will be made by quoting the number of
the page in the margin in pencil. (i.e P6/n, P6/c etc.)
Books of Rules etc. referred to need not be put up on a file if copies are
available with the officer to whom a case is submitted. This should, however,
be indicated in the margin of the notes in pencil. However, if a book or a copy
of rule etc, referred to is required to be put up on a file, it will not be kept
inside the file cover but will be placed on top of the flap of the file board just
below the string. The reference to the book is made by referring to its page
number but no slip is pinned on the book. For facility of reference, however, a
slip may be placed between the pages referred to.
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 30. Draft, its Preparation and Approval
Draft is rough sketch of communication to be issued after approval of the
officer concerned. It is the manuscript copy of the order to be sent out to the
concerned officer/department when the course of action is very clear. Except
when the lines of action are obvious, a draft of communication proposed to
be sent out will be prepared after orders have been passed by the competent
officer indicating the terms of reference to be sent.
A Branch officer or a higher officer, where necessary, will himself prepare
a draft and authorize its issue or submit to the next higher authority for
approval. In other cases a draft will be prepared by the office.
All important drafts such as pertaining to policy matter having financial
implication, requiring increase in the sanctioned strength of staff, major
changes in a scheme and important communication to the MLA, MP, Chairman
of Municipal Board etc should not be approved at a level lower than that of the
Deputy Secretary. In some cases, it may be necessary to take approval of the
Secretary or of Minister to the draft.
31. Wording of a Draft
A draft should –
i. convey the exact intention of the order passed;
ii. a draft should carry the message sought to be conveyed in a language
that is clear, concise and unambiguous.
iii. language used should be clear, concise and incapable of misconstruction
besides being precise;
iv. lengthy sentences, abruptness, redundancy, superlatives and repetition
whether of words, expression or ideas should be avoided;
v. The persons and offices to which the copies are to be endorsed with
instructions regarding action to be taken by them should be clearly
mentioned in the draft.
32. General Instructions regarding Drafting
While drafting a communication the following should be taken care of:
1. Sufficient space should be left for the margin and between successive
lines in the draft for incorporating changes, additions, interpolation of
words, etc.
2. Depending on the form, subject of the communication (including
reminders) should be mentioned appropriately.
3. The enclosures, which are to accompany the fair copy, should be
indicated at the bottom left of the page. A short oblique line in the
margin will indicate that enclosures are to be sent along with the fair
copy. Where copies of an enclosure referred in the draft are available
and, therefore, need not be typed, an indication to that effect will be

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 given in the margin of the draft, below the relevant oblique line.
4. Urgency grading will be indicated on the top right corner, if required.
5. Where the communication to be sent is of an important or immediate
nature, the mode of transmission, e.g. ‘By Registered Post’ or ‘By Speed
Post’ or ‘By Special Messenger’, etc., will be indicated at the top right
corner.
6. Where copies of the communication are to be endorsed to other
authorities for information or for further action, proper endorsements
will be indicated at the bottom left of the draft.
7. A slip bearing the words “Draft for Approval” should be attached to
the draft. If two or more drafts are put up on a file, the draft as well as
the D.F.A. slips will be numbered as “D.F.A. I”, “D.F.A. II”, “D.F.A. III”
and so on.
33. General Instruction for Communication
The different forms of written communication and their methods of delivery
generally used by a department are described in subsequent pages. Each form
has a use and, in some cases, a phraseology of its own. Only black or blue ink
will be used in communications. A small margin of about one inch will be left
on all sides (left, right, top and bottom) of each page of communications to
ensure better preservations of records as at times the paper gets torn from the
edges, making reading of the documents difficult.
34. Different Communication
(1) Letter: A letter is the form used for all formal communication to Central
Government, State Governments, subordinate offices and other offices such
as Public Service Commission, High Court, University, etc. For district
and subordinate offices, it is used to communicate with the Secretariat,
Head of Department, Statutory bodies etc. But generally, it is not used for
correspondence between different Departments of the Secretariat of the same
Government and branches of the same office. A letter is composed of the
following parts:
a. The letter head should bear the name of Government and the name of
office.
b. File number and date of communication
c. Name and/or organization sender;
d. Name and/or organization addressee
e. The subject should be written in clear term and will be brief.
f. Reference should be mentioned if it is sent in reply to a previous letter.
g. The language of the main text of the letter should be in first person or
second person or third person. But if any memo copy is issued, the
instruction if any, should be in third person.

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 A letter being a formal form of communication is addressed on behalf of a
Department or Government to the Head of the Government/Organization by
designation beginning with the salutation ‘Sir’/’Madam’ and those addressed
to non-official individual or group of individual with ‘Dear Sir’ and ends with
the subscription ‘Yours faithfully’.
(2) Demi-Official Letter (DO): This form is generally used for making
correspondence by one Government Officer with another with the purpose
of drawing his/her personal attention in an official matter of importance and/
or urgency. Since Demi-Official letter is addressed personally to an officer by
name. It is written in first person singular in a personal and friendly tone with
salutation” My dear. . .” /or “Dear.. . . .” and terminating with “ Your sincerely”
signed by officer without mentioning his designation below the signature.
Demi-Official letter may be used for communicating with officers in other
public officers except chief of the Constitutional authorities. In such cases,
communications are addressed to the Secretary of such authorities. The
communication to non-official may also take the form of a Demi- Official letter.
(3) Office Order: Office order is an instrument for communication of order or
decision of the Branch or the Department in certain matter. It may be issued
by the Branch Officer or higher officer for efficient disposal of business in the
department. In the Administrative Department, normally, the office orders
are issued in the following subjects:
a. Distribution of works amongst assistants and officers;
b. Manner of disposal of works e.g. level jumping, putting up of files to
Minister;
c. Instruction regarding attendance, cleanliness etc.;
d. Prescribing Departmental Register, Forms etc;
e. Removal of any particular defect noticed in the Department;
f. Any other office procedure considered necessary.
(4) Order: This form is generally used for conveying-
g. certain types of financial sanction; and
h. for communicating final orders in disciplinary cases etc to the official
concerned. The order is not addressed to anyone. Copies are endorsed
to all the persons/authorities concerned.
(5) Circular: This form is used when important and urgent external
communications received or important and urgent decisions taken internally
have to be circulated within a department for information and compliance by
a large number of employees.

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(6) Minutes: A record of discussions is prepared immediately after the meeting
and circulated to the other Departments concerned, giving date, time, venue
of the meeting held, who chaired the meeting and list of participants, setting
out the conclusions reached and indicating the Department(s) responsible for
taking further action on each conclusion. In case it is perceived by participants
of the meeting that the minutes recorded are not as per the understanding/
perception of the participant, the same may be immediately referred in writing
to the authority which has issued the minutes.
(7) Wireless/WT Message: This form of correspondence is generally used
for communicating without station parties. The concise and brief sentences
are used to make concise or brief statement and the grammatical rules are
avoided. This form is used for law and order matter and also for relating to
floods and other natural calamities. Further it can be used for any matter
requiring priority attention. These messages also have priority grading viz.
a. Crash:- It is topmost priority and is resorted in exceptional cases where
the recipient has to take immediate executive action to save human life
or to prevent damage to valuable property.
b. Immediate: It is used for conveying important information relating to
law and order for immediate attention.
c. Ordinary: It is done in routine nature.
35. Communication to be addressed to Officer by Name
A communication may be addressed to an officer by name when it is
intended that the matter should receive the personal attention of the officer
either because of its secret nature or special urgency/importance or because
some ground has already been covered by personal discussion and the officer
to whom the paper is being marked would be in a position to record his views
or give his decision straightway. When a paper is so marked to an officer by
name, reminders pertaining thereto may also be sent to the same officer (or
he has since been transferred, to his successor) or a higher officer by name. A
demi-official letter will, however, always be addressed to an officer by name.
36. Penalty for late attendance
Forfeiture of a day’s casual leave will ordinarily be the penalty for three
days late attendance consecutively. If the late attendance is habitual, the matter
will be brought to the notice of the Secretary of the Department who may
award such minor punishment which he considers necessary besides adverse
entry in Character Roll.

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 37. Hours of Attendance for Peon (MTS)
Peons (Multi Tasking Staff) are responsible for the cleanliness of the office
rooms and will attend office half an hour earlier than the hour prescribed for the
staff. They will not leave office without the permission of the Superintendent
under whom they work. Peons attached to officers will remain in office until
their officers leave or until they are permitted by their officers to leave early
38. Leave Office during Working Hours
A member of the office establishment will not leave the office premises
during working hours without the permission of the Section Officer/
Superintendent of this branch or in his absence, the permission of the Branch
Officer. On the last working day previous to two or more consecutive holidays
(including Sunday) no Assistant or Computer Operator will leave office
without permission of the Section Officer/ Superintendent concerned.
When a priority case requires action on the same day, a member of the
office establishment concerned will not leave the office without the permission
of the Superintendent in case of the Assistant, Computer Operator etc or of the
permission of the Branch Officer in case of the Superintendent.
I. during the leave period, the permission to leave the headquarters
should be taken and the leave address should also be given;
II. An abstract statement showing casual leave taken and late attendance
will be exhibited in the last column of the Attendance Register and
consolidated by the Superintendent immediately after the month is
over.

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 FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS
1. What is Dak?
Dak includes every type of written
communication such as letter,
interdepartmental note, file, fax, e-mail,
wireless message which is received,
whether by post or otherwise, in any
department for its consideration.
All incoming and out coming paper
communications of an office are called
Dak.
2. What are the Priority Marking and
Timetable on its disposal?
The higher officer of the Branch or
the Head of the Office can give priority
marking on the receipt considering
urgency of its disposal. The higher
officers on their part should give such marking carefully. They should besides
taking the nature of receipt into consideration, also keep in view the total
priority work sent down to the office
The following kinds of priority marking only will be used:
i. Immediate: Immediate cases should be taken up immediately on
receipt by stopping all other works and should be put on the day of
receipt or on the next working day.
ii. Urgent: Urgent cases should be put within 3 days.
iii. Fixed Date: Fixed Date cases should be given precedence over other
cases of ordinary nature and flag should be attached indicating the
date on which action should be taken.
The cases bearing no priority marking should be put not later than 7 days.
3. How Logbook for Dealing Hand is used?
Every Dealing Hand will maintain a logbook indicating his day to day
disposal of receipts and files in the prescribed format. After making entries in
the Receipt Register, the Receipt or Diarist will distribute the receipts to the
Assistants concerned recording the Receipt number on the Log Book.

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4. What is page number in the file?
There will be one page numbers in the correspondence part of the file also
for the notes portion. Every page in each part of the file will be consecutively
numbered in separate series. Blank intervening pages, if any, will not be
numbered. The receipts or notes written or typed on both sides should be
numbered on both the sides. The numbering will be done in the ink at the top
right hand corner of the pages.
5. What is Docketing?
Docketing is the process of making entries in the “Notes” portion of a file
about each receipt or issue number and date of the letter and from whom
received or to whom issued. A receipt or issue will be docketed between two
lines by writing across the page. The receipt will be entered in red and issue
in blue-black ink. The page number of the communication will be shown just
outside the margin.
6. What is File and its constituents?
File means a folder consisting of related papers on a specific subject
consisting of following main two parts:
I. Notes portion: It contains notes recorded on a Paper Under
Consideration. It contains process how decision is taken.
II. Correspondence: It contains all incoming written communications
that are input to take decision and office copy of communication sent
by office.
7. How a file is opened and numbered?
A new file will be opened in a branch with the orders of the Section Officer/
Superintendent or higher officer. Its title will be given by the Superintendent.
‘A new file will be given a fresh file number. The file number consists of
(a) initial letters used for identifying the Branch or office and the group of
subjects ; (b) the serial number of the file in the File Register.
8. What is Personal File?
A personal file will be maintained for every member of the service
administered by a Department. It will contain all establishment orders like
appointment, leave, transfer and posting, punishment etc relating to the
Government servant starting from his entry into the office. On transfer from
one service to another, the personal files are transferred to the Department/
Office concerned. In such case, the numbers of the personal files are changed
according to serial number in the File Register for that service.

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9. What is Standing Guard File?
There should be guard file in each Department containing all important
Office Memoranda/ Notifications/ Resolutions issued by the Government in
different Departments in a chronological order and this guard file is called
Standing Guard File. It is prepared and maintained in different parts subject-
wise. Whenever any new decision is taken on the subject it will be suitably
incorporated in the relevant section of the Guard File by the Section Officer/
Superintendent or under his direction by the Dealing Hand. As soon as a new
officer joins a Department, it will be the duty of the Superintendent to bring
the Standing Guard File of the Department/Office to the notice of the officer
concerned. The officer should study the file carefully.
10. What should be the language of office notes?
The language of the note should be made in the third person. No note
should be recorded addressing the officer to whom the file is put up in second
person.
11. How much margin of note page is required?
A small margin of about one inch will be left on all sides (left, right, top
and bottom) of each page of the note sheet to ensure better preservation of
notes recorded on the files as at times the paper gets torn from the edges
making of the documents difficult.
12. When Level Jumping is allowed?
Normally, the files are put to next immediate higher authority. But, when
a file by the Section Officer or the Branch Officer is put up to the Head of
Office directly without routing through the middle-level officers, it is called
level jumping. The level jumping is permitted only in the following cases:
a. When a higher officer calls for the papers directly;
b. Where by a specific order, it has been laid down that certain categories
of cases will be put up directly to higher officers without passing
through the specified intermediary levels.
13. By whom Draft is prepared?
A Branch officer or a higher officer, where necessary, will himself prepare
a draft and authorize its issue or submit to the next higher authority for
approval. In other cases a draft will be prepared by the office.

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14. When communication is to be addressed to officer by name?
A communication may be addressed to an officer by name when it is
intended that the matter should receive the personal attention of the officer
either because of its secret nature or special urgency/importance or because
some ground has already been covered by personal discussion and the officer
to whom the paper is being marked would be in a position to record his views
or give his decision straightway. When a paper is so marked to an officer by
name, reminders pertaining thereto may also be sent to the same officer (or
he has since been transferred, to his successor) or a higher officer by name. A
demi-official letter will, however, always be addressed to an officer by name.
15. What may be the penalty for late attendance?
Forfeiture of a day’s casual leave will ordinarily be the penalty for three
days late attendance consecutively. If the late attendance is habitual, the
matter will be brought to the notice of the Secretary of the Department who
may award such minor punishment which he considers necessary besides
adverse entry in Character Roll.

26
 About the Author

Shri Satyen Das started his career in the Assam Secretariat in the
Ministerial Services in the year 1990. He also worked in the Finance,
General Administration, P&PG, Revenue Deptt dealing mostly with service
matters. He retired as Joint Secretary of the Personnel and School Education
Department on 31st January.