Office Memorandum Is a Statutory Instruction, Cannot Supersede Statutory Rules: Delhi High Court Reiterates

The Delhi High Court ruled that an Office Memorandum (OM) cannot override statutory rules. In the case involving two officers, the court found that disciplinary proceedings initiated by a lesser authority based on an OM were invalid. The court emphasized that statutory rules under the Constitution have primacy over government instructions, which cannot alter the powers of the appointing authority defined in the rules. Thus, the authority to initiate major penalties, such as dismissal, must follow the statutory framework, and the OM cannot confer such powers to an unauthorized official.