What is the sequence in which the briefs are presented by the Presenting Officer and the charged officer?

5. What is the sequence in which the briefs are presented by the
Presenting Officer and the charged officer?
Presenting Officer’s brief is to be submitted first. Charged officer is allowed to file
his/her brief after perusal of the written brief submitted by the Presenting Officer.

6. What is the authority or justification for asking the Presenting Officer to
submit brief in the first instance?
Rule 14 (19) does not explicitly state that the Presenting Officer’s brief must be
submitted in the first instance. However, DoPT OM No. 11012/18/77-Estt.(A) dated 2
Sep 1978 provides that the Presenting Officer’s brief must be submitted in the first
instance and a copy thereof must be made available to the charged officer. This OM
explicitly states
“In case the copy of the brief of the Presenting Officer is not given to the
Government Servant, it will be like hearing arguments of the Presenting
Officer at the back of the Government Servant. In this connection attention is
also invited to the judgment of the Calcutta High Court in the case of Collector
of Customs Vs. Mohd. Habibul [(1973) 1 SLR 321 (Cal)] in which it is laid
down that the requirements of Rule 14(19) of the CCS (CCA) Rules 1965 and
the principles of natural justice demand that the delinquent officer should be
served with a copy of the written brief filed by the Presenting Officer before he
is called upon to file his written brief.”
.

126
7. While the charged officer has the benefit of knowing the submissions of
the Presenting Officer before preparing the defence brief, the latter is denied a
similar opportunity. Does it not put the Presenting Officer in a
disadvantageous position?
One of the cardinal rules in criminal jurisprudence is that the prosecution has to
prove the case without relying upon the defence. The following observation of the
Hon’ble Supreme Court in Sharad Birdhi Chand Sarda vs State Of Maharashtra on
17 July, 1984 [1984 AIR 1622, 1985 SCR (1) 88] is relevant in this context:
It is well settled that the prosecution must stand or fall on its own legs and it
cannot derive any strength from the weakness of the defence. This is trite law
and no decision has taken a contrary view.
Accordingly the Presenting Officer has to submit his/her written brief without any
reference to the submissions by the charged officer.
On the other hand the charged officer has to counter the allegations leveled in the
charge sheet and controvert the submissions by the Presenting Officer. Thus it is in
order that the Presenting Officer’s written brief is made available to the charged
officer and not vice versa.