Commission of Inquiry (Central) Rules, 1972 — Right to Information (RTI) Notes

Commission of Inquiry (Central) Rules, 1972

The Act tells you a Commission may summon a witness. It does not tell you who pays his bus fare. That is what the Rules are for — the working procedure of a Commission, dull, short, and absent from every question paper. Two lines of this in an answer on the Act is normally enough; know what they are, and not more.

What the Rules contain

The Commission of Inquiry (Central) Rules, 1972 were made under the rule-making power in s. 12 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 (a State Government makes its own corresponding rules).

A. What s. 12(2) authorises

The rules may provide for: the term of office and conditions of service of the members (a); the manner of holding the inquiry and the procedure before the Commission (b); the additional civil-court powers to be vested in it (c); and the travelling and other expenses of assessors (s. 5B) and of persons summoned to give evidence (cc); and any other prescribed matter (d).

B. What, in substance, the Rules deal with

In practice the Rules cover four things: the Commission’s own working (its members’ service terms, its secretary and staff); the conduct of the inquiry (how notice of the inquiry is published, how a person whose conduct is inquired into is given notice under s. 8B, the filing of statements and affidavits, examination and cross-examination under s. 8C, and representation by a legal practitioner); the expenses of witnesses and assessors; and the keeping and eventual disposal of the record. Under s. 12(3)–(4) every such rule is laid before Parliament (or the State Legislature) for thirty days.

Section 12(2), Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952: “…such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely — (a) the term of office and the conditions of service of the members of the Commission; (b) the manner in which inquiries may be held under this Act and the procedure to be followed by the Commission in respect of the proceedings before it; (c) the powers of civil court which may be vested in the Commission; (cc) the travelling and other expenses payable to assessors appointed under section 5B, and to persons summoned by the Commission…; (d) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed.”

In Simple Terms: The Rules cover four things — the members’ service conditions, the procedure of the inquiry, any extra civil-court powers, and the expenses of assessors and witnesses. That is the honest content of this topic; it has never been asked, and there is no merit in inventing more.

🧩 WORKED EXAMPLE — the mason who cannot afford to come

Facts. A Commission inquiring into a bridge collapse summons a village mason, 200 km away, who earns a daily wage, to give evidence about the concrete he mixed.

Rule. CoI Act s. 4(a) (power to summon and enforce attendance); s. 12(2)(cc) (rules prescribing travelling expenses of persons summoned); ss. 8B–8C (fair hearing and cross-examination).

Apply. The Act gives the power to summon him, but if attending costs him two days’ wages and a bus fare he cannot afford, the power is worthless. The Rules, under s. 12(2)(cc), prescribe the travelling and other expenses payable to a person summoned — so he is paid, and he comes. And because his evidence touches the contractor’s conduct, ss. 8B and 8C require the contractor to be given notice and a right to cross-examine, the manner of which the Rules prescribe.

Conclusion. The Act confers the power; the Rules make it usable. That is the whole relationship between the two.

flowchart TD
    A["Commission of Inquiry (Central) Rules, 1972<br/>(made under s. 12 of the 1952 Act)"]
    A --> B["s. 12(2)(a) — members' term and<br/>CONDITIONS OF SERVICE"]
    A --> C["s. 12(2)(b) — the MANNER and PROCEDURE:<br/>notice, s. 8B notice, affidavits,<br/>cross-examination (s. 8C), legal counsel"]
    A --> D["s. 12(2)(c) — additional CIVIL-COURT<br/>POWERS vested in the Commission"]
    A --> E["s. 12(2)(cc) — TRAVELLING EXPENSES of<br/>assessors and witnesses — what makes<br/>s. 4(a) work for a poor witness"]
    classDef box fill:#e8f0fe,stroke:#333,color:#111;
    class A,B,C,D,E box;

Case Laws

Ram Krishna Dalmia v. Justice S.R. Tendolkar (1958) — the Commission regulates its own procedure subject to the rules; it is a fact-finding body, and the rules of a court do not apply to it of their own force.
State of Karnataka v. Union of India (1977) — the procedural safeguards for a person whose conduct is inquired into (now ss. 8B and 8C, and the corresponding rules) are essential to the fairness of the inquiry.

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