In short. When the department is not filing its reply in your OA, the tribunal does not decide in your favour on that ground alone. It usually gives one or two extensions, then a 'last opportunity', often with costs, and finally closes the right to file reply so the case can be heard on your papers and the official record. The whole cycle commonly takes two to six months. What you can do now: keep the order sheets, check service, be ready to argue, and ask for closure or costs at the right listing.
Is this your situation?
- Your OA was admitted or notice was issued, and months later there is still no counter reply from the department.
- The government counsel keeps saying 'instructions awaited' or 'parawise comments not received' at every listing.
- The order sheet already says 'last opportunity' and you want to know what happens if the department misses it again.
- Costs were imposed for the delay and you are unsure who pays them and whether you receive the money.
- You are retired, suspended or waiting on a selection, and every month of delay costs you money or a post.
- The reply finally arrived a day before the hearing and runs to 200 pages you have not read.
In short
- One month is the rule. Rule 12(1) of the CAT (Procedure) Rules, 1987 gives each respondent one month from service of notice to file a reply, and the tribunal can accept it later under Rule 12(5).
- Delay alone does not win the case. Even with no reply, the bench still checks whether your claim is sound in law and fact.
- 'Last opportunity' is a warning, not a guillotine. Benches sometimes allow one more chance with costs, but each warning on the order sheet strengthens your request for closure.
- Costs for delay are in the bench's discretion. Rule 19 lets the tribunal order costs for an adjournment, sometimes payable to you and sometimes recoverable from the officer who caused the delay.
- Your job meanwhile is to be ready. Keep service proof, order sheets and a short note of arguments, so you can press for a hearing the day the department defaults again.
How much time does the department get to file a counter reply?
The starting point is short. Rule 12(1) of the CAT (Procedure) Rules, 1987 says a respondent who wants to contest the application must file its reply, with the documents it relies on, within one month of being served with notice. The printed notice that goes to the department also mentions 30 days. Rule 12(2) requires the reply to deal with each fact in your OA: admit it, deny it, or explain it.
In practice almost no department files within that month. On the first returnable date the government counsel usually asks for four to eight weeks, and most benches grant it without fuss. Rule 12(5) expressly allows the tribunal to accept a reply after the prescribed period, so a late reply is not illegal in itself. The question is how long the bench will tolerate it.
A second extension is also common, especially where the department has to collect records from a field office in another state. The tone changes at the third or fourth listing. That is where you start seeing the words 'last opportunity' on the order sheet, and where costs begin to be mentioned.
Some benches let the Registrar handle these early stages in a separate court for completing pleadings, so your file may move back and forth there before it reaches a Division Bench. That is normal. What matters is that every grant of time is recorded in a written order you can later show.
Why government replies run late, and why it is not always bad faith
A reply in a central government case goes through several hands. The panel counsel for the Union of India, often called the Central Government Standing Counsel, writes to the department for parawise comments. The department sends the request down to the office that holds your file, which may be a divisional office, a regional headquarters or a unit in a different city. The draft then travels back up for vetting and approval by an officer of the right rank, and only then is it sworn and filed.
Any break in that chain stalls the reply. The dealing clerk is transferred, the file is with the vigilance wing, the counsel's engagement has expired and a new one is being appointed, or two departments named as respondents each assume the other will reply. In a recruitment case the records may sit with the SSC or RRB rather than the ministry. In a pension case, with the pay and accounts office.
Knowing this helps you in two ways. It explains why the first extension is not worth a fight. And it tells you what to ask for when the delay becomes unreasonable: a direction to a named officer, by designation, to ensure that the reply is filed, rather than another general adjournment.
There are also cases where the delay is tactical. A department that knows its order will not survive scrutiny sometimes prefers to delay, especially where the employee is near retirement or the post is about to be filled. Benches recognise this pattern, and a well kept order sheet is how you show it. Our page on tribunal cases we handle as CAT lawyers explains where the reply stage sits in the life of an OA.
What usually happens at each listing when no reply is on record
| Listing | Common approach of the bench | What you can reasonably ask for |
|---|---|---|
| First date after notice is served | Grants time, often four to eight weeks, on the counsel's request | A specific next date and a direction to serve the reply on you in advance |
| Second date, still no reply | Grants further time, sometimes noting that no more time will be given | A recorded note that the respondents have already had two chances |
| Third date | Marks a 'last opportunity', at times with costs payable before the reply is taken on record | Costs, and a direction that the matter will proceed on the next date with or without reply |
| Fourth date or default on the last opportunity | Closes the right to file reply, or accepts a late reply only on payment of costs | Closure of the right to reply and listing for final hearing |
| Officer not responding at all | May direct a named officer to file an affidavit explaining the delay or to appear | Production of the original records, or personal appearance of the responsible officer |
| Respondents absent altogether | May hear the case ex parte under Rule 16 | Hearing on merits that day, since your OA and annexures are already on record |
What 'last opportunity' really means on an order sheet
The words 'last opportunity' or 'last and final opportunity' tell the department that the bench's patience is running out. They do not automatically shut the door. If the counsel comes back with a good reason, such as a record genuinely lost in a flood, or a reply already sworn and being filed that week, the bench may still allow it, usually with costs.
What the phrase does is shift the burden. Before it, the department only needs to ask for time. After it, the department must explain why the earlier warning was not respected. A bench is far more willing to close the right to reply, or to load heavy costs, once its own last opportunity order has been ignored.
For you, the practical value is in the record. When the case is finally argued, an order sheet showing five adjournments for reply, with a last opportunity among them, supports a request for costs, for early disposal, and sometimes for interest on delayed dues. It also answers any suggestion that you were the one delaying the case.
Do not read the words as a promise of a date for decision. Even after closure, a bench with a crowded board may list your OA for final hearing some months later.
Costs for delay: who pays, how much, and where the money goes
Rule 19 of the CAT (Procedure) Rules lets the tribunal adjourn a hearing for sufficient cause and make 'such order as it thinks fit' about the costs caused by that adjournment. When the department delays its reply, costs are the usual pressure the bench applies. There is no fixed tariff. Orders range from token amounts of a few hundred rupees to several thousand, and occasionally more where the delay is long and plainly unexplained.
The order will say who receives the money. Sometimes the costs are payable to the applicant, sometimes to a legal aid body, a bar association library or a welfare fund. A few benches direct that the amount be recovered from the officer responsible for the delay rather than from public funds. That last kind of order tends to produce a reply within days.
Often the costs are a condition: the reply will be taken on record only on payment of costs. If the department files its reply without paying, point it out at the next listing. A reply accepted on a condition that was never met is open to objection, and the bench may refuse to look at it until the costs are paid.
Costs for delay are separate from the costs awarded at the end of the case, when the bench decides whether the department must pay something towards your litigation because its stand was unreasonable. That final stage is covered in our guide on costs in tribunal cases and when the department pays. Do not expect costs on either occasion to cover your full expense; they rarely do.
When the right to file reply is closed
Closure means the bench records that the respondents have forfeited their chance to file a written reply, and lists the case for hearing on the pleadings already on file. The CAT Rules of Practice, 1993 say the same thing in their own way: where no reply is filed within the time granted, the case is treated as ready and placed in the ready list for hearing, and a reply filed late without the bench's leave is kept out of the record.
Closure is not the end of the department's participation. Its counsel can still appear at the final hearing and argue points of law, for example that your OA is barred by limitation, or that the bench lacks jurisdiction, or that the rule you rely on does not apply to your post. What the department generally cannot do is bring in new facts or documents through oral argument, because those should have come in a reply.
Departments often respond to closure by filing a miscellaneous application to recall the closure order and take the reply on record, with an affidavit explaining the delay. Benches frequently allow this on heavy costs, because they prefer to decide on a full record and because the official file may contain material relevant to the dispute. If that happens, it is usually wiser to accept the costs and move on than to spend months fighting the recall.
If your OA concerns a factual dispute, such as whether a document was served on you or whether a vacancy existed, the absence of a reply leaves your sworn version unrebutted. That carries real weight. In a pure question of law, it matters less, because the bench will decide the legal point on its own reading.
Department not filing reply: does that mean you have won?
No, and this surprises many applicants. A department not filing its reply loses the chance to put its version on record, but nothing more. Section 22 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 frees the tribunal from the strict rules of the Code of Civil Procedure, but it still has to decide according to law and natural justice. A bench cannot direct the department to grant a pay scale, a promotion or a pension that the rules do not allow, simply because nobody turned up to oppose it.
Here is how it plays out. Suppose you claim MACP from a date when you had an adverse APAR below benchmark. Even without a reply, the bench will look at your own annexures. If they show the grading, the claim may fail on your own papers. On the other hand, if you show that the adverse APAR was never communicated to you, the absence of any reply denying that fact will help you.
Where the respondents do not appear at all on the date of hearing, Rule 16 allows the tribunal to hear and decide the case in their absence. An ex parte order of this kind can be set aside if the respondents apply within 30 days and show sufficient cause. So even an ex parte win may come back for rehearing, though it gives you a strong position.
The honest summary is that a missing reply removes an obstacle; it does not replace the merits of your claim. Keep your arguments ready as if the reply had been filed.
What you can do while the department delays its reply
These steps are in the order they usually matter. Your counsel will adjust them to your bench and the urgency of your claim.
Confirm the notice was actually served
Check the office report or the service status on the case file. If the department claims it never received notice, nothing else moves. Ask for dasti service or service through the standing counsel so that the excuse cannot be repeated.
Collect every order sheet
Download or obtain copies of each daily order. A run of orders granting time is the evidence you will rely on when you ask for costs or closure, and it is easy to lose track after five or six dates.
Ask for a fixed date and advance service
When time is granted, ask the bench to direct that the reply be filed and served on you at least a week before the next date. That prevents the reply arriving at the last minute and becoming a ground for another adjournment.
Press for costs at the third default
Once two extensions have passed, request that further time be conditional on costs and that the order record it as the last opportunity. Benches are receptive at this stage.
Seek closure and a hearing date
If the last opportunity is missed, ask for the right to file reply to be closed and for the case to be listed for final hearing. Have a two-page note of arguments ready in case the bench is willing to hear you that day.
Ask for records or an officer's affidavit if needed
Where your case turns on a file only the department holds, such as DPC minutes or a vigilance clearance, ask for a direction to produce the original record. A direction to a named officer by designation often achieves more than any amount of costs.
Use an MA if your situation is urgent
If you are suspended, retired without pension, or about to lose a selection, move a miscellaneous application for early hearing or interim relief instead of waiting for the reply cycle to finish.
Advocate B.K. Singh's two tips on a delayed reply
The first tip from Advocate B.K. Singh is about the first two listings. Do not oppose every request for time with heat. A bench that sees you being reasonable early on will listen to you later when you say enough is enough. What he asks for instead is precision: a specific date, a direction for advance service, and if possible a line naming the officer responsible. Those small additions cost nothing at the first listing and pay off at the fourth.
The second tip is about the day the reply does arrive. Advocate B.K. Singh reads a late reply first for anything new: documents the department never gave you, a fresh ground for the order, or a claim that you had been informed of something you never received. A delayed reply sometimes tries to repair a weak order after the event. Those points need a rejoinder, so ask for time for one immediately, and check whether any costs ordered as a condition were actually paid before the reply was taken on record.
Who is hurt most by a delayed counter reply
A counter reply delay is an irritation for some applicants and a serious loss for others. For a serving Group B officer challenging a transfer that has already been implemented, a few extra months may change little. For others, delay is the injury itself, and the bench should hear that plainly.
A retiree whose pension, gratuity or leave encashment is withheld loses money every month, and may lose years of interest if the case drags. A suspended employee lives on subsistence allowance. A candidate whose selection is under challenge may find the posts filled, or the panel lapsed, before the reply is even on record. A family pension claimant, often an elderly widow, may simply not have the time.
If you are in one of these situations, say so in an MA for early hearing, and attach proof such as your age, the date of retirement, or the date on which the selection panel expires. Where something must be protected immediately, an application for interim relief under Section 24 is the right tool; our page on interim stay orders under Section 24 explains what the bench looks for.
Group C and Group D staff, and contractual or casual workers seeking regularisation, often cannot afford repeated travel to the bench for listings that achieve nothing. Ask your counsel whether you need to attend at all on dates fixed only for the reply. Usually you do not.
Your bench and its practice on replies
Your OA is filed at the bench within whose area you are posted, or where the cause of action arose, under Rule 6 of the CAT (Procedure) Rules. Retirees can generally file where they live after retirement. The Principal Bench at New Delhi, and benches such as Chandigarh, Allahabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Cuttack, Guwahati, Jabalpur, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Ernakulam and Patna, each run their boards a little differently.
Some benches route pleadings through a Registrar's court, where time for reply is given administratively before the matter goes before Members. Others keep everything before the Division Bench from the start. Where a bench has a heavy board, the gap between listings can itself be two or three months, so even a strict last opportunity may not translate into a quick hearing.
CAT issued a circular on 21 October 2026 on uniform filing practices across benches, which, as reported, covers e-filing, searchable PDFs and time limits for scrutiny. Check with your bench registry how it is being applied there, as implementation may differ in the first months.
If you live far from your bench, or your case is at a circuit sitting, much of this reply stage can be handled by counsel without you. Our guide on joining a virtual hearing before a CAT bench may help where you do need to be present.
A made-up example: a postal assistant in Bhubaneswar and a reply that took eight months
Here's a made-up example. Suchitra, a postal assistant in a Bhubaneswar head post office, filed an OA before the Cuttack Bench challenging a recovery of Rs 1.8 lakh ordered from her pay for an alleged excess fixation made nine years earlier. Notice was issued in February. The department asked for six weeks, then another six, citing records held at the divisional office in Berhampur.
At the third listing, her counsel showed the bench the earlier two orders and asked that further time be conditional on costs. The bench granted a last opportunity with costs of Rs 3,000 payable to Suchitra, and directed that the reply be served a week before the next date. The department missed it. On the fourth listing, the right to file reply was closed.
Two weeks later the department moved an MA to recall the closure, with the reply annexed and an affidavit from the Senior Superintendent explaining the delay. The bench allowed it on further costs, now Rs 7,500, and listed the case for final hearing three months later. Suchitra's counsel filed a short rejoinder pointing out that the reply admitted no undertaking had ever been taken from her at the time of fixation.
The OA was heard and decided on merits, applying the principles of Rafiq Masih. The point for readers is not the outcome. Costs and closure turned an open-ended delay into a fixed hearing date, and the late reply, once filed, contained an admission that helped her.
Papers to keep ready while you wait for the reply
- Your complete OA paper book with all annexures, exactly as filed
- The order issuing notice and the office report showing date and mode of service on each respondent
- Copies of every daily order since notice, in date order
- Speed post tracking or acknowledgment cards if service was by post, or the dasti service receipt
- A one-page list of dates updated with each listing
- Proof of urgency: retirement date, pension withheld letter, suspension order, panel validity or date of birth
- Any RTI replies or documents received after filing, with dates of receipt
- Receipts or orders showing costs imposed, and whether they were paid
If the reply arrives the night before the hearing
Ask for time. No bench expects you to answer a reply served the previous evening, and the CAT Rules of Practice provide for a rejoinder with leave of the bench or the Registrar within the time granted. Two to four weeks is commonly allowed for a rejoinder.
A rejoinder is not a second OA. It should answer only the new facts and documents in the reply, point out admissions, and correct anything wrong. Repeating your OA in different words wastes the bench's time and yours. If the reply raises a ground that really needs a new prayer, that is a matter for amendment, which our guide on amending your OA after a new order explains.
If new documents have come into your hands since filing, perhaps in answer to an RTI request, they can be placed on record along with the rejoinder or through an additional affidavit. Our guide on bringing new documents on record by additional affidavit covers how that is done.
Time and cost at a glance during the reply stage
| Stage | Typical time range | Money involved, in general terms |
|---|---|---|
| Filing the OA | Scrutiny usually within days to two weeks | A small fixed tribunal fee (Rs 50 under Rule 7; check the current amount and mode with the registry) |
| Notice and service on respondents | Two to six weeks | Process charges or postage where the bench requires them |
| Reply period under Rule 12 | One month on paper; four to eight weeks in practice for the first grant | None for you |
| Further extensions and last opportunity | Two to five months in total, depending on the bench's board | Costs for delay, if ordered, payable by the department |
| Closure of right to reply or recall of closure | One to two listings | Further costs if the department seeks recall |
| Rejoinder, if a reply is filed | Two to four weeks | Copying, typing and notarisation charges |
| Final hearing after pleadings are complete | A few months to over a year, varying widely by bench | Your counsel's fee for this stage, which we settle with you in writing at the first meeting |
What to do this week
Pull together the order sheets and check how many times time has been given for the reply. If it is two or more, tell your counsel that you want costs or a last opportunity sought at the next date. If you are handling the case yourself, our page on arguing your own OA with a lawyer's briefing explains what support is available.
If something in your life depends on speed, write down the exact date by which harm will occur, and the document that proves it. That date is the core of an early hearing application. If you have not yet confirmed that notice was served, find out now; months are often lost on that alone. For an overview of how tribunal cases move from start to end, see our Central Administrative Tribunal lawyer page.
If your case has stalled because the department is not filing its reply, contact Advocate B.K. Singh to have your order sheets and papers read, or for updates on the law.
Frequently asked questions
Can the CAT decide my OA if the government never files a reply?
Yes. Once the right to file reply is closed, the bench can hear the case on your OA, its annexures and any records produced. It will still test your claim against the rules, so a weak claim can fail even without opposition.
How many times will the tribunal give the department time to reply?
There is no fixed number in the rules. Two extensions are common, a third is usually marked as a last opportunity, and closure or heavy costs typically follow if that is missed.
Do I get the costs imposed on the department for late reply?
Only if the order says the costs are payable to you. Some orders send the money to a legal aid fund or bar library instead, and a few direct recovery from the officer at fault.
My counsel says the reply was filed but I never got a copy. What now?
Rule 12(4) requires the respondent to serve a copy on you or your counsel and file proof of service. Ask your counsel to check the registry file and, if needed, request the bench to direct service before anything else proceeds.
Can the department file its reply after the right was closed?
It can apply for recall of the closure order with an explanation, and benches often allow this on costs. You may oppose it, but fighting a recall for months is seldom worth it.
Should I attend every date when the matter is only listed for reply?
Usually not, if you have counsel. Your presence matters more on dates fixed for hearing or when the bench has asked for you personally.
Is there anything I can do if I am retired and my pension is held during the delay?
Yes. File an application for early hearing with proof of retirement and the withheld dues, and consider interim relief. Benches give priority to pensioners and family pensioners where the record shows hardship.
Does the same apply in a High Court writ against a CAT order?
High Courts have their own rules on counter affidavits, but the pattern of extensions, last opportunity and costs is broadly similar. The details differ by High Court, so check the practice there.
Advocate B.K. Singh
Founder of B.K. Singh & Associates. MCA, LL.B., LL.M. More than twenty years in practice before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court and other High Courts, the Central Administrative Tribunal and other tribunals. This guide was written and reviewed by his team.
This guide explains the law in general terms and is not legal advice. For advice on your own papers, contact the team.
Related guides
ProcedureOA Paper Book: Index, Synopsis, List of Dates and Annexures in Order
How to put together an OA paper book for the Central Administrative Tribunal: index, synopsis, list of dates, Form I and annexures from A-1 onwards.
ProcedureWriting a List of Dates for a Service Case: A Worked Example in Words
A list of dates for a service case built from a real-looking file: which events go in, how each entry is worded, and how the dates show limitation.
ProcedureFraming the Relief Clause in an OA: Asking for Exactly What You Need
How to draft the relief clause in an OA before CAT: quashing the right orders, listing consequential benefits, asking for interest and avoiding vague...
ProcedureWho to Make a Respondent: Union of India, Department Heads and Private Parties
Choosing respondents in an OA before CAT: Union of India through the Secretary, the officers who passed the order, and private parties who must be...
ProcedurePromotion or Seniority Case: Why Affected Juniors Must Be Made Parties
Why a promotion or seniority OA must name the juniors it would push down, how many to implead, and how representative capacity and late impleadment...
ProcedureVakalatnama, Verification and Affidavit in a Tribunal Filing
What a vakalatnama for tribunal cases must contain, how the verification clause and affidavits in an OA are signed, attested and filed, and what goes...