Office Memorandum
Also called: OM · Topic: State, Government and Governance: Organs, Levels and the Citizen · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
An Office Memorandum (OM) is a formal written order from a government department. It sets out a rule, conveys a policy decision or explains how an existing policy should be applied. It is made by the executive (the government of the day), not passed by Parliament. So it is not an Act. It can fill gaps where the law says nothing, but it cannot go against a law or the Constitution. An OM matters because officials follow it every day when they decide real cases, such as who gets a reservation benefit.
Example
In 1993, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) issued an OM on how to identify the OBC creamy layer, the better-off OBC families who lose the reservation benefit. It judges a family mainly by the parents' post. It leaves parental salary and agricultural income out of the income/wealth test. On 11 March 2026 the Supreme Court upheld this OM. It also held that a 2004 clarification letter could not add a condition the 1993 OM did not contain.
Don't confuse with
- Act of Parliament: passed by the legislature and binding as law. An OM is an executive order and must stay within the law.
- Ordinance: issued by the President under Art. 123 when Parliament is not sitting. It has the same force as an Act. An OM does not.