General Conditions of Leave

This document outlines the general conditions governing leave for government servants as per the specified rules.

Leave Conditions

1. Authority to Grant Leave: The Government may designate authorities to grant leave, except for leave without allowances exceeding four months at a time. [Rule 64]

2. Sanctioning Leave Without Allowances (LWA):

   • The Government holds the authority to sanction LWA exceeding 180 days at a time. [GO(P) No.102/2017/Fin Dated 07/08/2017]

   • Heads of Departments can sanction LWA up to 180 days.

   • Appointing authorities can sanction LWA up to 120 days.

3. Leave Not a Right: Leave cannot be claimed as a matter of right. The authority empowered to grant leave may refuse or revoke it based on public service exigencies. [Rule 65]

4. Non-Alteration of Leave Type: The sanctioning authority cannot alter the type of leave applied for by an officer. [Note to Rule 65]

5. Holidays with Leave:

   • Holidays may be prefixed or suffixed to leave, allowing officers to leave their station the day before or return the day after such holidays. [Rule 66]

   • Restricted holidays, with competent authority permission, are treated as holidays. [Ruling to Rule 66]

6. Effect of Holidays on Leave:

   • If holidays are prefixed to leave, leave and pay rearrangements take effect from the first day after the holidays. [Rule 68 (a)]

   • If holidays are suffixed to leave, leave ends on the day it would have without holidays, with pay rearrangements effective from that day. [Rule 68 (b)]

7. Medical Certificate and Holidays:

   • For officers certified medically unfit, holidays preceding the certificate date are prefixed to leave, and holidays on or after the certificate date are part of the leave. [Rule 68, Note 2 (i)]

   • For officers certified fit, holidays on or after the fitness certificate date are suffixed to leave, and holidays before are part of the leave. [Rule 68, Note 2 (ii)]

8. Employment During Leave: Officers on leave may not take up service or employment without prior sanction from the authority empowered to fill their post. [Rule 69]

9. Recall to Duty:

   • Orders recalling an officer before leave expiry must specify if the return is optional or compulsory.

   • If compulsory, the officer is treated as on duty from the start of travel, entitled to Travelling Allowance and leave salary until joining the post. [Rule 70]

10. Medical Fitness for Return: Officers on medical leave must produce a fitness certificate from a Medical Officer (not below Assistant Surgeon) or the Director of Indigenous Medicine before resuming duty. [Rule 71]

11. Early Return from Leave: Officers cannot return to duty before leave expiry unless permitted by the granting authority. [Rule 72(1)]

12. Combination of Leave Types:

    • Any leave type may be combined or continued with another, except leave under Appendices XII A, XII B, and XII C.

    • Leave under Appendices XII A and XII C may be combined with each other. [Rule 73]

13. Vacation and Leave:

    • Vacation may be combined with any leave, provided the total duration of vacation and earned leave does not exceed 180 days.

    • Earned leave and commuted leave combined are limited to 240 days. [Rule 74]

14. Special Casual Leave: Special casual leave may be combined with vacation but not with ordinary casual leave. [Rule 74, GD No.2]

15. Leave Beyond Retirement: No leave shall be granted beyond an officer’s compulsory retirement date. [Rule 75]

16. Retrospective Commutation of Leave:

    • Leave may be commuted into another admissible type within one year from sanction.

    • Earned leave cannot be commuted into a different kind. [Rule 76]

17. Surrender of Earned Leave: Once sanctioned, surrendered earned leave cannot be cancelled or recredited. [GO(P) No.128/2016/Fin Dated 01/09/2016]

18. LWA for Employment: The maximum LWA period for employment abroad or within the country, or to join a spouse, is five years, effective from 05/11/2020. [GO(P) No.87/2022/Fin Dated 03/08/2022]