Casual leave
tapan chakrabarty
(Querist) 29 February 2012
This query is : Resolved
Sir,
I am a field staff.
Two years ago I applied on Thu for 2 days CL for Fri & Mon including 2 day’s Hq leave for Sat & Sun and left Hq on Fri morning.
Authority on Fri issued a letter refusing my leave.and also issued releiving order on existing transfer order and thereby releived me on Mon from his Division.And made an entry in the Service Book that this 4 day’s leave is unauthorised without pay.I joined in new place of posting. I applied repeatedly for regularisation to higher authority but they do not taking any action.
1. Can he do so?
2.can he do this without enquiry?
3. what'll be the judgement if I go to court?
Isaac Gabriel
(Expert) 29 February 2012
Get it regularised at the new station.
V R SHROFF
(Expert) 29 February 2012
Tapan,
If you had applied one of the day as Sick Leave, it would have counted 2 days leave.
Remember that sick leave, if joined with holiday, it is not continuous leave, but Privileged or casual leave joined with holiday is a continual Leave, and it is correctly calculated as 4 days Casual Leave.
Now it is too late for you to change the reason for your leave, so you have to accept it.
Only SICK LEAVE can be a bond to save intervening holidays, either to join SL or PL, otherwise you lose holidays.
Sudhir Kumar, Advocate
(Expert) 29 February 2012
You have not specified who is your employer. From your query you appear to be a Govt servant.
You questions are answered as under :-
1. Can he do so?
Ans : Yes. Your leave stood cancelled before you could proceed. Even if you have proceeded you were not entitled to complete the same.
2.can he do this without enquiry?
Ans : It appears that you have been merely marked a dies-non. Yes it can be done without Inquiry. You have been treated leniently to the best possible extent. You are loosing pay and pension for four days.
The department could have given you a chargesheet under Rule 16 and still imposed a penalty as under, without inquiry:-
(i) censure;
(ii) withholding of his promotion;
(iii) recovery from his pay of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused by him to the Government by negligence or breach of orders;
(iii a) reduction to a lower stage in the time-scale of pay by one stage for a period not exceeding three years, without cumulative effect and not adversely affecting his pension.
(iv) withholding of increments of pay;
In case you are central Govt employee and you would have demanded inquiry the department can impose the following punishments :-
(v) save as provided for in clause (iii) (a), reduction to a lower stage in the time-scale of pay for a specified period, with further directions as to whether or not the Government servant will earn increments of pay during the period of such reduction and whether on the expiry of such period, the reduction will or will not have the effect of postponing the future increments of his pay
(vi) reduction to lower time-scale of pay, grade, post or Service for a period to be specified in the order of penalty, which shall be a bar to the promotion of the Government servant during such specified period to the time-scale of pay, grade, post or Service from which he was reduced, with direction as to whether or not, on promotion on the expiry of the said specified period -
(a) the period of reduction to time-scale of pay, grade, post or service shall operate to postpone future increments of his pay, and if so, to what extent; and
(b) the Government servant shall regain his original seniority in the higher time scale of pay , grade, post or service;
(vii) compulsory retirement;
(viii) removal from service which shall not be a disqualification for future employment under the Government;
(ix) dismissal from service which shall ordinarily be a disqualification for future employment under the Government.
(refer Rule 11 of CCS(CC&A) Rules or corresponding rule if employed in State Govt or PSU).
In addition if Inquiry is held the punishments at Sl No (iii) and (iv) above can be more than three years and with cumulative effect. If you are keen on Inquiry you can still ask you Vigilance Department to Give you a chargesheet.
3. what'll be the judgment if I go to court?
Ans : It is not fair for you to expect members of this forum to decide what court will decide. Such question on you part is derogatory to Court and experts.
Firstly you decide whether mere loss of four days salary and pension is really worth the expenditure going to Court particularly when no rule in your support. Perhaps you have not assessed expenditure.
Secondly your grievance is merely non-holding of Inquiry and if you succedd in a decision from court to hold Inquiry then price of Inquiry (which generally people avoid) is stated above.
Choice is yours.
Sudhir Kumar, Advocate
(Expert) 29 February 2012
PArtially agreeing with Mr Shroff, I will add that holdays were saved only if the CL weas sanctioned. It is not four days casual leave but it is four days no leave for him. Loss of pay and pension (and nothing else) is there for four days.
Kirti Kar Tripathi
(Expert) 29 February 2012
It appears that entire exercise was to avoid the transfer. The employer is well-within its right to refuse casual leave.
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 29 February 2012
I have nothing to add in the thoughtful reply provided by Sudhir.
Guest
(Expert) 29 February 2012
Dear Tapan,
You seem to have not given full facts. Probably you were transferred out of station and as a forest ranger you happens to be a Government servant. But you have not mentioned about joining time that would have been admissible to you on your transfer? If you were entitled to joining time where was the need for availing casual leave separately?
Further, proceeding on any type of leave without proper authority is treated as an unauthorised absent.
Now, about your querries:
1) No comments in view of lack of information, as mentioned above.
2) Unauthorised absence can be recorded in service book on the basis of fact that you proceeded on leave without getting leave duly sanctioned by the competent authority. Question of enquiry arises only when you would have been charge sheeted. You have not mentioned whether any charge sheet was served to you or not.
3) Judgment in the court of law is likely to go against you on the background of two solid reasons, (i) leave not sanctioned, and (ii) you were formally relieved on transfer.
prabhakar singh
(Expert) 29 February 2012
You do not have a case for a court hence better understand your self then what would be the judgement????
Sudhir Kumar, Advocate
(Expert) 29 February 2012
He has stated that " made an entry in the Service Book that this 4 day’s leave is unauthorised without pay". This itself implies that there was no chargesheet becuase chargesheet would have been followed by one of the aforesaid penalties in addition to this entry.
Rightly assesses by Mr Prabhakar Singh he has no case. He stands to loose further by raking up the issue.
tapan chakrabarty
(Querist) 29 February 2012
Sirs,
I'm a Govt of W.B. employee.
no chargesheet served.
I submitted prayer for CL on 18.3.10 & left HQ. on 19.3.10.
He issued a letter on 19.3.10 refusing CL.
He issued my releiving order on 19.3.10 as I'll be releived on 22.3.10.
All the letters I received after 22.3.10 when I have already been releived.
23.3.10 onward everything have been regularised by higher authorities.
For this 4 days my higher authorities wrote many letters to him to regularise but he is not acting.
before this incidence I informed Vigilance Commission openly against him for financial irregularities.chargesheet already prepared by the Comission.
Then what should one Govt. Servant do if he has a "very urgent need for 4 day'CL/3 days rest adviced by Govt. Hospital OPD/close relative died or injured in accident" and leave sanctioning authority vindictively not allowing CL.And where the Authority has no exigency.
Is this entry of 4 days unauthorise leave a punishment?
If it is a Punishment will the recent Judgements of Hon'ble Apex Court that no punishment can be awarded arbitrarily without formal departmental proceedings work?
Kirti Kar Tripathi
(Expert) 01 March 2012
No, refusal to grant casual leave and treating the said leave as unauthorized leave is not punishment. The only consequence of this the employee is not entitled far salary for this period. Thus no show cause is required. It is prerogative of the of the employer whether it sanction the casual leave or not. If is not sanctioned and employee still absented himself from duty, the legal consequence of it to treat him on leave without wages.
Guest
(Expert) 01 March 2012
Dear Tapan,
Rest advised by the hospital on the prescription slip does not fulfill the purpose of a formal medical certificte by the AMA. Moreover leave cannot be claimed as a matter of right and proceeding on leave without sanction by the competent authority is treated as unauthorised absence, which is termed as a misconduct. You are lucky that you have not been issued with any charge sheet on account of misconduct on your part and not been awarded any punishment.
However, had you attached prescribed medical certificate duly granted by the AMA in support of your leave application, the concerned authority would not have been able to refuse you leave.
Although treatment of unauthorised absence without issue of any charge sheet is not a statutory punishment, the only remedy now rests with you is to make an appeal to the appellate authority to regularise the absence as casual leave or leave due on the basis of the recommendation of the hospital on the prescription slip.
K.S.Srinivas
(Expert) 05 March 2012
I agree with the expert Kirti Kar Tripathi. In respect of government employees, sanctioning / refusal of leave is the prerogative of the sanctioning authority.
