CCS (Leave) Rules 1972

1. Date of effect: 1 June 1972.

2. Applicable to government servants appointed to the civil services and posts in connection with the affairs of the union. However not applicable to:

   1. Railway;
   2. Part-time employment;
   3. A person paid from contingencies;
   4. Employed in industrial establishments;
   5. Member of All India Services;
   6. Persons governed by Fundamental Rules of Civil Service Regulations;
   7. Employees under deputation from a Stage Govt. or any other source for a limited duration; and
   8. Transfer from services or posts governed by other leave, these rules do not apply, unless it be otherwise provided in these rules.

Government Servants on Temporary Transfer or on Foreign Service

1. Government servants to whom these rules apply shall continue to be governed by these rules while on foreign service within India.
2. For government servants on foreign service outside India (including service with UN agencies within or outside India) or on temporary transfer to the Armed Forces of the Union, these rules shall apply only to the extent provided in the terms and conditions of foreign service or temporary transfer, as the case may be.

Note

1. Foreign Service means service in which a government servant receives his pay with the sanction of the government from any source other than the consolidated fund of India or the consolidated fund of a State or the consolidated fund of a Union Territory.
2. If a government servant is appointed in an industrial establishment wherein the Factories Act governs his leave terms, the authority competent to grant leave shall, suo motu, issue an order granting cash equivalent of leave salary in respect of earned leave and half pay leave at his credit subject to a maximum of 300 days.

Right of Leave

Leave cannot be claimed as of right, except when a Medical Authority has reported that there is no reasonable prospect that the government servant will even be fit to return to duty, leave shall not necessarily be refused to such government servant.

Regulations to Claim of Leave

The rules are in force when the leave is applied for and granted.

Commutation of One Kind of Leave into Another

1. Should be applied within a period of 30 days of the concerned government servant joining his duty on the expiry of the relevant spell of leave availed of by him.
2. Calculation of leave salary shall be on the basis of leave finally granted, and any excess amount paid shall be recovered, or any arrears due shall be paid to him.
3. Extraordinary leave granted on medical grounds shall be commuted retrospectively into Leave Not Due subject to the provisions in Rule 31.

Combination of Different Kinds of Leave

Except for casual leave, all other leave can be granted in combination with or in continuation of any other leave.

Note

Casual leave is not a recognised leave under CCS (Leave) rules.

Maximum Amount of Continuous Leave

1. Maximum period of continuous leave is five years.
2. Period exceeding five years other than on foreign service, implies that such government servant has resigned.

Note

1. Leave not to be granted to a government servant whom a competent punishing authority has decided to dismiss, remove or compulsorily retire from government service.
2. Leave ordinarily begins on the day on which the transfer of charge is effected and ends on the day preceding that on which the charge is resumed, except when a government servant leave begins or immediately following the day on which his leave expires, is a holiday or one of series of holidays, the government servant shall be deemed to have been permitted to leave his station at the close of the day before, or return to it on the day following such holiday or series of holidays.

Absence After Expiry of Leave

1. A government servant who remains absent after the end of leave is entitled to no leave salary for the period of such absence, and that period shall be debited against his leave account as though it were half pay leave, to the extent such leave is due.
2. The period in excess of such leave is due to being treated as extraordinary leave.
3. Wilful absence from duty after the expiry of leave renders a government servant liable to disciplinary action.

Note

Leave will not be granted beyond retirement/ date of resignation/final cessation of duties

Types of Leave

Earned Leave (EL)

1. EL is credited in advance at a uniform rate of 15 days on the 1st of January and 1st of July every year.
2. The leave carried forward plus the credit for the half-year will be limited to 300 days.
3. Earned leave can be accumulated for up to 300 days.
4. Earned leave can be taken up to 180 days at a time. Exceeding 180 days but not exceeding 300 days may be granted to Group A and Group B officers continuously, if the entire leave or at least the amount of leave in excess of 180 days is spent outside India.
5. Earned leave may be taken at a time up to 300 days in the case of leave preparatory to retirement.
6. While calculating credit, a fraction of a day should be rounded off to the nearest day, i.e. 7(½) days to be rounded as 8 days.
7. Calculation of EL at different events,

Event	Calculation
During the dies-non	The credit of EL will be reduced by (1/10) of EOL availed and/or period of dies non during the previous half-year, subject to a maximum of 15 days.
EL at credit is 300 on 31st December	The leave carried forward plus the credit for the half-year will be limited to 300 days.
Appointed in the middle of a half year	Calculated at the rate 2(½) days for each completed calendar month of service which he is likely to render in the calendar half-year in which he is appointed.
Retires/ resigns in the middle of a calendar year	Calculated at the rate of 2(½) days per completed calendar month in that half-year up to the date of retirement/resignation.
Removed/ dismissed or dies in the middle of a calendar year	Calculated at the rate of 2(½) days per completed calendar month in that half-year up to the end of the calendar month in which he is removed/ dismissed/ dies in service.

Note

1. Willful absence from duty not covered by grant of leave will be treated as dies non for all purposes viz., increment, leave and pension.
2. Government servants serving in a Vacation Department have been allowed Earned Leave in place of Half Pay Leave by amending Rule 28 and Rule 29.

Half Pay Leave (HPL)

1. Credited in advance at the rate of 10 days on the 1st of January and 1st of July every year
2. Half pay leave can be taken either with or without-medical certificate.
3. The grant of half pay leave to a temporary official is subject to the sanctioning authority satisfying himself he will return to duty after its expiry. This condition is not applicable where such an official is declared completely and permanently incapacitated for further service.
4. Half-pay leave can be converted into full-pay leave by taking it as ‘Commuted leave’ if the leave applied for is on a medical certificate.
5. A maximum of 120 days may be taken without a medical certificate in continuation of maternity leave.
6. A maximum of 180 days for an approved course of study certified to be in the public interest.
7. Calculation of HPL at different events,

Event	Calculation
During the dies-non	The credit of EL will be reduced by (1/18) of EOL availed and/or period of dies non during the previous half-year, subject to a maximum of 10 days.
Appointed in the middle of a half year	Calculated at the rate of 5/3 days for each completed calendar month of service he is likely to render in the half year in which he is appointed.
Retires/ resigns in the middle of a calendar year	Calculated at the rate of 5/3 days for each completed calendar month in that half year up to the date of retirement/resignation.
Removed/ dismissed or dies in the middle of a calendar year	Calculated at the rate of 5/3 days per completed calendar month up to the end of the calendar month preceding the calendar month in which he is removed/ dismissed/ dies.

Commuted Leave

1. Not exceeding half the amount of HPL due can be taken on medical certificate
2. Cannot be granted as leave preparatory to retirement.
3. Maximum of 90 days for an approved course of study and 60 days can be granted to a female employee in continuation of maternity leave
4. Commuted leave may be granted at the request of the employee even when earned leave is due to him.
5. Calculation of commuted leave at different events,

Event	Calculation
While availing commuted leave	Twice the number of days availed should be debited in the half pay leave account.
An employee granted commuted leave quits service voluntarily without returning to duty	The commuted leave shall be treated as HPL and the excess leave salary recovered.
If the retirement is by reason of ill-health	If ill-health incapacitates him for further service or in the event of death, recovery should not be made.

Leave Not Due (LND)

1. Leave not due will be debited against and limited to the HPL that an employee may earn subsequently.

2. During the entire service

   1. 360 days with a medical certificate.
   2. 180 days without a medical certificate.
   3. Maximum period that may be granted at a time is 90 days

3. For temporary employees, granted only if he is suffering from:

   1. tuberculosis (T.B.);
   2. leprosy;
   3. cancer; or
   4. mental illness and the request for such leave is supported by a medical certificate. Further, he should have put in a minimum of one year service and the post from which he proceeds on leave should be likely to last till his return to duty.

4. When an employee granted leave not due resigns/ retires voluntarily from service, the leave not due should be cancelled. The resignation or retirement will take effect from the date on which such leave had commenced and the leave salary should be recovered.

5. Where an employee who, having availed himself of leave not due, returns to duty but resigns or retires from service before he has earned such leave, he shall be liable to refund the leave salary to the extent the leave has not been earned subsequently.

6. Leave salary will not be recovered if the retirement is by reason of ill-health incapacitating the government servant for further service or in the event of his death or if he is retired prematurely.

Extraordinary Leave (EOL)

1. Extraordinary leave may be granted to an employee in special circumstances:

   1. when no other leave is admissible;
   2. when other leave is admissible, but the employee applies in writing for the grant of extraordinary leave; or
   3. EOL may also be granted to regularise periods of absence without a leave retrospectively.

2. Extraordinary leave cannot be granted concurrently with the notice period, in case of officials going on voluntary retirement.

3. Any amount of EOL may be sanctioned to a permanent employee as long as the continuous spell of all kinds of leave does not exceed five years.

4. All employee up to 3 months with or without medical certificate after a minimum of one year continuous service

5. Up to 6 months with a medical certificate for common ailments.

6. Up to 18 months with medical certificate for:

   1. cancer;
   2. mental illness;
   3. pulmonary tuberculosis;
   4. pleurisy of tubercular origin;
   5. tuberculosis of any part of the body; and
   6. leprosy.

7. Up to 24 months, where the leave is required for the purpose of prosecuting studies certified to be in the public interest.

8. Employees belonging to Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes may grant leave exceeding three months for attending the pre-examination training course at the centres notified by the Government from time to time

Note

Two spells of extraordinary leave, intervened by any other kind of leave, should be treated as one continuous spell for the purpose of applying the maximum limit.

Maternity Leave

1. It may be granted to female employees with less than two surviving children as under:

   1. Pregnancy: 180 days;
   2. Miscarriage/abortion (induced or otherwise): 45 days in the entire service excluding any such leave taken prior to 16 June 1994. Admissible irrespective of surviving children.

Paternity Leave

1. It is admissible to male employees with less than two surviving children.

2. It may be granted up to 15 days during the wife’s confinement i.e. up to 15 days before or up to 6 months from the date of delivery of the child.

Paternity Leave for Child Adoption

1. A male Government servant (including an apprentice) with less than two surviving children, on valid adoption of a child below the age of one year, may be granted Paternity Leave for a period of 15 days within a period of six months from the date of valid adoption.
2. During such a period of 15 days, he shall be paid leave salary equal to the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave.
3. The paternity leave may be combined with leave of any other kind.
4. The Paternity Leave shall not be debited against the leave account.
5. If Paternity leave is not availed or within the period specified in sub-rule (1) such leave shall be treated as lapsed.

Study Leave

1. It may be granted to an employee with not less than five years’ service for pursuing a special course consisting of higher studies or specialised training in a professional or technical subject having a direct and close connection with the sphere of the duties.

2. It cannot be granted:

   1. for studies out of India if facilities for prosecution of such studies are available in India;
   2. to an official who is due to or has the option to retire within three years of his return to duty after the study leave; and
   3. to the same official with such frequency as to remove him from contact with his regular work or cause cadre difficulties owing to his absence on leave.

3. The maximum period is 24 months in the entire service and may be granted at a stretch or in different spells.

4. It may be combined with any other leave due, but maximum period of continuous absence, including vacation, if any but excluding extra-ordinary leave, should not exceed 28 months.

5. Study leave will not be debited to the leave account.

6. If the course falls short of the study leave, the official should resume duty on conclusion of the course or the excess period may be treated as ordinary leave with the leave sanctioning authority’s prior approval.

7. For leave to be spent outside India, the Finance Ministry’s agreement for release of foreign exchange is necessary before its grant.

Child Care Leave (CCL)

1. 730 days during their entire service for taking care of up to two children.
2. Not be admissible if the child is eighteen years of age or older.
3. Leave salary equal to the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave.
4. It may be availed of in more than one spell.
5. Child care leave shall not be debited against the leave account.
6. Child care leave may also be allowed for the third year as leave not due and commuted leave up to 60 days (without production of medical certificate).
7. It may be combined with leave of the kind due and admissible.
8. Can be availed if there is earned leave or not at credit.
9. Requires prior sanction.
10. Intervening holidays will count as child care leave as in the case of earned leave.
11. In respect of disabled/ mentally challenged children, it is permitted up to the age of 22 years subject to conditions and submission of certificates.
12. To be availed for not less than 15 days in one spell.
13. Can be taken three times a year.
14. In case proceeding on child care leave for more than 90 days, the post will be treated as vacant.

Leave to Female Government Servant on the Adoption of Child

1. On valid adoption of a child below the age of one year, for a period of 180 days, immediately after the date of valid adoption from 22-07-2009.
2. Leave salary will be equal to the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave.
3. This may be combined with leave of any other kind.
4. In continuation of child adoption leave leave of the kind due and admissible (including leave not due and commuted leave not exceeding 60 days without production of medical certificate) for a period up to one year reduced by the age of the adopted child on the date of legal adoption without taking into account the period of child adoption leave.
5. Facility not admissible to the female employee already having two surviving children at the time of adoption.
6. Leave not debited against the leave account.

Casual Leave

1. Casual leave is not a recognized form of leave and is not subject to any rules made by the Government of India.
2. An official on casual leave is not treated as absent from duty and his pay is not intermittent.
3. Casual leave can be combined with special casual leave but not with any other kind of leave.
4. It cannot be combined with joining time.
5. Sundays and Holidays falling during a period of casual leave are not counted as part of casual leave.
6. Casual leave can be taken while on tour, but no daily allowance will be admissible for the period.
7. Casual leave can be taken for half a day also.
8. Essential intended for short periods. It should not normally be granted for more than five days at any one time.
9. L.T.C. can be availed during casual leave.
10. Entitlement is per calendar year 8 days.
11. Officials joining during the middle of a year may avail leave proportionately or the full period at the discretion of the competent authority.

Work Related Illness and Injury Leave (WRIIL)

Special Disability Leave for injury intentionally inflicted under Rule 44 has been substituted by a new Leave named Work Related Illness and Injury Leave (WRIIL) which may be granted to a Government servant (whether permanent or temporary), who suffers illness or injury that is attributable to or aggravated in the performance of her or his official duties or in consequence of her or his official position. With the introduction of WRIIL, “Special Disability Leave for accidental injury” (under Rule 45) and Hospital Leave (under Rule 46) have been deleted.

WRIIL has following provisions:

1. Full pay and allowances will be granted to all employees during the entire period of hospitalisation on account of WRILL.
2. Beyond hospitalisation, WRIIL will be governed as follows:
   1. Government servants (other than military officers) will be paid full pay and allowances for the 6 months immediately following hospitalisation and Half Pay only for 12 months beyond that period. The Half Pay period may be commuted to full pay with corresponding number of days of HPL debited from the employee’s leave account.
   2. For officers of the Central Armed Police Forces (GAFF), full pay and allowances will be paid for the 6 months immediately following hospitalisation, and full pay only for the next 24 months.
   3. Personnel below the rank of officers of GAFF will be paid full pay and allowances, with no limit regarding the period of leave.
   4. In the case of persons to whom the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923 applies, the amount of leave salary payable under WRIIL shall be reduced by the amount of compensation payable under the Act.
   5. No EL or HPL will be credited during the period that employee is on WRIIL.

Special Casual Leave

Event	Permissible duration
Sports coaching camps/training camps, trekking, mountaineering	30 days in a calendar year
Cultural activities like dance, drama, music etc. organised by Central secretariat sports control board	30 days in a calendar year
Dancing and singing competitions organised by Govt. or Govt. sponsored bodies	15 days in a calendar year
Family planning for male	5 days
Family planning for female	10 days
Employees whose wife undergo tubectomy	3 days
Employees whose husband undergo vasectomy	On the day of vasectomy
Post sterilisation complications	Period of hospitalisation
For visiting artificial limb centres for ex-servicemen	15 days
For union/association activities	20 days
Monthly meeting with divisional head	12 days
To attend competitive examination	Duration of exam including minimum journey period
During the inquiry on sexual harassment to a women	Leave up to a maximum of 90 days may be granted in addition
to the leave which she is otherwise entitled

Leave Salary

Event	Leave Salary
During earned leave	Equal to pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave
During half pay leave or leave not due	Equal to half the amount of leave salary on earned leave.
During commuted leave	Equal to pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave.
Extraordinary leave	Not entitled to any leave salary.
On study leave outside India	Pay last drawn plus D.A and H.R.A and in addition to the study allowance admissible.
On study leave in India	Leave salary will be equal to the pay last drawn plus D.A, HRA and scholarship or remuneration for any part-time employment during the period of study leave should be adjusted against the leave salary subject to the condition that the leave salary will not be less than that admissible during half pay leave.

During Study Leave

1. House rent allowance (HRA) is payable for the first 180 days at the rate applicable at the last place of duty; continuance beyond 180 days will be subject to producing a prescribed certificate for the drawal.
2. If an official, after availing of study leave resigns from service or otherwise quits within three years after return to duty or does so without returning to duty at all from study leave, or fails to complete the course of study, he should refund
   1. The actual amount of leave salary, study allowance, cost of fees, T.A. and other expenses, if any, incurred by the Government
   2. The actual amount, if any, of the cost incurred by other agencies such as Foreign Governments, Foundations, and Trusts in connection with the course of study, with interest thereon at the prescribed rates.
   3. In exceptional cases, the President may waive such recoveries