The
Central Administrative Tribunal dismissed the plea of an Indian Revenue Service
Officer of the 2002 batch seeking to withdraw her resignation.
A
revenue service officer who wanted her job back nearly three years after she
resigned has been told she cannot withdraw her resignation as it had already
been accepted by the government and surpassed the 90 days’ relaxation period.
The
Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) dismissed the plea of an Indian Revenue
Service Officer of the 2002 batch seeking to withdraw her resignation from
service in 2008 as she is now in a pathetic condition.
This
is not the first instance of government officers putting in their papers and
later struggling to get back the job.
In
1969, IAS officer Raj Kumar faced a similar fate when his appeal to the Supreme
Court to withdraw his resignation after its acceptance by the government was
dismissed by the top court. His contention — that the acceptance of the
resignation was not communicated to him — was also dismissed by the apex court
that said the resignation becomes effective once accepted. The case has now
become a reference point for government counsel defending similar cases.
However,
in an uncommon case, an IAS officer was able to get back the job even after
over six years of resignation as it was later discovered that the resignation
could not have been accepted due to a technicality issue. Later, the officer
was in the running for the post of cabinet secretary.
In
the current case, the lady officer, while working in Shimla, had resigned from
service citing “sheer despair and depression” due to her continuous ill health
and estranged relationship with her husband.
While
the resignation was accepted on January 16, 2008, after a gap of three years,
she sought to get her job back on “humanitarian grounds”. She contended that
after her resignation, she is now unable to meet the expenses for her treatment
and could not look after her little child as she had parted with her husband.
“Hence,
in the interest of justice and on humanitarian grounds, her application for
withdrawing her resignation is required to be accepted,” the plea said. The
principal bench of CAT in Delhi, however, relied on the department of personnel
and training’s office memorandum, which provides for relaxation of the time
limit of 90 days between the date on which the resignation became effective and
the date on which the person is allowed to resume duty.
“Since
the applicant, admittedly, applied for withdrawal of her resignation beyond the
said permissible period, she cannot seek any relaxation of rules,” the tribunal
held.
It
also noted the government’s argument that once her resignation was accepted and
published in the official gazette — a public document — non service of the same
on her does not take away its effect.
On
issuing the same, the relationship of an employer and an employee came to an
end.
Read at: Hindustan Times
