Rules for resignation and reinstatement of an IAS officer

May 1, 2022

An Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, who resigned in 2019, has been recently reinstated by the government.

What is resignation?

A resignation is a formal intimation in writing by an officer of his/her intention or a proposal to leave the service.

Which rules govern the resignation of officers belonging to All-India Services?

The resignation of an officer of any of the three All-India Services — IAS, the Indian Police Service (IPS), and the Indian Forest Service — is governed by Rules 5(1) and 5(1)(A) of the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958.

How resignation is different from Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS)?

Officers who take VRS are entitled to the pension, whereas those who resign don’t get any pension.
Rule 5 of the Death-cum-Retirement Benefits (DCRB) Rules says, “No retirement benefits may be granted to a person who has resigned from the Service.”

To whom IAS officer should submit a resignation?

An officer serving in a cadre (state) must submit a resignation to the chief secretary of the state.
An officer who is on central deputation must submit a resignation to the secretary of the concerned Ministry or Department.
The Ministry/Department then forwards the resignation to the concerned state.

What is the procedure after an officer submits his/her resignation?

The state will check the information on the issues of dues and vigilance status and sends that information to the Central Government.
Later, the state will forward the resignation to the central government, along with its recommendation.
Once the recommendation of the state is received, the competent authorities will consider the resignation.

Who are the competent authorities?

The competent authorities are:

Minister of State at the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) in respect of the IAS.
Minister for Home Affairs in respect of the IPS.
Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change in respect of the Forest Service.

What is the role of the Prime Minister?

As the Prime Minister is in charge of the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), he himself takes decisions currently in respect of the IAS.

In what cases resignation will be rejected?

A circular issued by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) in 1988, says that it is not in the interest of the government to retain an officer who is unwilling to serve. So generally the resignation will be accepted except in certain circumstances like:

If any dues are outstanding against the officer.
If any cases like corruption cases, disciplinary cases are pending against the officer.
- Regarding disciplinary cases, the concurrence of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is obtained.
If the officer is engaged in important work and if alternatives are not available, the resignation may not be accepted straight away. Resignation may be accepted only when alternative arrangements are made.
The government also checks if an officer had executed any bond to serve the government for a specified number of years on account of having received specialized training, a fellowship, or a scholarship for studies.

Can an officer withdraw his/her resignation?

According to rule 5(1A) (i) of the amended Death-cum-Retirement Benefits (DCRB) Rules, the central government can permit an officer to withdraw resignation “in the public interest”.