Leave Application Procedure, Combination of Leave Types and Holidays — A Practical Guide

Beyond the substantive question of "what leave am I entitled to," there's an equally important procedural question: how is leave actually applied for, granted, combined with holidays, and what happens if you overstay or are recalled early? This article walks through the procedural backbone of the CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972 — Rules 7-25 and 32.

Leave Cannot Be Claimed As a Right

The very first principle in Chapter II of the rules (Rule 7) sets the tone: "Leave cannot be claimed as of right." When the exigencies of public service so require, leave of any kind may be refused or revoked by the competent authority. However, that authority cannot alter the kind of leave applied for — except at the written request of the employee.

Important exception: leave applied for under Rule 20 (leave to a Government servant unlikely to be fit to return to duty) shall not be refused or revoked without reference to the Medical Authority, whose advice is binding on the competent authority.

How to Apply: Form 1

Any application for leave, or for extension of leave, must be made in Form 1 to the authority competent to grant leave. Form 1 captures:

• Name, post held, department/office/section, and pay;
• House Rent and other compensatory allowances drawn;
• Nature and period of leave applied for, and the date from which required;
• Sundays/holidays proposed to be prefixed or suffixed;
• Grounds for the leave;
• Date of return from last leave, and its nature/period;
• Whether LTC is proposed to be availed during the ensuing leave; and
• Address during the leave period.

Special Provision for Employees With Disabilities

Where a Government servant is unable to submit an application or medical certificate due to a disability, it may be signed and submitted on their behalf by:

• Their spouse;
• Their parents, if the employee is unmarried;
• Their child (including adopted child), brother, or sister who has attained majority; or
• Any person assigned limited guardianship under Section 14 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

Such an application is deemed to have been made by the Government servant themselves.

The Leave Account — Form 2

A Leave Account (Form 2) is maintained for every Government servant — by the Audit Officer for Gazetted employees, and by the Head of Office (or an authorised officer) for non-Gazetted employees. Where a Gazetted employee's pay is drawn and disbursed by the Head of Office itself, the Head of Office maintains the leave account.

Verification of Title to Leave

Under Rule 16, no leave shall be granted until a report on its admissibility has been obtained from the authority maintaining the leave account — and the order sanctioning leave must indicate the EL/HPL balance at credit.

If verification will be unduly delayed: the competent authority may provisionally sanction leave for up to 60 days based on available information, subject to later verification and a modified sanction if needed. For Gazetted employees, the Audit Officer may issue a provisional leave salary slip for up to 60 days at the competent authority's request.

Important safeguard: in cases of leave preparatory to retirement, or cash payment in lieu of leave at credit (encashment under Rule 39), an undertaking for recovery of any excess leave salary paid must be taken from the employee.

When Leave Cannot Be Granted

Rule 17 is stark: leave shall not be granted to a Government servant whom a competent punishing authority has decided to dismiss, remove, or compulsorily retire from service. This prevents an employee from "escaping" into leave once a disciplinary decision to separate them has been made.

Commencement and Termination of Leave

Under Rule 21, leave ordinarily begins on the day the transfer of charge is effected, and ends on the day preceding the day charge is resumed — except as modified by the holiday-combination provisions of Rule 22.

Combining Holidays With Leave (Rule 22)

This rule addresses a question every employee asks: "If my leave ends on a Friday and Saturday-Sunday are holidays, do I lose those two days?"

For Non-Medical Leave

If the day immediately before leave begins, or immediately after leave expires, is a holiday (or part of a series of holidays), the employee is deemed permitted to leave the station at the close of the day before, or return on the day after, such holiday(s) — UNLESS this permission has been specifically withheld for administrative reasons. This deemed permission is subject to three conditions:

• The transfer/assumption of charge does not involve handling securities or money other than a permanent advance;
• Early departure does not require a correspondingly early transfer of another employee from elsewhere to cover the post; and
• Delayed return does not delay the transfer of the covering employee, or the discharge of a temporarily appointed person.

The Head of Department may waive the "securities/moneys" condition if the departing employee remains responsible for the moneys in their charge.

For Leave on Medical Certificate

Special automatic rules apply:

• When an employee is certified medically unwell: holidays immediately preceding the certification date are automatically prefixed to leave, and holidays immediately succeeding (including the certification day itself) are automatically suffixed.
• When an employee is certified medically fit to resume duty: holidays succeeding the fitness-certification date (including that day) are automatically suffixed, and preceding holidays are treated as part of the leave.

Effect on Pay and Allowances

Unless the competent authority directs otherwise:

• If holidays are prefixed, the leave (and any resulting pay/allowance changes) takes effect from the day after the holidays.
• If holidays are suffixed, the leave is treated as having terminated, and any pay/allowance changes take effect from the day the leave would have ended had the holidays not been suffixed.

Note: a compensatory leave granted in lieu of duty performed on a Sunday or holiday for a full day may itself be treated as a "holiday" for the purposes of this prefix/suffix mechanism.

Recall to Duty Before Expiry of Leave (Rule 23)

If a Government servant is recalled to duty before their leave expires, the recall is treated as compulsory in all cases, with entitlements depending on location:

Return From Leave (Rule 24)

• An employee cannot return to duty before the expiry of granted leave without permission from the authority that granted it.
• An employee on leave preparatory to retirement is precluded from returning to duty except with the consent of the appointing authority.
• An employee returning from leave on medical certificate must produce a Medical Certificate of Fitness (Form 5) — for Gazetted officers, generally from a Medical Board (with exceptions for leave of 3 months or less, or where the original Medical Board waived the requirement for a further board).
• An employee returning from leave is not automatically entitled to resume the same post — they must report their return to the leave-granting authority and await orders.

Absence After Expiry of Leave (Rule 25)

If an employee remains absent after their leave expires, and the leave is not extended:

• They are entitled to no leave salary for the overstayed period;
• The period is debited against the leave account as if it were Half Pay Leave, to the extent HPL is due; and
• Any excess beyond available HPL is treated as Extraordinary Leave (see our EOL article).

Wilful absence after leave expiry renders the employee liable to disciplinary action — this regularisation mechanism does not provide immunity from disciplinary consequences.

The 5-Year Maximum Continuous Leave Limit (Rule 12)

No Government servant shall be granted leave of any kind for a continuous period exceeding 5 years. Further, unless the President determines otherwise in exceptional circumstances, an employee who remains absent from duty for a continuous period exceeding 5 years (other than on foreign service), with or without leave, is deemed to have resigned from Government service.

Safeguards:

• A reasonable opportunity to explain the reasons for such absence must be given before this "deemed resignation" provision is invoked; and
• This rule does not apply where leave is applied for on medical certificate in connection with a disability.

Combination of Different Kinds of Leave (Rule 11)

Except as otherwise provided, any kind of leave may be granted in combination with, or in continuation of, any other kind of leave. The one explicit exception: Casual Leave (which is not "leave" under these rules at all, being governed by separate, more informal departmental instructions) cannot be combined with any leave admissible under the CCS (Leave) Rules.

Commutation of One Kind of Leave Into Another (Rule 10)

At the employee's request, the granting authority may retrospectively commute leave already granted into a different kind of leave that was due and admissible at the time — but this is not a right; it's at the authority's discretion. Such a request must be made within 30 days of the employee rejoining duty after the relevant spell of leave. Any resulting adjustment in leave salary (excess paid recovered, or arrears paid) follows automatically.

Note: Extraordinary Leave granted on medical certificate (or otherwise) may be retrospectively commuted into Leave Not Due, subject to the conditions of Rule 31 (see our Leave Not Due article).

Effect of Dismissal, Removal or Resignation on Leave at Credit (Rule 9)

Acceptance of Other Employment While on Leave (Rule 13)

A Government servant on leave (including leave preparatory to retirement) generally cannot take up other service or employment — including private practice as an accountant, consultant, or legal/medical practitioner — without prior sanction of the President (for employment outside India) or the appointing authority (for employment within India). On leave preparatory to retirement specifically, private employment is not permitted at all, though employment with a Public Sector Undertaking or certain bodies may be permitted (with leave salary regulated under Rule 40).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)