RTI reveals unauthorised absence from duty by IAS officers

Many senior officers of the have been removed from the service by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for unauthorised leave. A reply provided by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to an application provided under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has shown that the since 2009, the DoPT has enforced “deemed resignation” against six Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers for “unauthorised absence”. They are: L V Nilesh (Maharashtra, 1991-batch), Cherry Malik (Bihar, 2004), A K Tiwari (Maharashtra, 1990), Raj Kamal (Karnataka, 1989), Manoj Atolia (West Bengal, 1989) and Anil Kumar (Tamil Nadu, 1991).

As per the Rule 7 (2) of All India Service (AIS) Leave Rules: “A member of the Service shall be deemed to have resigned from the service if he is absent without authorisation for a period exceeding one year from the date of expiry of sanctioned leave or permission, or is absent from duty for a continuous period exceeding five years, or continues in foreign service beyond the period approved.”  As the Centre cannot take any action without states’ consent, the implementation of the rule has been difficult.

There are some cases under consideration for deemed resignation.

1. Amit Kumar Jain (Sikkim-cadre officer, 1991 batch): “unauthorised absence” since June 1, 2003.
2. Anil Yadav (Madhya Pradesh-cadre officer, 1999 batch): “Missing” since July 25, 2007.
3. Alok Khare (Assam-Meghalaya, 1992): “unauthorised absence” since January 2009.
4. Rahul Anand (Himachal Pradesh, 1996): He was granted two-year study leave on June 20, 2006, for a Masters at Harvard University.
5. Amitabh Mukherjee (West Bengal, 1983): He was permitted to undertake a foreign assignment under the World Bank w.e.f. January 1996 for five years. However, he continued to work with the World Bank beyond his leave. His resignation dated August 28, 2002 was not accepted as the DoPT issued a notice for recovery of Rs 13.40 lakh along with interest for breaking the bond.
6. Shishir Priyadarshi (Uttar Pradesh, 1980): After returning from the foreign deputation on September 1, 2008, he application for leave was not sanctioned.
7. Sanjeev Ahluwalia (UP, 1980): He went on a deputation to Sudan as World Bank consultant from September 18, 2005, for one year and is yet to join back.
8. Saroj Kumar Jha (Orissa, 1990): “unauthorised absence” from duty since June 5, 2002.
9. Ramakrishnan (Kerala, 1992): He went on study leave to go to the US for two years w.e.f. June 16, 2000 and was on leave till June 18, 2005 after which “unauthorised absence” has been marked.