Discharge from service

Discharge from service is the ending, under the terms of the appointment order or a service rule, of the service of a central government servant who holds no right to the post, chiefly a probationer found unsuitable or a temporary servant given one month’s notice under Rule 5(1) of the CCS (Temporary Service) Rules, 1965. It is not a penalty, and it needs no inquiry.

Two instruments do most of the work. Rule 5 of the Temporary Service Rules, in force from 1 May 1965, lets either side end temporary service by one month’s notice in writing, or lets the government end it at once on paying the notice period’s pay and allowances. Paragraphs 22 and 25 of the Department of Personnel and Training Master Circular on Probation and Confirmation, Office Memorandum No. 28020/3/2018-Estt.(C) dated 11 March 2019, let the appointing authority discharge a probationer who has not made satisfactory progress or is not fit for permanent appointment. Clause (viii) of the Explanation to Rule 11 of the CCS (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965 keeps both actions out of the list of penalties.

The label is not conclusive. Since Parshotam Lal Dhingra v. Union of India, AIR 1958 SC 36, decided on 1 November 1957, the Supreme Court has looked at the substance of a discharge order, and an order founded on misconduct is a dismissal or removal in disguise that is void without the Article 311 inquiry.

For the person discharged, the money consequences differ sharply from those of resignation or dismissal. Leave encashment covers earned leave and half pay leave up to 300 days under Rule 39(6)(a)(i) of the CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, against 150 days of earned leave on resignation. Terminal gratuity under Rule 10 of the Temporary Service Rules is payable to a pre-2004 temporary servant. For an employee within the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021, a later reappointment ordinarily picks up the earlier service, because Rule 28 treats an interruption as condoned unless the service book says otherwise, and excludes only resignation, dismissal, removal and strike.

Discharge, termination and dismissal compared

Discharge and termination name the same act in central civil service law. Paragraph 22 of the Master Circular dated 11 March 2019 pairs the two words as alternatives; Rule 5 of the Temporary Service Rules says “termination”; clause (viii) of the Explanation to Rule 11 of the CCS (CCA) Rules says “termination of the services”. Courts use “termination simpliciter” for the same thing when they contrast it with a punitive order.

Dismissal and removal are different in kind. They are major penalties under Rule 11 of the CCS (CCA) Rules, imposed by the disciplinary authority after a charge sheet and an inquiry under Rule 14, and under Rule 24 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021 both forfeit past service.

Discharge from the armed forces is a separate subject. For the Army it is governed by the Army Act, 1950 and the Army Rules, 1954, with appeals to the Armed Forces Tribunal, and this article covers central civil service only.

Who can be discharged

Only a government servant without a substantive right to the post can be discharged. A confirmed employee holds the post substantively, with a lien on it, and ending that service is itself a punishment that attracts Article 311(2).

Rule 1(3) of the CCS (Temporary Service) Rules, 1965 applies the Rules to persons holding a civil post, including civilians paid from the defence services estimates, who do not hold a lien or a suspended lien on any post under the Government of India or a State Government, and to temporary work-charged staff who have opted for pensionary benefits. Rule 1(4) excludes railway servants, part-time staff, contract staff, staff paid from contingencies, most extra-temporary and work-charged staff, and non-departmental telegraphists and telegraphmen.

Five groups fall within the discharge power:

• A probationer appointed by direct recruitment against a substantive vacancy, holding no other lien, whose probation fails. Paragraph 22 of the Master Circular dated 11 March 2019.
• A temporary government servant with no lien, under Rule 5(1) of the Temporary Service Rules.
• A temporary government servant declared physically unfit, without notice, under Rule 6.
• A probationer or temporary servant found ineligible for the initial recruitment, or found to have used a false certificate, under DoPT OM No. 11012/7/91-Estt.(A) dated 19 May 1993.
• An employee discharged on invalidation, a medical exit that the pension rules treat separately from a discharge for unsuitability.

A person on probation, who already holds another post substantively and keeps a lien on it, is not discharged. Paragraph 22 of the Master Circular reverts that officer to the post held substantively immediately before the appointment, which clause (v) of the Explanation to Rule 11 of the CCS (CCA) Rules also keeps outside the penalties. A promotee who fails probation in the higher grade therefore goes back to the lower one and stays in service.

Rule 3(1)(d) of the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965 excludes from those Rules altogether any person subject to discharge from service on less than one month’s notice. The one-month threshold matches the notice period in Rule 5 of the Temporary Service Rules, so a temporary servant covered by Rule 5 stays within the disciplinary code while an engagement terminable on shorter notice falls outside it.

Termination of temporary service under Rule 5

Rule 5(1)(a) of the CCS (Temporary Service) Rules, 1965 makes the services of a temporary government servant “liable to termination at any time by a notice in writing given either by the Government servant to the appointing authority or by the appointing authority to the Government servant”. Rule 5(1)(b) fixes the notice at one month.

The proviso allows immediate termination. The government servant is then entitled to claim a sum equal to pay plus allowances for the notice period, at the rates drawn immediately before termination, or for the period by which a shorter notice falls short of one month. The right runs one way: decision (1) under Rule 5, MHA OM No. 78/105/55-TS dated 22 December 1955, records that the Rule does not let the government forfeit a similar amount when the employee leaves without full notice, and directs departments to stop taking undertakings to that effect.

The Note to Rule 5(1) fixes how notice is served, in three steps:

1. Delivery or tender to the government servant in person.
2. Where that is not practicable, registered post acknowledgement due to the address on record.
3. Where the registered letter comes back unserved, publication in the Official Gazette, which is deemed personal service on the date of publication.

Decision (5) under Rule 5, MHA OM No. 4/1/65-Ests.(C) dated 30 March 1967, adds that the month runs from the date the notice is served or tendered, and prescribes the standard forms. Forms I and II, for a notice and for an immediate termination, are used where the appointing authority is not the President; Forms III and IV are the President’s versions. Where evasion of service is likely, for example while the employee is on long leave, the decision advises terminating forthwith with an offer of one month’s pay.

Decision (2), MHA OM No. 39/14/56-Estt.(A) dated 22 June 1956, directs that the termination order be passed by the appointing authority and “should not mention the reasons for such termination”. Form II, the prescribed order for immediate termination, accordingly has no place for reasons: it names the Rule, the employee and the entitlement to one month’s pay and allowances.

A temporary servant who wants to leave uses the same Rule. Decision (6), MHA OM No. 4/1/65-Ests.(C) dated 25 May 1966, issued after consulting the Ministry of Law, separates a notice of termination under Rule 5(1), which ends the service automatically on expiry of the month, from an ordinary letter of resignation, which takes effect only when accepted. A letter that neither cites Rule 5(1) nor asks to be treated as notice is a resignation, and the department can hold the employee beyond one month until relief is arranged.

Discharge of a probationer

A probationer is discharged under the terms of the appointment and the probation paragraphs of the Master Circular, and Rule 5 remains available unless the letter specifically provides for termination without notice. MHA Memo No. 4/10/66-Ests.(C) dated 26 August 1967, printed as decision (8) under Rule 5, records that the Temporary Service Rules do not exclude probationers, but that where the letter of appointment specifically provides for termination without notice during or at the end of probation, it would be desirable to terminate the service in terms of the letter and not under Rule 5(1).

The Master Circular, DoPT OM No. 28020/3/2018-Estt.(C) dated 11 March 2019, carries two discharge powers:

Paragraph 23 adds that a probationer discharged during or at the end of probation is not entitled to any compensation. Paragraph 7 requires a written warning before the original probation period expires where work or conduct is unsatisfactory, because discharge is described there as a severe, final and irrevocable step. Paragraph 20 requires the assessment reports to be obtained on expiry of probation before the decision to confirm, extend, discharge or terminate.

The discharge power lapses under paragraph 27: if no order confirming, discharging or reverting the officer issues within eight weeks after the expiry of double the normal probation period, probation is deemed successfully completed, and the officer can no longer be discharged as a probationer. For a two-year probation that point falls four years and eight weeks after appointment.

Leave follows the discharge date. Rule 33(1)(b) of the CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972 provides that where it is proposed to terminate a probationer’s service, leave granted shall not extend beyond the expiry of the sanctioned or extended probation, or beyond an earlier date on which the appointing authority terminates the service.

The full treatment of probation periods, extensions, reports and warnings is in the article on probation in central government service.

Termination for physical unfitness

Rule 6 of the CCS (Temporary Service) Rules, 1965 lets the government terminate a temporary servant’s service at any time without notice once the servant is declared physically unfit for continuance in service. The declaration must come from the authority that would have been competent to declare the servant permanently incapacitated had the appointment been permanent. Rule 6 opens with “Notwithstanding anything contained in rule 5”, so neither the one-month notice nor pay in lieu applies.

The pension consequence is set by the medical exit, not by Rule 6. A temporary servant appointed on or before 31 December 2003 who is “declared invalid for further service” is eligible for terminal gratuity under Rule 10(1), and one with at least 10 years of temporary service who is declared permanently incapacitated moves to invalid pension under Rule 10(1-B). For a National Pension System entrant, Rule 2(5) of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021 extends invalid pension under Rule 39 to a person discharged on invalidation who exercised the option under Rule 10 of the CCS (Implementation of National Pension System) Rules, 2021.

Discharge for ineligibility or a false certificate

DoPT OM No. 11012/7/91-Estt.(A) dated 19 May 1993 sets a fixed rule for an appointee who was never eligible. A government servant found not qualified or not eligible under the recruitment rules for the initial recruitment, or who furnished false information or produced a false certificate to secure the appointment, “should not be retained in service”.

The route depends on status. A probationer or temporary servant “should be discharged or his services should be terminated”. A permanent government servant faces an inquiry under Rule 14 of the CCS (CCA) Rules and, if the charges are proved, removal or dismissal, and the OM adds: “In no circumstances should any other penalty be imposed.” Paragraph 3 keeps the government’s right to prosecute in either case.

The OM rests on District Collector, Vizianagaram v. M. Tripura Sundari Devi, 1990 (4) SLR 237, which it quotes: an appointment made in disregard of an advertised qualification “amounts to a fraud on public”. The 1993 OM also recalls MHA OM No. 5/1/63-Estt.(D) dated 30 April 1965, which asked departments to use the warning printed in the attestation form against a government servant who furnished false information at appointment.

Why discharge is not a penalty

The Explanation to Rule 11 of the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965 lists actions that “shall not amount to a penalty within the meaning of this rule”. Clause (viii) covers termination of the services:

• (a) of a government servant appointed on probation, during or at the end of the probation period, in accordance with the terms of the appointment or the rules and orders governing the probation;
• (b) of a temporary government servant in accordance with Rule 5(1) of the CCS (Temporary Service) Rules, 1965; and
• (c) of a government servant employed under an agreement, in accordance with its terms.

The qualifying words carry the exclusion. A probationer’s discharge that ignores the appointment terms or the rules governing the probation, or that rests on something other than unsuitability, falls outside clause (viii)(a). A temporary servant’s termination is covered by clause (viii)(b) only if it follows Rule 5(1), and decision (2) under Rule 5 requires the appointing authority to pass the order. An order outside the clause must go through the penalty procedure. Clause (viii)(b) names Rule 5(1) of the Temporary Service Rules and does not mention Rule 6.

Because discharge is not a penalty, there is no disciplinary authority, no inquiry officer, no charge memorandum, and no penalty order to record in the service book. The employee leaves with no finding against them, and for an employee within the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021 the earlier service ordinarily counts on a later government appointment under Rule 28, unless the service book indicates otherwise or the appointing authority refuses condonation under Rule 28(5).

When a discharge is punitive

A discharge becomes a punishment, and attracts Article 311(2), when misconduct is the foundation of the order and not its motive. The Supreme Court has applied that test since Parshotam Lal Dhingra v. Union of India, AIR 1958 SC 36, decided on 1 November 1957, which held that the substance of the order decides the question and that a probationer has no right to the post.

Samsher Singh v. State of Punjab, (1974) 2 SCC 831, decided by a seven-Judge Bench on 23 August 1974, set the distinction the courts still apply. Where misconduct is only the background to a genuine assessment of unsuitability, Article 311 is not attracted; where an inquiry is held to establish misconduct, or the order casts a stigma, Article 311(2) applies and a termination without the constitutional procedure is void.

Three later judgments fixed the working rules:

The drafting rule follows from those three. A discharge order should state that the service is terminated, or the probationer discharged, with effect from a named date, in terms of the appointment order and the governing rules, and stop there. That is what decision (2) under Rule 5 already required in 1956. Reciting an incident, or annexing an inquiry report that recites it, turns a defensible discharge into a punitive order passed without an inquiry. Where the department wants a finding of misconduct on record, the correct route is the Rule 14 inquiry, and the resulting order is a penalty.

Reopening and remedies

Rule 5(2) of the CCS (Temporary Service) Rules, 1965 is the internal remedy against a termination under Rule 5. The Central Government, an authority it specifies, or a head of department to whom the appointing authority is subordinate may reopen the case, of its own motion or otherwise, and after such inquiry as it thinks fit:

1. confirm the action of the appointing authority;
2. withdraw the notice;
3. reinstate the government servant; or
4. make such other order as it considers proper.

The window is three months, counted from the date of the notice where notice was given, or from the date of termination where it was not. A case can be reopened later only “in special circumstances, which should be recorded in writing”. Where the servant is reinstated, Rule 5(2)(b) requires the order to state how much of the pay and allowances for the period of absence is paid, and whether the period counts as duty for any specified purpose.

Outside the department, the forum is the Central Administrative Tribunal under sections 14 and 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, subject to section 20, which requires the departmental remedy to be used first. The Tribunal asks the Dhingra question: whether the order, whatever its words, was founded on misconduct.

Money payable on discharge

Discharge is the most favourable of the non-retirement exits for leave, and for a pre-2004 temporary servant it also carries gratuity. Four payments arise.

Pay in lieu of notice. Under the proviso to Rule 5(1), pay plus allowances for one month, or for the shortfall, at the rates drawn immediately before termination. The pay component is basic pay at the employee’s matrix cell, and the allowances include dearness allowance at the rate then current.

Leave encashment. Rule 39(6)(a)(i) of the CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, as substituted by DoPT Notification No. 11012/1/2009-Estt.(L) dated 1 December 2009, allows the authority competent to grant leave to pay, of its own motion, the cash equivalent of both earned leave and half pay leave at credit on the date of cessation, up to 300 days, where service is terminated by notice, by pay in lieu of notice, or otherwise under the terms of appointment. A resigning employee gets half the earned leave only, capped at 150 days, under Rule 39(6)(a)(ii).

In a worked case, an employee with 90 days of earned leave and 60 days of half pay leave at credit is paid for all 150 days on discharge, the half pay leave days at half pay leave salary under the Rule 39(2) formula, and for 45 days of earned leave on resignation.

Terminal leave where pay in lieu is paid. Decision (9) under Rule 5, Ministry of Finance Memo No. F.5(4)-E.IV(A)/68 dated 24 August 1968, allows terminal leave to the extent due, but pays leave salary only for the part of the leave that falls outside the period already covered by pay in lieu of notice.

Terminal gratuity. Rule 10(1) of the Temporary Service Rules makes a temporary government servant who “retires on superannuation or is discharged from service or is declared invalid for further service” eligible for gratuity on the same scale as a permanent government servant under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, since replaced by the 2021 Rules. Rule 10(6) computes it on the pay drawn immediately before discharge plus dearness allowance on that pay, and Rule 10(3)(a) denies it only to a person who resigns or is removed or dismissed. Rule 10(7) confines Rule 10 to government servants appointed on or before 31 December 2003.

Discharge under the National Pension System and the Unified Pension Scheme

An employee appointed after 31 December 2003 is covered by the National Pension System, outside the few cases listed in Rule 2 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021, and Rule 10(7) of the Temporary Service Rules confines terminal gratuity to appointments on or before that date.

Their gratuity is under the CCS (Payment of Gratuity under National Pension System) Rules, 2021. Rule 22(1) grants retirement gratuity, at one-fourth of emoluments for each completed six-monthly period and at most 16½ times emoluments, to an employee with five years’ qualifying service who retires on superannuation or invalidation, retires or is retired under FR 56 or Rule 12 of the CCS (Implementation of NPS) Rules, 2021, opts for the special voluntary retirement scheme on being declared surplus, or is absorbed in a public sector body. Discharge for unsuitability and termination under Rule 5 are not on that list.

The corpus is released as a premature exit. Under the PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals under the National Pension System) Regulations, 2015, as amended on 12 December 2025, a government subscriber leaving before superannuation takes up to 20% as a lump sum and puts at least 80% into an annuity, and takes the whole corpus in cash where it does not exceed Rs. 5 lakh. The full treatment is in the article on NPS exit rules.

The Unified Pension Scheme rules name their exits event by event. Rules 12 to 21 of the CCS (Implementation of the Unified Pension Scheme under the National Pension System) Rules, 2025 deal with superannuation, voluntary retirement after 20 years, retirement under FR 56 or the special scheme, resignation, absorption, invalidation, disablement, death, compulsory retirement and dismissal or removal. None of Rules 12 to 21 provides for the benefits of a discharged probationer or of a temporary servant terminated under Rule 5 of the Temporary Service Rules. The one-time switch back to the National Pension System under Rule 11(1) is open at any time during service up to 12 months before superannuation, up to three months before the deemed date of voluntary retirement, or at resignation or compulsory retirement under FR 56(j), so discharge is not one of its windows either.

Counting past service after reappointment

A discharged employee who is later appointed again keeps the earlier service for pension purposes in most cases. Rule 28(1) of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021 treats an interruption between two spells of civil service, including service paid from Defence or Railway estimates, as automatically condoned in the absence of a specific contrary indication in the service book, and counts the pre-interruption service as qualifying. Rule 28(2) excludes interruptions caused by resignation, dismissal, removal, or participation in a strike. Discharge is not on the list.

Rule 28(3) still denies credit for the gap itself, and Rules 28(5) and 28(6) allow the appointing authority to refuse condonation only in exceptional and grave circumstances, and only after giving the employee a reasonable opportunity of representation and a personal hearing. The 2021 Rules cover those appointed on or before 31 December 2003 and a small number of later cases listed in Rule 2, so for most employees the question arises only through qualifying service for gratuity under the parallel NPS rules.

A narrower rule covers a quick reappointment. Decision (3) under Rule 5 of the Temporary Service Rules, MHA OM No. 9/1/54-RPS dated 9 October 1956, lets the appointing authority condone the break where a servant paid in lieu of notice secures another central government appointment within the notice period, and treat the new service as continuous for pay fixation, seniority, leave and gratuity. The price is refunding the pay and allowances for the unexpired part of the notice period and any gratuity or terminal benefit already received.

Discharge on abolition of a post

The CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021 carry no pension for discharge on abolition of a post. Rule 39 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 provided a compensation pension to a government servant “selected for discharge owing to the abolition of his permanent post”, unless appointed to a post of at least equal conditions, with an option to accept another appointment and keep counting the earlier service. Rule 39(2)(a) required at least three months’ notice, Rule 39(2)(b) allowed the competent authority to sanction a sum not exceeding the pay and allowances for any shortfall, and Rule 39(4) guaranteed that a later pension would not fall below the compensation pension forgone.

The CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021, notified by G.S.R. 868(E) dated 20 December 2021, have no compensation pension rule; their Rule 39 is invalid pension. A permanent employee declared surplus may opt for the special voluntary retirement scheme in DoPT OM No. 25013/6/2001-Estt.(A) dated 28 February 2002. Rule 34(1)(b) of the 2021 Rules grants a retiring pension or service gratuity on that option, and Rule 34(2) adds the ex gratia amount the scheme provides. The 2021 Rules mention compensation pension only in the rule on re-employment of a person who had retired on one.

Discharge in the All India Services

Members of the All India Services are outside the CCS rules and are discharged under their own probation rules, made under section 3(1) of the All India Services Act, 1951. Rule 12 of the Indian Administrative Service (Probation) Rules, 1954 and of the Indian Police Service (Probation) Rules, 1954, and Rule 13 of the Indian Forest Service (Probation) Rules, 1968, list five grounds on which a probationer is liable to be discharged or reverted: failure to pass the re-examination, ineligibility for recruitment or unsuitability for the service, wilful neglect of probationary studies or duties, lack of the qualities of mind and character needed for the service, and failure to comply with the probation rules.

The proviso to those rules requires the Central Government to hold a summary enquiry before discharging on any ground other than failure in the re-examination. A central civil probationer has no equivalent protection: paragraph 22 of the Master Circular dated 11 March 2019 needs assessment reports and a paragraph 7 warning, but no enquiry. Anoop Jaiswal, (1984) 2 SCC 369, was an IPS discharge under Rule 12. The full scheme is in probation in the All India Services.

Common errors in discharge cases

Discharging a promotee. A person on probation who holds a lien on a lower post is reverted under paragraph 22 of the Master Circular, not discharged. A discharge order removes from service an employee the government has no power to remove on that ground.

Writing reasons into the order. Decision (2) under Rule 5, MHA OM dated 22 June 1956, and Pavanendra Narayan Verma, (2002) 1 SCC 520, point the same way. Reasons and annexed reports are where stigma enters.

Using Rule 5 where the appointment letter governs. Decision (8), MHA Memo dated 26 August 1967, records that where the letter provides for termination without notice, it would be desirable to terminate in terms of the letter and not under Rule 5(1).

Discharging after deemed completion. Once eight weeks have passed after double the prescribed probation period with no order, paragraph 27 of the Master Circular ends probationary status and the discharge power with it.

Paying resignation-scale leave encashment. A termination by notice or pay in lieu attracts Rule 39(6)(a)(i) of the Leave Rules, up to 300 days of earned leave and half pay leave, not the 150-day earned-leave cap in Rule 39(6)(a)(ii).

Treating a resignation letter as a Rule 5 notice. Under decision (6), MHA OM dated 25 May 1966, a letter that does not invoke Rule 5(1) is a resignation and takes effect only on acceptance.

Related Articles

• Probation in central government service
• Probation in the All India Services
• Confirmation in service
• CCS (Temporary Service) Rules, 1965
• Temporary post
• Quasi-permanent service
• Lien
• Dismissal and removal from service
• Compulsory retirement
• Premature retirement
• Compensation pension
• Voluntary retirement
• Resignation from government service
• Technical resignation
• Reinstatement
• Article 311 of the Constitution
• Article 309 of the Constitution
• Doctrine of pleasure
• CCS (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965
• Minor penalty
• Reduction in rank
• Misconduct
• Disciplinary authority
• Appointing authority
• Inquiry officer
• Charge sheet and articles of charge
• Principles of natural justice
• Central Administrative Tribunal
• CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972
• Leave encashment
• Earned leave
• Half pay leave
• CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021
• Qualifying service
• Invalid pension
• Gratuity for central government employees
• Gratuity under the NPS Rules, 2021
• CCS (Implementation of NPS) Rules, 2021
• NPS exit rules
• National Pension System
• Unified Pension Scheme
• Old Pension Scheme
• Recruitment rules
• Direct recruitment
• All India Services
• Armed Forces Tribunal
• Central government employees in India

External references

• Department of Personnel and Training, CCS (Temporary Service) Rules, 1965 with Government of India decisions: https://dopt.gov.in/temporary-service-rules-0
• Department of Personnel and Training, CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965: https://dopt.gov.in/ccs-cca-rules-1965
• Department of Personnel and Training, CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972: https://dopt.gov.in/sites/default/files/ccs_leave_rules_0.pdf
• Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare: https://doppw.gov.in/
• Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority: https://www.pfrda.org.in/
• Supreme Court of India, judgments: https://www.sci.gov.in/
• The Gazette of India: https://egazette.gov.in/

References

1. Central Civil Services (Temporary Service) Rules, 1965, made under the proviso to Article 309 and Article 148(5), in force from 1 May 1965: Rule 1(3) and (4) on application, Rule 5(1) and the Note on termination by one month’s notice or pay in lieu and on service of notice, Rule 5(2) on reopening within three months, Rule 6 on physical unfitness, and Rule 10 on terminal gratuity, with Government of India decisions (1) to (9) under Rule 5: MHA OM No. 78/105/55-TS dated 22 December 1955; MHA OM No. 39/14/56-Estt.(A) dated 22 June 1956; MHA OM No. 9/1/54-RPS dated 9 October 1956; MHA OM No. 4/1/65-Ests.(C) dated 25 May 1966; MHA OM No. 4/1/65-Ests.(C) dated 30 March 1967; MHA Memo No. 4/10/66-Ests.(C) dated 26 August 1967; Ministry of Finance Memo No. F.5(4)-E.IV(A)/68 dated 24 August 1968.
2. Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum No. 28020/3/2018-Estt.(C) dated 11 March 2019, Master Circular on Probation and Confirmation in Central Services, paragraphs 7, 20, 22, 23, 25 and 27.
3. Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, Rule 3(1)(d), Rule 11 and clauses (v) and (viii) of the Explanation to it, and Rule 14; Department of Personnel and Training OM No. 11012/7/91-Estt.(A) dated 19 May 1993, on discharge of a government servant found ineligible or who produced a false certificate.
4. Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, Rule 33(1)(b) and Rule 39(6)(a)(i) and (ii), as substituted by DoPT Notification No. 11012/1/2009-Estt.(L) dated 1 December 2009 and DoPT Notification No. 13026/1/99-Estt.(L) dated 18 April 2002.
5. Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 2021, G.S.R. 868(E) dated 20 December 2021, Rules 2(5), 24, 26, 28, 34 and 39; Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972, Rule 39 (compensation pension), as it stood before 20 December 2021.
6. Central Civil Services (Payment of Gratuity under National Pension System) Rules, 2021, Rule 22(1); Central Civil Services (Implementation of National Pension System) Rules, 2021, Rule 10; Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Exits and Withdrawals under the National Pension System) Regulations, 2015, as amended on 12 December 2025; Central Civil Services (Implementation of the Unified Pension Scheme under the National Pension System) Rules, 2025, Rules 11 to 21.
7. Parshotam Lal Dhingra v. Union of India, AIR 1958 SC 36, decided 1 November 1957; Samsher Singh v. State of Punjab, (1974) 2 SCC 831, decided 23 August 1974.
8. Anoop Jaiswal v. Government of India, (1984) 2 SCC 369, decided 24 January 1984; Dipti Prakash Banerjee v. Satyendra Nath Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, (1999) 3 SCC 60, decided 10 February 1999; Pavanendra Narayan Verma v. Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, (2002) 1 SCC 520, decided 5 November 2001.
9. Indian Administrative Service (Probation) Rules, 1954 and Indian Police Service (Probation) Rules, 1954, Rule 12; Indian Forest Service (Probation) Rules, 1968, Rule 13; made under section 3(1) of the All India Services Act, 1951.
10. Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, sections 14, 19 and 20.