Lien (government service)

A lien is a government servant's title to hold a regular post and return to it after absence. Acquisition, retention on deputation, termination, and transfer.

Updated 26 July 2026

Key facts

What it is: The title to hold a post on a regular basis and return to it after absence (FR 9(13))
Governing rules: Fundamental Rules 9(13), 12-A, 13, 14-A and 14-B, consolidated by the DoPT OM of 24 November 2022
Acquisition: On regular or substantive appointment to a post (FR 12-A)
One-lien rule: A servant holds a lien on only one post at a time; a new lien extinguishes the old
Retained during: Officiating, deputation or foreign service, a temporary post, leave, and suspension (FR 13)
Outside appointment: Retained for 2 years, extendable to 3 in exceptional cases, then resign or revert
Termination safeguard: A lien cannot be terminated, even with consent, if it would leave the servant with no lien on any permanent post (FR 14-A)
Suspension of lien: Abolished for the central government from 9 February 1998

A lien is the title of a government servant, under Fundamental Rule 9(13), to hold on a regular basis a post to which they have been appointed, and to return to it after a period of absence. It is the anchor that lets a central government employee go on deputation, officiate in a higher post, or take long leave without losing the parent post. The Department of Personnel and Training’s own gloss, in its consolidated instruction of 24 November 2022, describes it as the right of a government employee to hold a regular post, whether permanent or temporary, either immediately or on the termination of a period of absence.

This article sets out the lien and its mechanics: how it is acquired and the one-lien rule, when it is retained through deputation, leave and the rest, the status of the old “suspension of lien”, how it is terminated and the safeguard that protects it, how it is transferred, and why it matters in practice for deputation, technical resignation, seniority and pension. It uses the current central-government Fundamental Rules as consolidated by the Department of Personnel and Training.

Acquiring a lien, and the one-lien rule

A government servant acquires a lien on a post on regular or substantive appointment to it, under Fundamental Rule 12-A. The lien is the servant’s title to that regular post, held by everyone who is confirmed in the post or the cadre of entry, or promoted to a post on a regular basis.

The rule that follows from this is that a servant holds a lien on only one post at a time. On acquiring a lien on a post, the servant ceases to hold any lien previously acquired on any other post. So a lien cannot be held on two posts simultaneously; a new lien extinguishes the old one. The title to hold a post on a regular basis is, however, subject to the general condition that the junior-most person in a cadre is liable to reversion to the lower grade if the number of persons entitled to hold a post exceeds the posts available, under the Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum of 28 March 1988.

Retention of the lien

The heart of the concept is retention, because it is what makes an absence from the post safe. Under Fundamental Rule 13, a government servant who has acquired a lien on a post retains that lien:

while performing the duties of that post;
while on foreign service, or holding a temporary post, or officiating in another post;
during joining time on transfer to another post, unless the transfer is substantively to a post on lower pay, in which case the lien is transferred to the new post from the date of relief in the old one;
while on leave; and
while under suspension.

This is exactly what makes deputation, an officiating promotion and long leave safe: the lien on the parent post continues through all of them, and the servant reverts to that post at the end. It is why the deputation and joining time articles can say the employee keeps a right to return.

There is a limit when the servant takes up an appointment in another government office. A permanent government servant appointed to another central government department, or to a state government, must resign the parent post unless they revert within two years, extendable to three years in exceptional cases, under the Office Memorandum of 6 March 1974; an undertaking to this effect is taken when the application is forwarded. A temporary government servant, by contrast, must sever connection with the parent office on selection for an outside post, and retains no lien.

Suspension of a lien: a rule now gone

Older accounts, and some state compilations, describe a “suspension of lien”, a mechanism by which a competent authority could suspend a lien, for instance on a long deputation where another person had to be posted against the substantive post, with the suspended lien reviving on reversion. For the central government this no longer exists. The restructuring of the lien rules by the notification of 9 February 1998 abolished the suspension of lien and moved to a one-lien-only scheme, replacing suspension with non-retention or termination in the situations that used to attract it. So a reader should not look for a live suspension procedure in the current central-government rules; a long deputation or an absorption now leads to the lien not being retained, or being terminated, not to a suspended lien.

Termination of a lien, and the safeguard

A lien is terminated in defined circumstances, under Fundamental Rule 14-A, and the most important part of the rule is a safeguard.

The safeguard is that a servant’s lien on a post may in no circumstances be terminated, even with their consent, if the result would leave them without a lien on any permanent post. So an employee cannot be stripped of their only lien, and it is not correct to deny an employee a lien on a post held substantively on the ground that they did not ask to retain it while submitting a technical resignation, or to relieve them on the condition that no lien is retained. Unless the lien is transferred, a servant holding a permanent post substantively keeps the lien on it.

Beyond the safeguard, a lien is terminated when the servant acquires a lien on a permanent post outside the cadre on which they are borne, whether under the central or a state government. And a lien is not retained on immediate absorption in a post or service outside the cadre, from the date of absorption, or on foreign service or deputation beyond the maximum period admissible under the orders in force. These, with the ordinary end-points of resignation, retirement, removal and dismissal, are the ways a lien comes to an end.

Transfer of a lien

A lien can be moved from one post to another within the same cadre. Under Fundamental Rule 14-B, the lien of a government servant who is not performing the duties of the post to which the lien pertains can be transferred to another post in the same cadre, subject to Fundamental Rule 15. Fundamental Rule 15 is the general power to transfer a government servant from one post to another, and it bars, save on the ground of inefficiency or misconduct or at the servant’s own written request, a transfer to a post carrying less pay than the post on which the servant holds a lien. So the transfer of a lien is Fundamental Rule 14-B, resting on the transfer power in Fundamental Rule 15, and not, as is sometimes said loosely, a transfer under Fundamental Rule 15 alone.

Why the lien matters

The lien is a quiet rule, but it underlies several things an employee cares about.

It is what makes deputation and foreign service safe. The retained lien is the right to revert to the parent post at the end of the tenure, and on foreign service the lien continues while the pension and leave-salary contributions keep the period counting as qualifying service, as the deputation article sets out. It is the safety net behind a technical resignation: on a technical resignation to another government post through the proper channel, the lien on the old post is retained within the two-to-three-year window, so the employee can revert if the new post does not suit, and the past service and pay protection follow.

Its limits are worth knowing too. The lien protects seniority only in the old post; in the new cadre the employee is junior-most from the date of joining, which the seniority article covers. And the lien keeps the employee borne on the parent cadre, which underpins the continuity of service that a central government pension is built on. So the lien is not just an administrative formality; it is the thread that keeps a career continuous across a deputation, a technical resignation or a long leave.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is a lien in government service?

A lien, under Fundamental Rule 9(13), is the title of a government servant to hold a regular post, and to return to it after a period of absence such as deputation or leave. It is the anchor that keeps the parent post while the servant serves elsewhere.

Can a government employee hold a lien on two posts at once?

No. A servant holds a lien on only one post at a time under Fundamental Rule 12-A. On acquiring a lien on a new post, the servant ceases to hold any lien previously acquired on any other post, so the two cannot be held together.

Do I keep my lien while on deputation?

Yes. Under Fundamental Rule 13 the lien on the parent post is retained while on deputation or foreign service, while holding a temporary post or officiating in another, while on leave and while under suspension, so you revert to the parent post at the end of the deputation.

Can my lien be terminated if it leaves me with no permanent post?

No. Fundamental Rule 14-A bars terminating a lien, even with the servant’s consent, if the result would leave them without a lien on any permanent post. It is also wrong to relieve an employee on a technical resignation on condition that no lien is retained.

When does a lien end?

On acquiring a lien on a permanent post outside the cadre, on immediate absorption in another service, on deputation or foreign service beyond the maximum period allowed, and on resignation, retirement, removal or dismissal. These are the ordinary end-points of a lien.

Is suspension of a lien still used?

For the central government, suspension of a lien was done away with by the restructuring of 9 February 1998. A long deputation or absorption now leads to non-retention or termination of the lien, not to a suspended lien that later revives.

External references

References

Fundamental Rule 9(13), Fundamental Rules and Supplementary Rules (definition of lien).
Fundamental Rules 12-A (acquisition and the one-lien rule), 13 (retention), 14-A (termination and the no-lien safeguard), 14-B (transfer of a lien) and 15 (the power to transfer a government servant).
Department of Personnel and Training, consolidated instructions on Technical Resignation and Lien, Office Memorandum dated 24 November 2022.
Notification No. 28020/1/96-Estt.(C) dated 9 February 1998 (restructuring of the lien rules: one lien only, termination and non-retention, transfer of lien, and the abolition of suspension of lien).
Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum No. 8/4/70-Estt.(C) dated 6 March 1974 (retention of lien on appointment to another office; the two-year and three-year windows) and Office Memorandum No. 18011/1/86-Estt.(D) dated 28 March 1998 (the junior-most reversion condition).