Special Disability Leave for Central Government Employees

Special disability leave was leave for a duty-caused disability under Rules 44 and 45, up to 24 months. It was replaced by WRIIL for civil employees in 2018.

Updated 24 July 2026

Special disability leave was a head of leave under Rules 44 and 45 of the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972 for a central government servant who was disabled by an injury or illness attributable to the performance of official duty, or to their official position. It gave extended leave, up to 24 months for any one disability, on full pay for the first part and half pay thereafter, without touching the ordinary leave account. For central government civilian employees it is now a historical head: the CCS (Leave) (Fourth Amendment) Rules 2018 replaced it with work-related illness and injury leave from 14 December 2018.

The leave answered a specific problem. An employee hurt or made ill because of their work could need many months to recover, far more than earned leave or half pay leave would comfortably cover, and it would be unfair to make them spend their own leave on a duty-caused disability. Special disability leave met that need with a generous, separate entitlement, and its structure, full pay tapering to half pay over a capped period, is the direct ancestor of the leave that replaced it. This article sets out what the leave was, its terms, the conditions attached, how it was replaced in 2018, how it differs from a disability pension, and where it still applies.

What special disability leave was

Special disability leave was one of the special kinds of leave in the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, granted to a permanent or temporary government servant disabled by a duty-related injury or illness. Its purpose was to give the employee time to recover on pay, over a period long enough for a serious disability, without drawing down the earned leave and half pay leave they would otherwise keep for ordinary purposes.

Because the disability was the employer’s responsibility in a sense, having arisen from the work, the leave was treated more favourably than ordinary sick absence. It was not debited to the leave account, it counted as duty for pension, and its leave salary started at full pay. It could also be granted more than once for the same disability if that disability was aggravated or reappeared later, subject to the overall cap.

The two rules: Rule 44 and Rule 45

Special disability leave sat in two linked rules. Rule 44 covered a disability caused by an injury intentionally inflicted, or caused in, or in consequence of, the due performance of official duties, or in consequence of the employee’s official position. The “official position” limb mattered: it reached an injury inflicted on an officer because of their office, such as a reprisal, not only an injury sustained while physically on the job.

Rule 45 extended the same treatment to a disability caused by an injury accidentally incurred in, or in consequence of, the due performance of official duties or the employee’s official position, or by an illness incurred in the performance of any particular duty. Rule 45 was in substance a pointer rule: it applied the whole of the Rule 44 machinery, the 24 month cap, the pay split, the pension treatment, and added conditions of its own, chiefly that an illness had to be certified as directly due to the performance of the particular duty, and, outside the armed forces, to be exceptional in character.

The terms: duration, pay and the leave account

The maximum period was 24 months for any one disability, under Rule 44(3). The leave salary was on a split basis under Rule 44(7): full pay for the first 120 days, at the rate for earned leave, and half pay for the remainder of the period. At the employee’s option, full pay could be drawn for a further 120 days beyond the first, and that extra full-pay stretch was debited to the half pay leave account, so an employee with half pay leave at credit could hold their income at full pay for up to 240 days.

Two features made the leave stand apart from ordinary leave. It was not debited to the leave account under Rule 44(6), the single exception being the half pay leave consumed under the full-pay option above. And it counted as duty in calculating qualifying service for pension, so a long spell of special disability leave did not shorten the pension. It could be combined with leave of any other kind, and it could be granted again for a disability that was later aggravated or reproduced in similar circumstances, subject always to the 24 month ceiling for any one disability.

The conditions and the medical gate

Special disability leave was not automatic. The period had to be certified by the authorised medical attendant, and the disability had ordinarily to manifest itself within three months of the occurrence of the injury, with the employee acting with due promptitude in bringing it to notice. The sanctioning authority could relax that three month limit where it was satisfied of the cause of the delay, which mattered for a disability that surfaced only later.

The leave salary was reduced by any compensation payable for the same disability under the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923, so the employee was not paid twice for the same injury. For an illness claimed under Rule 45, the extra certification that it was directly due to the particular duty, and the exceptional-character test outside the armed forces, kept the leave to genuinely duty-caused illness rather than ordinary sickness, which belonged to half pay leave or commuted leave on a medical certificate.

How special disability leave was replaced in 2018

On the recommendation of the 7th Central Pay Commission, the special kinds of leave for a duty-caused condition were consolidated. The CCS (Leave) (Fourth Amendment) Rules 2018, notified as G.S.R. 1209(E) on 11 December 2018 and effective on publication in the Gazette on 14 December 2018, substituted Rule 44 with a new head, work-related illness and injury leave, and omitted the old Rule 45 (special disability leave for accidental injury and illness) and Rule 46 (hospital leave).

The leave that replaced them is keyed to hospitalisation rather than a fixed 24 month structure. Work-related illness and injury leave gives full pay and allowances for the entire period of hospitalisation for a duty-caused illness or injury, and for an ordinary civilian employee a further 6 months on full pay and then 12 months on half pay after the hospitalisation. So the old special disability leave, with its 120 day full-pay stretch and 24 month cap, gave way to a leave with no cap on the hospitalisation period and a defined paid tail afterwards. A clarificatory Office Memorandum followed on 30 August 2019, but the substituting instrument is the December 2018 amendment.

Special disability leave and disability pension are different things

A common confusion is between special disability leave and a disability pension. They operated at different stages and under different rules. Special disability leave was paid time off during service, granted while the employee stayed in service and recovered from a duty-caused disability. A disability pension is a pension award, made under the CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules where an employee is boarded out of service because of a disability attributable to service, and it can carry a constant attendant allowance for a fully disabled pensioner.

The two ran in parallel and still do. An employee disabled on duty might take special disability leave, or now work-related illness and injury leave, while in service, and, if the disability forced retirement, receive an extraordinary pension with a disability element on being boarded out. The change to the leave head in 2018 did not touch the pension awards, which continue under their own rules.

Where special disability leave still applies

For central government civilian employees the head is historical, but it has not vanished from the wider service framework. Officers of the All India Services, the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Police Service and the Indian Forest Service, are governed by the All India Services (Leave) Rules 1955, which the 2018 CCS amendment did not touch, and special disability leave continues to exist there. Many State governments also kept the older Rule 44 and Rule 45 pattern in their own service rules and may still grant special disability leave to their staff.

The 2018 change was specific to the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, so it converted the head only for the central government civilian employees those rules govern. An officer or an employee outside that set confirms the position under the leave rules that apply to their own service.

Applicability

Special disability leave under Rules 44 and 45 of the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972 no longer applies to central government civilian employees; a duty-caused injury or illness is now met by work-related illness and injury leave under Rule 44, with effect from 14 December 2018. The head continues for All India Services officers under the AIS (Leave) Rules 1955, and may continue for State government employees under their own rules. The separate disability pension and extraordinary pension awards are unaffected by the change and continue under the CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules. An employee confirms the current entitlement under the rules that govern their own service.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What was special disability leave?

Special disability leave was a head of leave under Rules 44 and 45 of the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972 for a government servant who was disabled by an injury or illness attributable to the performance of official duty or to their official position. It gave extended leave, up to 24 months for any one disability, on full pay for the first 120 days and half pay for the remainder, and it was not debited to the ordinary leave account. For central government civilian employees it has been superseded by work-related illness and injury leave since December 2018.

Which rules governed special disability leave?

Two rules. Rule 44 covered a disability from an injury intentionally inflicted or caused in, or in consequence of, the due performance of official duties, or in consequence of the employee’s official position. Rule 45 extended the same treatment to a disability from an injury accidentally incurred in the performance of duty, or from an illness incurred in the performance of a particular duty, and added a few conditions of its own. Rule 45 borrowed the whole of the Rule 44 machinery, including the 24 month cap and the pay split.

How much special disability leave was allowed, and at what pay?

The maximum was 24 months for any one disability. The leave salary was on a split basis: full pay for the first 120 days, at the earned-leave rate, and half pay for the remainder. At the employee’s option, full pay could be drawn for a further 120 days beyond the first, with that further period debited to the half pay leave account. Leave for a fresh or aggravated disability could be granted again, but not more than 24 months in all for any one disability.

Was special disability leave debited to the leave account?

No. Special disability leave was not debited to the ordinary leave account, with one exception: the half pay leave consumed if the employee took up the option to draw full pay for the extra 120 days. The period counted as duty in calculating qualifying service for pension, so it did not create a gap in the pensionable service.

Is special disability leave still available to central government employees?

Not for central government civilian employees. The CCS (Leave) (Fourth Amendment) Rules 2018 substituted Rule 44 with work-related illness and injury leave and omitted the old special disability leave, with effect from 14 December 2018. An employee disabled by a duty-caused injury or illness today is granted work-related illness and injury leave under Rule 44, not special disability leave.

What replaced special disability leave?

Work-related illness and injury leave under Rule 44, introduced by the CCS (Leave) (Fourth Amendment) Rules 2018. It gives full pay and allowances for the entire period of hospitalisation, and for an ordinary employee a further 6 months on full pay and then 12 months on half pay. It subsumed special disability leave, hospital leave and sick leave into a single duty-related leave keyed to hospitalisation rather than a fixed 24 month structure.

Is special disability leave the same as a disability pension?

No. Special disability leave was paid time off during service, granted while the employee remained in service and recovered. A disability pension is a pension award made under the CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules where an employee is boarded out of service for a disability attributable to service, and it can carry a constant attendant allowance. The two are separate, and the pension awards continue to exist regardless of the change to the leave head.

Do All India Services officers still get special disability leave?

Yes. Special disability leave continues for officers of the All India Services (the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Police Service and the Indian Forest Service) under the All India Services (Leave) Rules 1955, which the 2018 CCS amendment did not touch. The change to work-related illness and injury leave applied to the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, so it did not alter the separate All India Services framework.

What was the time limit to claim special disability leave?

The disability had ordinarily to manifest itself within three months of the occurrence of the injury, and the employee had to act with due promptitude in bringing it to notice, though the sanctioning authority could relax that limit if satisfied of the cause. The period of leave had to be certified by the authorised medical attendant, and the leave salary was reduced by any compensation payable under the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923 for the same disability.

External references

References

CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, Rule 44 (special disability leave for an injury intentionally inflicted or caused in, or in consequence of, the due performance of official duties or in consequence of official position): Rule 44(3) (maximum 24 months for any one disability, certified by the authorised medical attendant), Rule 44(7) (leave salary equal to that on earned leave for the first 120 days and on half pay leave for the remainder, with the option to draw full pay for a further 120 days debited to the half pay leave account).
CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, Rule 44(2) (the disability to manifest within three months and due promptitude, with a relaxation proviso), Rule 44(4) (combination with any other kind of leave), Rule 44(5) (grant again for an aggravated or reproduced disability, subject to the 24 month ceiling per disability), Rule 44(6) (not debited to the leave account, and counted as duty for pension), Rule 44(8) (leave salary reduced by compensation under the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923).
CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, Rule 45 (special disability leave for an injury accidentally incurred in, or in consequence of, the due performance of official duties or official position, or an illness incurred in the performance of a particular duty; Rule 45(2) conditions, including certification that an illness is directly due to the particular duty and, outside a military force, is exceptional in character).
CCS (Leave) (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2018, G.S.R. 1209(E), notified 11 December 2018 and effective on publication (14 December 2018), F. No. 11020/01/2017-Estt.(L): substituted Rule 44 with work-related illness and injury leave and omitted Rule 45 (special disability leave for accidental injury and illness) and Rule 46 (hospital leave); clarified by the Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum dated 30 August 2019.
All India Services (Leave) Rules, 1955 (special disability leave continues for All India Services officers, unaffected by the CCS 2018 amendment); Central Civil Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939 (the separate disability and extraordinary pension awards, distinct from special disability leave).