9/16/2020 Indian Railways

INDIAN RAILWAY ESTABLISHMENT CODE (Vol - I)

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Chapter 5
Leave Rules

501. Short title. – These rules may be called the Railway Services (Liberalised Leave) Rules, 1949.

502. Extent of application. – These rules shall apply to (i) Railway servants appointed on or after 1st February 1949; (ii)
Railway servants appointed prior to 1st February 1949 who have elected to be governed by these rules; and (iii) others who
are brought under these rules by special orders; (iv) a temporary Railway servant who has completed 3 years continuous
service shall be entitled, from the date of completion of 3 years continuous service, to the same conditions of service in
respect of question of leave (including leave salary) as he would have been entitled to if he held a lien on the post in which
he was initially appointed.

General Conditions

503. Right to leave.—Leave cannot be claimed as of right and leave of any kind may be refused or revoked by the
authority* competent to grant it, but it shall not be open to that authority to alter the kind of leave due and applied for except
at the written request of the Railway servant. *See schedule.

Railway Ministry’s decision.—The above provisions are not, however, intended to be so used as in effect to abridge to the
employees’ leave entitlements. It is desirable in the interests of efficiency that employees take leave at suitable intervals and
return to work keen and refreshed. The leave sanctioning authority should draw a phased programme for the grant of leave
to the applicants by turns with due regard to the priority of claims to leave at the same time ensuring for adequate presence
of staff so that no dislocation in the normal working of establishment is caused.

504. Effect of dismissal, removal or resignation on leave at credit.—(1) Except as provided in rule 541 and this rule, any
claim to leave to the credit of a railway servant, who is dismissed or removed or who resigns from railway service ceases
from the date of such dismissal or removal or resignation.

(2) Where a railway servant applies for another post under the Government of India but outside the Railways, if such
application is forwarded through proper channel and the applicant is required to resign his post before taking up the new
one, such resignation shall not result in the lapse of the leave to his credit.

(3) A railway servant who is dismissed or removed from service and is reinstated on appeal or revision, shall be entitled to
count for leave his service prior to dismissal, or removal, as the case may be.

(4) A railway servant, who having retired on compensation or invalid pension or gratuity is re-employed and allowed to count
his past service for pension or State Railway Provident Fund benefits, as the case may b3e, shall be entitled to count his
former service towards leave.

Railway Ministry’s decision

Break in Service due to strike.—Strikes may be divided into two categories—

(a) Legal strikes, i.e. those which have been called after complying with the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
and

(b) Illegal strikes, i.e. those in which the preliminaries to the calling of a legal strike have not been observed

Strikes falling under (a) above do not constitute a break in service and it would be appropriate for the Railway
administrations to treat the period of absence as leave with or without allowances as the case may be without reference to
the Railway Board.

In case of illegal strikes, however, the absence of the employees concerned is tantamount to a break in service and cannot
be condoned without the sanction of the President.

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When a break in service due to participation in an illegal strike is condoned by the President as dies non i.e. neither
constituting a break in service nor counting as service such a period is deleted as being non-existing in so far as the
particular employee or employees are concerned and therefore the status quo ante the interregnum is restored in all
respects from the date following the last day of the period treated as dies non. In other words service prior to the break so
condoned will be treated as continuous with the services after the break itself for all purposes but the period of break itself
will not be taken into account for any purpose.

(Case No. E48 ST/191(L) & E 51.ST/1-44).

505. Conversion of one kind of leave into another .—(1) At the request of a railway servant made before he ceases to be in
service, the authority which granted him leave may convert it retrospectively into leave of a different kind which was due and
admissible to him at the time the leave was granted, but the railway servant cannot claim such conversion as a matter of
right.

Provided that no such request shall be considered unless received by such authority, or any other authority designated in
this behalf, within a period of 30 days of the concerned Railway servant joining his duty on the expiry of the relevant spell of
leave availed of by him.

(Authority:- Railway Board’s letter No.F(III)/98/LE1/1 dt. 5-2-98)

(2) The conversion of one kind of leave into another shall be subject to adjustment of leave salary on the basis of leave
finally granted to the railway servant, that is to say, any amount paid to him in excess shall be recovered or any arrears due
to him shall be paid.

Note.—Extraordinarily leave granted on medical certificate or otherwise may be converted retrospectively into ‘leave not
due’ subject to the provisions of rule 528.

506. Commencement and end of leave.—Leave ordinarily begins on the day on which transfer of charge is effected and
ends on the day preceding that in which charge is resumed.

507. Combination of different kinds of leave.—Except as provided otherwise under these rules, any kind of leave under
these rules may be granted in combination with or in continuation of any other kind of leave.

Explanation.—Casual leave which is not recognised as leave under these rules shall not be combined with any other kind of
leave admissible under these rules. There is, however, no objection to Casual leave being followed by quarantine leave.

508. Combination of holidays with leave.—(1) When the date immediately preceding the day on which a railway servant’s
leave begins or immediately following the day on which his leave expires is a holiday or one of a series of holidays, the
railway servant may leave his station at the close of the day before, or return to it on the day following such holidays,
provided that—

(a) his transfer or assumption of charge does not involve the handing or taking over of securities or moneys other than a
permanent advance;

(b) his early departure does not entail a correspondingly early transfer from another station of a railway servant to perform
his duties; and

(c ) the delay in his return does not involve a corresponding delay in the transfer to another station of the railway servant
who was performing his duties during his absence or in the discharge from railway service of a person temporarily appointed
to it.

(2) in the case of leave on medical certificate:--

(a) When a Railway servant is certified medically unwell to attend office, holidays if any immediately preceding the day he is
so certified shall be allowed automatically to be prefixed to leave and the holidays if any immediately succeeding the day he
is so certified (including that day ) shall be treated as part of the leave; and

(b) When a Railway servant is certified medically fit for joining duty, holidays if any, succeeding the day he is so certified
shall be allowed automatically be allowed to be suffixed to the leave and holidays, if any, preceding the day he is so certified
(including that day) shall be treated as part of the leave.

(3) On condition that the departing railway servant remains responsible for the moneys in charge, the competent authority
may in any particular case waive the application of clause (a) of proviso to the sub-rule (1).

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(4) Unless the authority competent to grant leave in any case otherwise directs—

(a) If holidays are prefixed to leave, the leave and any consequent rearrangement of pay and allowances take effect from
the day after the hilidays; and

(b) If holidays are suffixed to leave, the leave is treated as having terminated and any consequent rearrangement of pay and
allowances takes effect from the day on which the leave would have ended if holidays had not been suffixed.

Railway Ministry’s decision—All holidays notified locally by Railway Administrations may be treated as holidays for the
purpose of rules 506 and 508. Since the declaration of holidays as recognized holidays rests with the President the lists of
holidays should be approved by that authority.

The above decision does not apply to offices which follow holidays declared by Central and State Government or Union
Territories

(Railway Ministry’s case No. F43/HL(1) )

509. Employment during leave.—A Railway servant on leave may not take any service or accept any employment without
obtaining the previous sanction of—

(a) the President if the proposed service or employment is outside India; and

(b) the authority empowered to appoint him, if in India.

Note—This does not apply to casual literacy work, or to service as an examiner or similar employment nor does it apply to
acceptance of foreign service with the sanction of the competent authority.

510. Maximum amount of continuous leave.—Unless the President, in view of the exceptional circumstances of the case
otherwise determines, no Railway servant shall be granted leave of any kind for a continuous period exceeding 5 years.

Grant and return from leave

511. Application for leave.- An application for leave or for extension of leave shall be made to the authority competent to
grant such leave or extension in the form at Annexure I.

512. Grant of leave.—Priority of claims to leave.—In case where all applications for leave cannot, in the interest of the
public service, be granted, an authority competent to grant should, in deciding which applications should be granted, take
into account the following considerations—

(a) The railway servants who can, for the time being best be spared.

(b) The amount of leave due to the various applicants.

(c) The amount and character of the service rendered by each applicant since he last

Returned from leave.

(d) The fact that any such applicant was compulsorily recalled from his last leave.

(e) The fact that any such applicant has been refused leave in the public interest.

Railway Ministry’s decision 1.—The order sanctioning leave on average pay/half average pay to Railway servant shall
indicate the balances of such leave at his credit.

(E(P&A)176 LE 3/1 dot. 11-3-1977)

Railway Ministry’s decision 2.—In order to save time, effort and expense, it has been decided that instead of issuing
individual leave orders, these orders should, as far as possible, be issued in a consolidated form for each category of staff
separately , if not already being done. The consolidated leave orders may be issued once in a fortnight, say, on 20th of the
month in respect of persons who proceeded on leave between 1st and 15th, and on 5th of the next month in respect of
those who proceeded on leave between 16th and the last working day of the previous month. These dates may, if
necessary, be varied to suit local convenience. Exception may be made, if necessary, in the types of cases mentioned
below:

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(i) Where the Railway servant and his leave sanctioning authority are located at different stations, and

(ii) Where officiating arrangement is to be made in the leave vacancy.

Where a Railway servant is proceeding on leave before the date of issue of the consolidate leave order, the fact whether the
leave applied for by him has been sanctioned or not may informally be ascertained from administration section by the
individual concerned. The general principle should, however, be that after the leave has been recommended by the Railway
servant’s immediate controlling authority, the leave may be deemed to have been sanctioned unless he is given an
intimation to the contrary.

513. Leave Account.—A leave account shall be maintained in the prescribed from for each railway servant by the Accounts
Officer in the case of Group A and Group B railway servants and by the head of the office or an officer authorised by him in
the case of Group C and Group D Railway Servants.

514. Verification of title to leave.—The amount of leave due to a railway servant is the balance leave at his credit in the
leave account. No leave shall be granted to a railway servant until a report regarding its admissibility has been obtained
from the authority maintaining the leave account.

515. Leave when not to be granted.—Leave shall not be granted to a railway servant whom a competent punishing
authority has decided to dismiss, remove or compulsorily retire from railway service.

516. Recall to duty before expiry of leave.—In case a Railway servant is recalled to duty before the expiry of his leave, such
recall to duty shall be treated as compulsory in all cases and the railway servant shall be entitled:--

(a) If the leave from which he is recalled is in India, to be treated as on duty from the date on which he starts from the station
to which he is ordered, and to draw—

(i) traveling allowance under rules made in this behalf for the journey; and

(ii) leave salary until he joins his post, at the same rate at which he would have drawn it but for recall to duty.

(b) If the leave from which he is recalled is out of India, to count the time spent on the voyage to India as duty for purposes
of calculating leave, and to receive—

(i) leave salary, during the voyage to India and for the period from the date of landing in India to the date of joining the post
at the same rate at which he would have drawn it but for recall to duty;

(ii) a free passage to India;

(iii) refund of his passage from India if he has not completed half the period of his leave by the date of leaving for India on
recall, or three months, whichever is shorter;

(iv) duty pass and traveling allowance, under the rules for the time being in force for travel from the place of duty.

517. Return to duty from leave.—(1) A railway servant on leave shall not return to duty before the expiry of the period of
leave granted to him, unless he is permitted to do so by the authority which granted him leave.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (1), railway servant on leave preparatory to retirement shall be precluded
from returning to duty save with the consent of the authority competent to appoint him to the post from which he proceeded
on leave preparatory to retirement.

(3) A railway servant who has taken leave on medical certificate may not return to duty until he has produced a medical
certificate of fitness from the appropriate Medical authority.

(4) A railway servant returning from leave is not entitled, in the absence of specific orders to that effect, to resume as a
matter of course, the post which he held before going on leave.

(5) Such railway servant shall report his return to duty to the authority which granted him leave or to the authority, if any
specified in the order granting him the leave and await orders.

518. Absence after the expiry of leave.—(1) Unless the authority competent to grant leave extends the leave, a railway
servant who remains absent after the end of leave is entitled to no leave salary for the period of such absence and the
period shall be debited against his leave account as though it were leave on half average pay, to the extent such leave is
due, the period in excess of such leave due being treated as extraordinary leave.
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(2) Wilful absence from duty after the expiry of leave renders a railway servant liable to disciplinary action.

519. Grant of leave on Medical Certificate.—General Rules.—(1) Medical Officers shall not recommend grant of leave in
any case in which there appears to be no prospect that the railway servant concerned will ever be fit to reasume his duties.
In such cases the opinion that the railway servant is permanently unfit for railway service should be recorded in the Medical
certificate. A railway servant in Group A or Group B should not be invalidated out of service on account of ill health except
on the certificate of a Medical Board.

(2) Every certificate of a Medical Officer recommending the grant of leave to a railway servant must contain a proviso that no
recommendation contained in it shall be evidence or a claim to any leave not admissible to the railway servant under the
term of his contract or the rules to which he is subject. The certificate should be forwarded to the authority competent to
grant the leave and the orders of that authority should be awaited.

520. (1) Grant of leave on Medical certificate to Group A and Group B Officers.—Before a railway servant in Group A or
Group B is granted leave or an

extension of leave, on medical certificate, he shall obtain a certificate in the following form:

MEDICAL CERTIFICATE FOR RAILWAY SERVANTS (GROUP A & B) RECOMMENDED LEAVE OR EXTENSION OF
LEAVE OR COMMUTATION OF LEAVE

Signature of the Railway Servant:.................................................................................................

I ..............................................after careful personal examination of the case hereby certify that

shri/Shrimati/Kumari..........................................whose signature is given above, is suffering from ......................................and
I consider that a period of absence from duty of............... with effect from........................................is absolutely necessary
for the restoration of his/her health.

Date...................................

Medical Superintendent/Divisional

Medical Officer/Authorised Medical

Attendent

Note.—(i) A certificate given by an Assistant Divisional Medical Officer will be acceptable only if countersigned by Divisional
Medical Officer concerned.

(ii) This form should be adhered to as closely as possible and should be filled in after the signature of the applicant has been
taken. The certifying officer is not at liberty to certify that the applicant requires a change from or to a particular locality, or
that he is not fit to proceed to a particular locality. Such certificate should only be given at the explicit desire of the
administrative authority concerned, to whom it is open to decide, when an application on such grounds has been made to
him whether the applicant should go before a Medical Board to decide the question of his fitness for service.

(iii) No recommendation contained in these certificates shall be evidence of a claim to any leave not admissible to the
railway servant under the terms of his contract or of the rules to which he is subject.

(2) Where, however, the authority competent to grant leave is not satisfied about the genuineness of a particular case, it will
be open to such authority to secure a second medical opinion by requesting a Government Medical Officer/Railway Medical
Officer not below the rank of Civil Surgeon/Medical Superintendent or Staff Surgeon/Divisional Medical Officer to have the
applicant medically examined on the earliest possible date.

(3) It shall be the duty of the Divisional Medical Officer to express an opinion both as regards the facts of the illness and
regards the necessity for the amount of leave recommended and for that purpose he may either require the applicant to
appear before himself or before a Medical Officer nominated by himself.

(4) The grant of medical certificate under this rule does not in itself confer upon the railway servant concerned any right to
leave. The medical certificate shall be forwarded to the authority competent to grant leave and orders of that authority
awaited.

(5) The authority competent to grant leave may at its discretion, waive the production of medical certificate in case of
application for leave for a period of not exceeding 3 days at a time. Such leave shall not, however, be treated as leave on
medical certificate and shall be debited against leave other than on medical grounds.
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521. "Commuted Leave/Leave on production of Medical Certificate by the Railway Servants shall be regulated as follows:-

1. A Railway servant (Gazetted or Non-gazetted), on being a Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS/Railway Health
Services (RHS) beneficiary and living in an area covered by the CGHS/RHS at the time of illness, shall be required to
produce a Medical and Fitness Certificate in the Form prescribed in Annexure XI to Rule 538 and 541 of Indian Railway
Medical Manual, Volume 1, Third Edition 2000 either from an authorized CGHS Medical Officer or a Railway/Government
Authorized Medical Officer.

In circumstances where the Railway Doctor's line visits do not materialize, the Railway employees, who are covered by the
line jurisdiction of the Railway doctor and who have fallen ill, may obtain a Medical Certificate from a Registered Medical
Practitioner (RMP) subject to the condition that if the leave applied for on medical grounds is for more than 3 days, the
employee should report to the Railway doctor if he is fit to travel or send intimation about his condition, if he is bed-ridden, at
such intervals as directed by the Railway doctor.

2. Railway servants (Gazetted or Non-gazetted), who are not CGHS beneficiaries, (including those who have opted out of
the CGHS / RHS or are CGHS or RHS Card Holders, but at the time of illness are residing outside the jurisdiction of the
CGHS / RHS facilities or take ill while being outside the Headquarters) are required to produce a Medical and Fitness
Certificate from his Authorized Medical Attendant (AMA) provided that in the case of a Non-gazetted Railway employee, if
no AMA is available within a radius of 8 kilometers of his residence or place of temporary stay outside the Headquarters, the
leave sanctioning authority may at his discretion, sanction Leave / Commuted Leave on production of a Medical Certificate
from the Registered Medical Practitioner, after satisfying itself of the facts / merits of the case .

3. In case of hospitalization/indoor treatment permitted in a private hospital recognized under the CGHS/Central Services
(Medical Attendance) Rules, 1944 and Railway Medical Attendance Rules as contained in Indian Railway Medical Manual,
Third Edition, 2000(Corrected upto 30.9.99), a Railway servant (Gazetted or Non-gazetted), whether a CGHS/RHS
beneficiary or not, may produce the requisite Medical/Fitness Certificate from the Authorized Medical Officer of such a
hospital in case his hospitalization/ indoor treatment, is on account of the particular kind of disease (e.g. heart, cancer etc.)
for the treatment of which the concerned Hospital has been recognized by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. There
may be instances where an employee may be initially admitted to such a hospital at a stage when the disease has yet not
been fully diagnosed and it may subsequently be established that the disease was not that, the suspicion of which prompted
his / her admission to the hospital. In such cases, the leave sanctioning authority, with the approval of the General Manager,
may grant Leave / Commuted Leave on the basis of the Medical Certificate from the Authorized Medical Officer of such a
hospital, if he is satisfied about the genuineness of the case.

4. In cases where a Non-gazetted Railway servant finds it difficult to obtain the Medical/Fitness Certificate from a
CGHS/RHS doctor or AMA in exceptional cases, the leave sanctioning authority, may consider grant of leave on the basis of
the Medical/Fitness Certificate from an RMP after taking into account the circumstances of the specific case. Such a
certificate should be, as nearly as possible, in the prescribed form as given in Annexure XI of Rule 538 and 541 of Indian
Railway Medical Manual, Volume 1, Third Edition'2000, and should state the nature of illness and the period for which the
Railway servant is likely to be unable to perform his duties. The competent authority may, at its discretion accept the
certificate, or in cases where it has reasons to suspect the bonafides, refer the case to the Divisional Medical Officer for
advice or investigation. The Medical Certificate from registered private practitioners produced by the Railway servant in
support of their application for leave may be rejected by the competent authority only after a Railway Medical Officer has
conducted the necessary verifications and on the basis of the advice tendered by him after such verifications.

5. Certificate of Fitness in the case of employees working in the Zonal Railways and Field Units will continue to be governed
by the provisions contained in Rule 538 and 541 of Indian Railway Medical Manual, Volume 1, Third Edition 2000.

Note: Ordinarily, the jurisdiction of a Railway Medical Officer will be taken to cover Railway servant residing within a radius
of 2.5 kilometers of the Railway Hospital or health unit to which the Doctor is attached, and within a radius of one kilometer
of a Railway station of the Doctor's beat.

(Authority Board's letter No. E(P&A)l-97/CPC/LE-7 dated 29.08.2002.)

Railway Ministry’s decision1.—Where a Railway employee remained on medical leave upto and including 3 days duration
and reported back for duty with a fitness from the medical practitioner, he may be allowed to join duty without obtaining
fitness certificate from the Railway Medical Officer subject to the conditions that the employee furnished a declaration that
he had not suffered during this period from any eye disease. In the other cases where the duration of the sickness is more
than 3 days, the railway employee should be put back to duty within 24 hours on his producing fitness certificate from a
private medical practitioner, provided he is found fit by the competent railway medical officer. In case there is any delay
beyond 124 hours in obtaining the fitness certificate from the competent Railway Medical Officer, the employee concerned
will be deemed to have been put back to duty within 24 hours of his producing the medical certificate of the private medical
officer.

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(Rly. Ministry’s letter No. E(G)78LE 1-17 dated 18-1-1979)

Railway Ministry’s decision 2.—With a view to preventing misuse, the Railway administration may with draw for specified
periods(From 1st April to 30th June in Summer, from 1st Oct. to 15th November during Diwali and when mass sick reporting
is contemplated by staff of any department) the privilege of acceptance of medical certificate from Registered Medical
Practitioners for grant of Medical Certificates to Group C and Group D Railway servants.

( No. E(G) 72LE-1-11 dated 28-9-72.)

522. Leave to a railway servant who is unlikely to be fit to return to duty.—(1) (a) When a medical authority has reported
that there is no reasonable prospect that the railway servant will ever be fit to return to duty, leave shall not necessarily be
refused to such Railway servant.

(b) The leave may be granted, if due, by the authority competent to grant leave on the following conditions:--

(i) if the medical authority is unable to say with certainty that the railway servant will never again be fit for service, leave not
exceeding twelve months in all may be granted and such leave shall not be extended without further reference to a medical
authority;

(ii) if a railway servant is declared by a medical authority to be completely and permanently incapacitated for further service
leave or an extension of leave may be granted to him after the report of the medical authority has been received, provided
the amount of leave as debited to the leave account together with any period of duty beyond the date of the report of the
medical authority, does not exceed six months.

(2) A railway servant who is declared by a medical authority to be completely and permanently incapacitated for further
service, shall:--

(a) if he is on duty, be invalidated from service from the date of relief of his duties, which could be arranged without delay on
receipt of the report of medical authority. If, however, he is granted leave under para (1) above he shall be invalidated from
service on the expiry of such leave; and

(b) if he is already on leave, be invalidated from service on the expiry of that leave or extension of leave, if any, granted to
him under sub-para (1)

(3) A Railway servant who fails in vision test or otherwise becomes physically incapable of performing the duties of the post
which he occupies but not capable of performing other duties shall be granted leave in accordance with ordinary rules
subject to the proviso that where the Railway servant has not got six months leave to his credit his leave shall be made upto
six months by the grant of extraordinary leave.

If an alternative employment cannot be found for such a person within the period of leave granted as above, his service
shall not be terminated but his leave shall be extended by the grant of extraordinary leave, subject to the condition that the
total amount of extraordinary leave to be granted to the Railway servant does not exceed six months.

The medically decategorised Railway employee waiting for absorption in alternative post may be allowed to commute the
period of LHAP on production of medical certificate, subject to certification that the employee is not fit to hold the post from
which he proceeded on leave. The commutation will, however, be admissible only upto the stage that an alternative post is
offered to him by the administration.

Kinds and amount of leave Due and Admissible

523. Leave on average pay.—(1) (a) (i) A railway servant permanent or temporary other than one who is serving in a
railway school shall be entitled to 30 days leave on average pay in a calendar year.

(ii) The leave account of every railway servant shall be credited with leave on average pay in advance in two instalments of
15 days each on the first day of January and July every calendar year.

(b) The leave at the credit of a railway servant at the close of the previous half year shall be carried forward to the next half
year subject to the leave so carried forward plus the credit for the half year do not exceed the maximum limit of 300 days.

(c ) A period spent in foreign service shall count as duty for purpose of this rule, if contribution towards leave salary is paid
on account of such period.

(d) The following procedure for crediting LAP on 1st Jan./1st July w.e.f. 01.07.1997 in respect of Railway employees may be
adopted:--
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(i) In case of Railway employees, having at their credit leave on Average Pay of 285 days or less as on 1st January/1st July
of a year, LAP of 15 days or proportionately less in respect or retiring persons of those leaving service during the next half
year may continue to be credited to their leave account in advance as at present.

(ii) In cases where the Leave on Average Pay at credit as on 1st January/1st July is 300 days or less but more than 285
days, credit of LAP for 15 days may be kept separately and first adjusted against any LAP that the Railway servant may
take during the ensuing half year and the balance, if any, credited to the LAP account at the close of the half year subject to
the ceiling of 300 days . If the LAP taken during the half year is more than 15 days the amount in excess of 15 days will,
however, have to be debited to the leave account.

(Authority:- Railway Board’s letter No. E(P&A)I-2000/CPC/LE-3 dt.1.8-2000)

2. Subject to the provisions of rules 503,541 as well as this rule, the maximum leave on average pay that may be granted at
a time to a railway sevant shall be 180 days.

524. Calculation of leave on average Pay.—(1) Leave on Average pay shall be credited to the leave account of a railway
servant at the rate of 2½ days for each completed calendar month of service which he is likely to render in a half year in
which he is appointed.

(2)(a) The credit for the half year in which a railway servant is due to retire or resigns from the service shall be afforded only
at the rate of 2½ days per completed calendar month upto the date of retirement or resignation.

(b) When a railway servant is removed or dismissed from service or dies while in service, credit of earned leave shall be
allowed at the rate of 2½ days per completed calendar month upto the end of the calendar month preceding the calendar
month in which he is removed or dismissed from service or dies in service.

(3) If a railway servant has availed of extraordinary leave and/or some period of absence has been treated as dies non
during the previous half year, the credit to be afforded to his leave account at the commencement of the next half year shall
be reduced by 1/10th of the period of such leave and/or dies non subject to a maximum of 15 days.

(1) While affording credit of Leave on Average Pay fraction of a day shall be rounded off to the nearest day.

(Authority:- Railway Board’s letter No. E(P&A)I-2000/CPC/ALE-5 dt.7.2-97)

Railway Ministy’s decision.- Concession to Railways servants on the North-East Frontier Railway. Once in a calendar year,
the staff proceeding on leave on average pay to or via Calcutta, Lucknow or Patna will be granted additional leave, not
debitable to their leave account on the following scale:-

(i) Staff headquarters at Siligur station or at stations west of Siliguri 2 days

(ii) Staff headquarters at stations last of Siliguri but on the North Bank of Brahmaputra , including Darjeeling-Himalaya
Section and at Pandu (Guwahati). 4 days

(iii) Staff head quarters at stations to the east of Pandu

(Railway Ministry’s letter No.E(G)58AD-I-dt. 15-2-1958). 6 days

525. Leave applicable to school staff.- (1) (a) The leave account of a teacher, principal, headmaster, librarian, laboratory
assistant or a waterman working in a railway school shall be credited in advance with Leave on Average Pay in two
installments of five days each on the first day of January and July, of every year.

(b) If a teacher, principal, headmaster, librarian, laboratory assistant or a waterman working in a railway school has availed
of extraordinary leave and/or some period of absence has been treated as dies-non during a half-year, the credit to be
afforded to his leave account at the commencement of the next half-year shall be reduced by 1/30th of the period of such
leave and/or dies-non subject to a maximum of five days.

( c) The credit for the half-year in which a teacher, principal, headmaster, librarian, laboratory assistant or a waterman
working in a railway school is appointed ceases to be in service, shall be allowed at the rate of 5/6th day for each completed
month of service which he had rendered or is likely to render in the half-year in which he is appointed/ceases to be in
service.

(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-rule (1), a Railway servant serving in a Railway school shall not be entitled to any leave
on average pay in respect of the duty performed in any year in which he avails himself of the full vacation.

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(3) (a) In respect of any year in which a Railway servant avails himself of a portion of the vacation he shall be entitled to
leave on average pay in such proportion of 30 days, as the number of days of vacation not taken bears to the full vacation :

Provided that no such leave shall be admissible to a railway servant not in permanent employ in respect of the first year of
his service.

(b) If, in any year, the Railway servant does not avail himself of any vacation, leave on average pay shall be admissible to
him in respect of that year under Rule 523.

Explanation.—For the purpose of this rule, the term ‘year’ shall be construed not as meaning a calendar year in which duty
is performed but as meaning twelve months of actual duty in a railway school.

Note.1—A Railway servant entitled to vacation shall be considered to have availed himself of a vacation or a portion of a
vacation unless he has been required by general or special order of a higher authority to forgo such vacation or portion of a
vacation:

Provided that if he has been prevented by such order from enjoying more than fifteen days of the vacation, he shall be
considered to have availed himself of no portion of the vacation.

NOTE 2.—When a Railway servant serving in a Railway school proceeds on leave before completing a full year of duty, the
leave on average pay admissible to him shall be calculated not with reference to the vacations which fall during the period of
actual duty rendered before proceeding on leave but with reference to the vacation that falls during the year commencing
from the date on which he completed the previous year of duty.

NOTE 3.—The leave on average pay, if any, admissible under sub-rule(3) will be in addition to the leave on average pay
admissible under sub-Rule(1)

(4) Vacation may be taken in combination with or in continuation of any kind of leave under these rules:

Provided that the total duration of vacation and leave on average pay taken in conjunction, whether the leave on average
pay is taken in combination with or in continuation of other leave or not, shall not exceed the amount of leave on average
pay due and admissible to the Railway servant at a time under Rule 523.

(5) The leave on average pay under this rule at the credit of a Railway servant at the close of the previous half-year shall be
carried forward to the next half-year, subject to the condition that the leave so carried forward plus the credit for the half-year
do not exceed the maximum limit of 240 days.

526. Leave on half average pay.—(1)(a) A railway servant, permanent or temporary, other than one who is serving in a
railway school, shall be entitled to leave on half average pay of 20 days in respect of each completed year of service.

(b) The leave due under clause (a) may be granted on medical certificate or on private affairs.

(c ) The amount of leave on half average pay that cab be availed of in one spell irrespective of its being combined with any
other kind of leave or not shall be limited to 24 months.

(2) If a railway servant is on leave on the day on which he completes a year of service, he shall be entitled to half pay leave
without having to return to duty.

(3) The leave on half-average pay will be credited to the leave account of Railway servant on 1st January and 1st July each
as indicated below:

(1) The account of leave on half average pay of every railway servant except Railway School Teachers and other staff (such
as Lab. Assistants, Assistant and Librarian in Railway Schools) shall be credited with leave on half average pay in advance,
in two instalments of ten days each on the first day of January and July of every calendar year.

(2) The leave shall be credited to the leave account at the rate of 5/3 days for each completed calendar month of service
which the railway servant is likely to render in the half-year of the calendar year in which he/she is appointed.

(3) The credit for half-year in which the railway servant is due to retire or resigns from service shall be allowed at the rate of
5/3 days per completed month upto the date of retirement resignation.

(4) When a railway servant is removed or dismissed or dies while in service, credit of leave on half-average pay shall be
allowed at the rate of 5/3 days per completed calendar month upto the end of calendar month preceding the calendar month
in which the railway servant is removed or dismissed from service or dies while in service.
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(5) Leave on half-average pay under these rules may be granted on medical certificate or on private affairs provided that in
the case of railway servants, not permanently employed, no leave on half-average pay shall be granted unless the authority
competent to grant leave has reasons to believe that the railway servant will return on its expiry , except in the case of a
railway servant who has been declared completely or permanently incapacitated for further service by a medical authority.

(6) While calculating the completed months of service the month may be rounded off to the next higher if it exceeds more
than 15 days (For example if a railway servant has completed a year’s service as on 11th May 1986, he may be given the
benefit of L.H.A.P. from May since it exceeds 15 days to December 1985 for 13 days viz.5/3 X 8 = 13½).

(7) Where a period or absence for suspension of a Railway servant has been treated as “dies-non” in a half year, the credit
to be afforded to his half-pay leave account at the commencement of next half-year, shall be reduced by one-eighteenth of
the period of ‘dies-non’, subject to a maximum of ten days.

(Authority Board’s letter No. E(P&A)I-2003/CPC/LE4 dated 19-06-2003)

(8) While affording credit of half pay leave, fraction of a day may be rounded off to the nearest day.

EXPLANATION:

Sub-clauses (7) & (8) under Sub-rule (3) of Rule 526 of Indian Railway Establishment Code, Volume I (1985 Edition) have
been incorporated with the President’s approval effective from 4-7-1987. Incorporation of these Rules have been
necessitated due to amendments made by the Department of Personnel & Training in the Central Civil Services (Leave)
Rules, 1972 vide their Notification No. 13014/1/87 Estt. (L) dated 17-7-1987. It is certified that retrospective effect given to
these rules will not adversely affect any employee to whom these rules apply.

Railway Ministry’s decision.—It is not necessary that a railway servant should return to duty before availing of half-average
pay leave which he has earned during this spell of leave. As the half-average pay leave becomes due on completing a
year’s service which term include extraordinary leave, the leave account can be credited with the amount of such leave, as
soon as it is earned. If a railway servant who is already on leave, subsequently applies for an extension of leave, his
application can be treated as a fresh application for leave and in such circumstances there is no objection to the grant of half
pay leave in continuation of the leave already granted to him. There is also no objection to the grant of such leave during a
spell of leave already granted to a railway servant provided he submits his application or formally requests for the
conversion of the leave already granted to him into half pay leave. In such cases it will be necessary to revise the original
leave account and subsequent leave will have to be granted according to the amended leave accounts.

(Railway Board’s Letter No. E(G)56-CPC/LR/8 dated 13-1-1958.)

527. Commuted leave. Commuted leave not exceeding half the amount of leave on half-average pay due may be granted
on medical certificate to railway servant to the following conditions:--

(a) the authority competent to grant leave is satisfied that there is reasonable prospect of the railway servant returning to
duty on its expiry:

(b) when commuted leave is granted, twice the amount of such leave shall be debited against the leave on half-average pay
due;

(c ) there is no limit to the number of days of commuted leave to be availed of during the entire service;

(d) leave on half average pay upto a maximum of 180 days shall be allowed to be commuted during the entire service where
such leave is utilised for an approved course of study which is certified to be in the public interest by the leave sanctioning
authority;

(e) where a railway servant who has been granted commuted leave and resigns from service or at his request is permitted
to retire voluntarily without returning to duty, the commuted leave shall be treated as leave on half average pay and the
difference between the leave salary in respect of commuted leave and leave on half average pay shall be recovered.

Provided that no such recovery shall be made if the retirement is compulsorily thrust upon him by reason of ill health
incapacitating the railway servant for further service or in the even of his death.

(f) commuted leave may be granted at the request of the railway servant even when leave on average pay is due to him .

528. Leave not due.—(1) Leave not due may be granted to a railway servant in permanent employment subject to the
following conditions:--

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(i) leave not due shall be limited to the leave on half average pay he is likely to earn thereafter;

(ii) leave not due during the entire service shall be limited to a maximum of 360 days, on medical certificate;

(iii) leave not due shall be debited against the half pay leave he is likely to earn subsequently.

(2) (a) Where a railway servant who has been granted leave not due resigns from service or at his request permitted to
retire voluntarily without returning to duty the leave not due shall be cancelled, his resignation or retirement taking effect
from the date on which such leave had commenced and the leave salary shall be recovered.

(b) where a railway servant who having availed himself of leave not due returns to duty but resigns or retires from service
before he has earned such leave he shall be liable to refund the leave salary to the extent the leave has not been earned
subsequently.

Provided that no leave salary shall be recovered under clause (a) or clause (b) if the retirement is compulsorily thrust upon
him by reason of ill health incapacitating the railway servant for further service or if he is retired compulsorily on disciplinary
grounds or due to pre-matured retirement under para 620 of Manual of Pension Rules or the provisions relating to
compulsory retirement of non-pensionable Railway servants on rendering 30 years of service or in the even of his death.

529. Leave not due to temporary railway employees.—Subject to the provisions of clause (i) and clause (iii), to rule 528(1),
leave not due may be granted to temporary railway servants who are suffering from T.B., Leprosy, cancer or mental illness,
for a period not exceeding 360 days during the entire service on medical certificate if the railway servant concerned has put
in at least one year’s railway service:

Provided that the post from which the railway servant proceeds on leave is likely to last till his return to duty; and the request
for leave is supported by a medical certificate.

Note.—Leave not due, under Rules 528 and 529 , is leave admissible under the Rules and where it can be granted, the
grant of Extraordinary Leave under Rule 530 will be irregular unless specifically applied for by the Railway servant in writing.

530. Extraordinary Leave.—(1) Extraordinary leave may be granted to a railway servant in special circumstances—

(a) when no other leave is admissible, and

(b) When other leave is admissible, but the railway servant applies in writing for the grant of extraordinary leave.

(2) Unless the President in view of the exceptional circumstances of the case otherwise determines, no temporary railway
servant shall be granted extraordinary leave on any one occasion in excess of the following limits:--

(a) three months, without a medical certificate.

(b) Six months where the railway servant has completed 1 year’s continuous service on the date of expiry of leave of the
kind due and admissible under these rules including three months extraordinary leave under clause (a) and his request for
such leave is supported by a medical certificate as required by these rules.

(c) Eighteen months where the railway servant has completed one year’s continuous service and is undergoing treatment
for—

(i) pulmonary tuberculosis or pleurisy of tubercular origin, in a recognized sanatorium, Railway Hospital and Railway Chest
Clinics.

(ii) tuberculosis of any other part of the body by a qualified T.B. Specialist/Civil Medical Officer.

(iii) leprosy in a recognized leprosy institution or hospital recognized by the State Administrative Medical Officer concerned.

(iv) cancer or for mental illness in an institution recognized for the treatment of such disease or by a Medical officer or
Specialist of railway or government.

(d) twenty four months where the leave is required for the purpose of prosecuting studies certified to be in public interest
provided the railway servant concerned has completed three years continuous service on the date of expiry of leave of the
kind due and admissible under these rules, including three months extraordinary leave under clause (a).

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(3) (a) Where a railway servant is granted extraordinary leave in relaxation of the provisions contained in clause (d) of sub-
rule (2), he shall be required to execute a bond (Annexure II) undertaking to refund to the railway during such leave plus that
incurred by other agency with interest thereon in the event of his not returning to duty on the expiry of such leave or quitting
the service before a period of 3 years after return to duty.

(b) The bond shall be supported by sureties from two permanent railway servants having a status comparable to or higher
than that of the railway servant.

(4) Two spells of extraordinary leave, if intervened by any other kind of leave, shall be treated as one continuous spell of
extraordinary leave for the purpose of sub-rule (2).

(5) The authority competent to grant leave may commute retrospectively periods of absence without leave into extraordinary
leave.

Note 1.—The concession of extraordinary leave upto 18 months will be admissible also to a railway servant suffering from
pulmonary tuberculosis, who receives, treatment at his residence under a tuberculosis specialist recognized as such by the
State Administrative Medical Officer concerned and produces a certificate signed by that specialist to the effect that he is
under his treatment and that he has reasonable chances of recovery on the expiry of the leave recommended.

Note 2.—Institutions recognized by the Government of India for the purpose of treatment of Central Government servants
and their families will be deemed as recognized for the purpose of grant of extraordinary leave.

(Railway Board’s Letter No. F(E)52/LE-2/3 dated 15-6-60.)

Note 3.—No limit in case of permanent Railway servants, but all kinds of leave together shall not exceed 5 years in one
spell.

Note 4.—Where a temporary railway servant fails to resume duty on the expiry of the maximum period of extraordinary
leave granted to him/her or where he/she is granted a lesser amount of extraordinary leave than the maximum amount
admissible, and remains absent from duty for period which, together with the period of extraordinary leave granted, exceeds
the limit upto which he/she could have been granted such leave under sub-rule (1) above, he/she shall unless the President
in view of the exceptional circumstances of the case otherwise determines be removed from service after following the
procedure laid down in the discipline and Appeal Rules for railway servants.

531. Leave to probationers and a railway servant on probation.—(1) (a) A railway servant on probation including a
probationer under training for a post in Railway service Group A shall be entitled to leave under these rules as if he had held
his post substantively otherwise than on probation.

(b) If, for any reason, it is proposed to terminate the services of a probationer, any leave which may be granted to him shall
not extend--

(i) beyond the date on which the probationary period as already sanctioned or extended expires; or

(ii) beyond any earlier date on which his services are terminated by the orders of an authority competent to appoint him.

(2) A person appointed to a post on probation shall be entitled to leave under these rules as a temporary or permanent
railway servant according as his appointment is against a temporary or a permanent post.

Provided that where such person already holds a lien on a permanent post before such appointment, he shall be entitled to
leave under these rules as a permanent railway servant.

532. Leave to Special Class Railway Apprentices.—Special Class Railway Apprentices may be granted leave on full
stipend for a period not exceeding one month in any year of apprenticeship provided that except on grounds of ill health, the
leave shall not be granted to an apprentice if it would interfere with his training. Leave in excess of one month in any year
may be granted on grounds of ill health and when the excess leave is so granted, the apprentice shall not be eligible for any
stipend for the excess period.

533. Leave to Apprentice Mechanics.—Apprentice Mechanics in Railway Workshop may be granted leave on full stipend
for a period not exceeding 16 days and on half stipend on medical certificate for a period not exceeding 20 days in any year
of apprenticeship.

Note 1.—Journeymen and similar other apprentices/trainees recruited for initial training on the Railways before they are
appointed against the working posts in Group C service, during the period of their training may be granted leave under this
rule.
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Note 2.—Leave to probationary Assistant Station Masters and Commercial clerks and all others who are trained for
employment and are not put on the time scale during the period of training shall be regulated under this rule.

534. Leave to Trade apprentices.—Trade apprentices may be granted leave on full stipend for a period not exceeding 12
days and leave on half stipend on medical certificate for a period not exceeding 15 days in any year of apprenticeship.

535. Leave to other apprentices.—Apprentices under training for Group C posts in all other departments who are posted to
supervisory posts after training such as Apprentice Train Examiners, Apprentice Permanent Way Inspectors, Stores
apprentices etc. may be granted leave like Apprentice Mechanics mentioned in rule 533. Apprentices who are appointed as
skilled workmen after training may be granted leave like trade apprentices mentioned in rule 534.

536. leave to apprentices.—Apprentices, other than special class apprentices, may be granted by the General Manager
extraordinary leave (without stipend) under the rules applicable to temporary railway servants. The General Manager may
re-delegate his powers under this rule to the Heads of Departments and officers in not below Junior Administrative grade.

537. General conditions for grant of leave to apprentices.—(1) In all cases mentioned in rules 531 to 536 leave will be non-
accumulative and no leave shall be granted if it would interfere with the training.

(2) On subsequent absorption, without a break, if the period of apprenticeship or training as probationer, is treated as
service, recalculation of leave may be allowed as is permissible under the normal operation of the rules.

538. Leave to persons re-employed after retirement.—(1) In the case of person re-employed after retirement the provisions
of these rules shall apply as if he had entered railway service for the first time on the date of his re-employment.

(2) (a) If a railway servant, who quits the public service on compensation or invalid pension or gratuity, is re-employed and if
his gratuity is thereupon refunded or his pension held wholly in abeyance his past service thereby becoming pensionable on
ultimate retirement he may at the discretion of the authority sanctioning the re-employment and to such extent as that
authority may decide count his former service towards leave.

(b) A railway servant who is dismissed or removed from the public service but is reinstated on appeal or revision is entitled
to count his former service for leave.

539. Leave to Workshop staff.—(1) Skilled artisans as also semi-skilled and un-skilled workman will earn leave on average
pay, half average pay and commuted leave and leave not due in accordance with these rules.

(2) Workshop staff may be allowed to take leave with pay, if due, or without pay, for periods not less than half a day. For this
purpose leave for half a day means authorized absence from duty for over half an hour either during the first period before
interval or the second period of any day on which the workshop remains open for both the periods. This concession
however, is restricted to six occasions in a year.

Railway Ministry’s decision.—The practice of granting half a day’s leave against leave account to staff other than those
employed in workshops may be allowed to continue where it is covered by express orders on the subject.

(Rly. Ministry’s letter No. F(E)49LE 2/5 dated 5-9-1949.)

540. Leave preparatory to retirement.—A railway servant not desirous of encashment of leave on average pay at his credit
at the time of retirement on superannuation may be permitted by a competent authority to take leave preparatory to
retirement to the extent of leave on average pay due not exceeding 180 days together with half pay leave due subject to the
conditions that such leave extends upto and includes the day preceding the date of retirement.

Note.—The leave granted as leave preparatory to retirement shall not include extraordinary leave.

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