CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has ruled that government servants who quit job after availing study leave are not entitled to benefit of salary for the leave period.
The court gave the ruling in the case of a woman medical officer who had sought intervention against inaction on her resignation letter and consequent no objection certification (NOC) for joining as assistant professor at AIIMS (Patna).
She had taken study leave to continue as senior resident at AIIMS (Bhubaneswar) from 2019 to 2022. On completion of the senior resident course, she rejoined as medical officer but later received offer for appointment at AIIMS (Patna) on December 21, 2023.
While disposing of the petition on February 5, Justice AK Mohapatra observed, “There exists an obligation on the part of the government servant to the effect that while they were permitted to go on leave for higher study, they cannot retain any salary or part of the salary or stipend, as the case may be, for the period for which they have not worked for the government... Government servants have no right to retain such money if they have not rendered their service to the government and at the same time, they decide to quit the job.”
Justice Mohapatra held the government has every right to recover the stipend or any other monetary benefit paid to the government servants during the study leave period if they have not worked for the aforesaid period or severed the employee and employer relationship with the government immediately after returning from such study leave.
Accordingly, he directed the state government to grant NOC and a discharge/release certificate to the petitioner within one week and accept her resignation.