23 IAS officers on unauthorised leave: Govt

Twenty-three IAS officers, who were on unauthorised leave for more than an year, have been considered as deemed to have resigned, the Government said today.

Besides 23 IAS officers, one IPS officer is also considered deemed to have resigned under All India Services (leave) rules, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions V Narayanasamy told Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

"Wilful absence from duty after the expiry of leave may render a member of the service liable to disciplinary action. "In All India Services, there is a provision of effecting deemed resignation under Rule 7 (2) of AIS (Leave) Rules, 1955 which can be invoked in a case where an officer is absent without authorisation for a period exceeding one year from the date of expiry of sanctioned leave or permission," the Minister said.

He said power to sanction leave to an officer vests with the authority under whose administrative control the officer is working. "Given the large number of officers belonging to various central services and the All India Services with unique feature of serving at the Centre and the states, the requisite details of leave sanctioned and joining in respect of officers belonging to different services are not centrally maintained," Narayanasamy said.