Laws Relating to Premature Retirement and Resignation

This lucid commentary on the law relating to premature retirement, as applicable in India, has now been updated with a Supplement upto 2016.

Topics covered include: Various modes of retirement, role of the State as employer, Compulsory retirement and the disputed issues relating to it, compulsory retirement under service rules and that under conduct rules, etc. The Appendices include the various voluntary retirement schemes for the Government employees and those of the Public Sector.

Table of Cases

• Overview
  • Introduction
  • The State and its Instrumentalities as Employer
  • Employer-employee relationship
  • Resignation and Voluntary Retirement
  • Voluntary Retirement and Voluntary Retirement Scheme
  • Compulsory Retirement
  • Generally
  • Concept of Compulsory (Premature) retirement
  • Compulsory Retirement (under Service Rules) vis-a-vis Compulsory Retirement under Conduct Rules and Superannuation
  • The Rules
  • Absolute Power to appropriate authority: Whether unfettered
• Compulsory retirement - the general principles of law
  • Ingredients of Compulsory Retirement
  • Ban on Reappointment
  • Judicial Review
  • Generally
  • Constitutionality of the provision
  • Competent Authority
  • Applicability
  • Qualifying Service/Age
  • Effective date
  • Procedures and instructions
  • Compulsory retirement-whether punishment
  • Conditions under which Compulsory Retirement cannot be ordered
  • Principles of Natural Justice - whether applicable
  • Opportunity to be Heard
  • Speaking Order
• Judicial Review
  • Grounds for interference by Court
• Voluntary Retirement
  • Scope
  • Voluntary Retirement and Resignation
  • Voluntary Retirement and Superannuation
  • Eligibility
  • On completing thirty years of qualifying service
  • On completing twenty years of qualifying service
  • Exceptions and restrictions on eligibility
  • Notice period
  • Rationale of Notice Period
  • Duration of Notice Period
  • Curtailment of Notice Period
  • Acceptance of application for Voluntary Retirement
  • Refusal of request
  • Effective date
  • Withdrawal of offer for Voluntary Retirement
• Voluntary Retirement Schemes
  • Background and distinction from normal Voluntary Retirement
  • Nature of the Voluntary Retirement Schemes
  • Provisions and eligibility
  • Validity of Voluntary Retirement Schemes
  • Right of management to accept or reject VRS application: Whether unfettered
  • Communication of acceptance: Whether required
  • Withdrawal of VRS application: Permissibility
  • Effective Date
  • Grounds for withdrawal
  • Back Wages
  • Annulment of the VR Scheme: Permissibility
  • Successive VR Schemes with different packages: Whether discriminatory?
  • Effect of accepting the benefits on withdrawal
  • Failure of employer to pay ex gratia
  • VRS and Pay Revision.
  • Ex gratia - Liability to pay income tax
  • Scheme of the Reserve Bank of India
• Resignation
  • What constitutes Resignation: the ingredients
  • Resignation to be unconditional and voluntary
  • Suspension and resignation
  • Competent authority
  • Kinds of resignation
  • Notice period
  • Acceptance of resignation and communication thereof
  • Communication of acceptance, when necessary
  • Refusal of resignation
  • When a resignation takes effect (Effective Date)
  • Withdrawal of resignation.
  • Before acceptance
  • After acceptance but before relief
  • After relief (after it became effective)
  • Effects of resignation
• Appendices
  • Rules for Compulsory Retirement
  • Voluntary Retirement Rules
  • Government of India Rules for Resignation
  • Special Voluntary Retirement Scheme (For Surplus Central Government Employees)
  • VRS for Public Sector Undertakings
  • VRS - 2003 for Bokaro Steel Limited.
  • National Insurance Company Ltd.
  • Optional Early Retirement Scheme for Reserve Bank of India
  • Voluntary Retirement Scheme for Banks
  • State Bank of India Voluntary Retirement Scheme (SBI VRS)
  • Punjab National Bank Voluntary Retirement

Scheme-2000
Subject Index