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Union of India v. Hitender Kumar Soni

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 10645 of 2010)Decided 21 Jul 2014
Civil Appeal No. 10645 of 2010
Justice Vikramajit Sen · Justice Shiva Kirti Singh

Background

A temporary investigator on probation stopped attending work and sent an unconditional resignation in October 1997. Despite requests to return, he remained absent, and the competent authority accepted his resignation in June 1998. He sought to withdraw it in August, and the High Court ordered reinstatement because the employer had not issued a separate order formally relieving him.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the government's appeal and dismissed the employee's writ petition. Reading the relevant office memorandum as a whole, it held that the government could accept an unconditional resignation with immediate effect rather than defer termination to a future relieving date. The acceptance letter here did not postpone the end of employment, and a separate relieving letter was unnecessary for an employee who had already abandoned his duties. Withdrawal after that effective acceptance could not restore his employment. The Court distinguished situations in which a resignation or its acceptance specifies a future effective date and the employment relationship continues until then.

Lesson Learnt

Before trying to withdraw a resignation, check whether it has already been accepted with immediate effect or takes effect on a future date. Under the service instructions applied here, absence of a separate relieving letter did not keep this employment alive.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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