Resignation not accepted by state government resultantly unable to join new job in central government. I joined as an Auditor in the Odisha government in February 2023 and gave my resignation in September 2023 to join a position in the central government. Since then, my salary has been stopped, but my resignation was not accepted due to pending work regarding the non-submission of audit reports. I expressed my inability to submit the reports citing reasons and showed willingness to refund the amount of my salary for the days of default. However, despite three reminders, I have not received any response for about six months now. I did not take up the previous central government job for which I requested resignation. However, I have now secured another central government job. Could you please advise me on the procedure I should follow now and what actions could be taken?
Asked from: Odisha
Regardless of the reasons for not submitting the audit report within the stipulated time, the state government is obligated to provide reasons for delay in not accepting your resignation. By refusing to accept your resignation, the state government is preventing you from taking up the new job in the central government. Meanwhile, your salary has been stopped, directly impacting your right to livelihood. This deprivation of employment due to an unreasonable delay in accepting your resignation is unacceptable.
In this situation, it is imperative that you promptly file a writ petition in the Odisha High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution. Deprivation of livelihood constitutes a violation of fundamental rights. Article 21 of the Constitution asserts that no person can be deprived of their life and personal liberty except by the procedure established by law.
There is a prescribed procedure for accepting the resignation of a government servant. If the employer has suffered any loss due to the actions and conduct of the employee, it may recover the loss from the employee but cannot indefinitely delay the decision on resignation. Such actions are unfair, unjust, and unreasonable, thus violating fundamental rights.
The high court shall ask from the concerned authority to state the reason for delay in taking decision on the petitioner’s resignation. If the court finds that reason is unsatisfactory it may direct the authority to decide the resignation application within a stipulated time or finally dispose of the petition with any other appropriate decision.
The right to livelihood is not explicitly mentioned as a fundamental right in the Constitution of India. However, it is derived from Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. The Supreme Court of India has interpreted this article expansively to include the right to livelihood as an integral part of the right to life.
In various judgments, the Supreme Court has held that the right to life under Article 21 encompasses the right to earn a livelihood by lawful means. The court has recognized that the right to livelihood is essential for the realisation of the right to life with dignity. Therefore, any deprivation of livelihood must be in accordance with the procedure established by law and must be reasonable and justifiable. For more legal help please visit Kanoon India.
