Employee can retract from VRS offer before release: CAT

New Delhi, January 01: A government employee is entitled to continue in service if he withdraws the voluntary retirement notice before the date of his actual release, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has held.

The tribunal passed the order while hearing the plea of Sub-Inspector Chander Pal Arora, challenging the Delhi Police order which accepted the voluntary retirement of the officer even after withdrawing the same within a specific time period.

“Once the notice was withdrawn by Arora, it could not have been accepted by the Delhi Police on May 15, 2009,” the CAT headed by Vice-Chairman L K Joshi said while setting aside its order.

Delhi Police contended that Arora had tendered his voluntary retirement notice without any “pressure, stress and duress” and the authority has no power to revoke the order of his release.

Arora, however, said that he was well within his right to withdraw notice of his voluntary retirement which should not be accepted by the authority.

The police officer applied for voluntary retirement on February 23, 2009 owing to some personal reasons but withdrew the same before the date of his actual release.

Despite that, the authorities accepted his voluntary retirement.

-PTI