51. INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING BUNDH
DOP&T's OM No. 27/6/71-Estt.(B) Cabinet Sectt. dated 1.11.1971
• The absence of Central Government Employees during a 'Bundh' can be categorized into three types:
• (i) Absence with approved leave for genuine reasons (e.g., medical grounds).
• (ii) Absence due to reasons beyond the employee's control (e.g., transport failure, disturbances, picketing, curfew).
• (iii) Unauthorized absence (not meeting the conditions of categories i or ii).
• For category (i), regular leave (including casual leave if due) may be granted.
• For category (ii), if absence is due to transport failure (for those residing more than three miles away), special casual leave may be granted with the Ministry/Department's concurrence. If absence is due to picketing, disturbance, or curfew, special casual leave can be granted regardless of the distance, also with the Ministry/Department's concurrence.
• For category (iii) (unauthorized absence), the principle of 'no work-no pay' applies under Fundamental Rule 17(1), meaning no pay and allowances for the absence period. This unauthorized absence can also constitute a break in service, leading to forfeiture of past service unless the break is condoned and treated as 'dies-non' (non-duty period). If treated as 'dies-non', prior service counts, but the absence period does not.
• Absence for even part of a day due to concerted action or combination by employees during a 'Bundh' will be considered unauthorized absence for the entire day, and the same actions as outlined for category (iii) will apply.
The absence of Central Government Employees on a day or days of Bundh may fall under one of the following categories.
(i) Where a Government servant had applied or applies for leave for the day or days of the Bundh for genuine reasons, e.g. medical grounds, of which the competent authority is satisfied;
(ii) Where the competent authority is satisfied that the absence of individual concerned was entirely due to reasons beyond his control e.g., due to failure of transport; or disturbances or picketing or imposition of curfew, etc.,
(iii) Unauthorised absence, i.e. where conditions mentioned in (i) or (ii) above are not satisfied.
2. As regards the first category, leave of the kind due and admissible, including casual leave, may be granted to the Government servants concerned. As regards the second category, if the competent authority is satisfied that the absence was due to failure of transport facilities, special casual leave may be granted to such Government servants who had to come from a distance of more than three miles to their place of duty. If the absence was due to picketing or disturbance or curfew, then too special casual leave could be granted to regularize the absence, without insisting on the condition that the distance between their place of duty and their residence should be more than three miles. Special casual leave in either of the cases mentioned above may be granted with the concurrence of the Ministry/Department concerned.
3. As regards the third category mentioned above, under the proviso to Fundamental Rule 17 (1), an officer who is absent from duty without any authority shall not be entitled to any pay and allowances during the period of such absence. Unauthorized absence of this kind, apart from resulting in loss of pay and allowances for the period of such absence, would also constitute a break in service, entailing forfeiture of past service for all purposes, unless the break itself is condoned and treated as dies-non. If the break is condoned and treated a dies-non by the competent authority, the service rendered prior to the break will be counted for all purpose, but the period of the break itself will not count for any purpose.
4. There might, however be a case in which a number of Government employee acting in combination or in a concerted manner may absent themselves from duty for a part of a day only. The provisions of Ministry of Home Affairs O.M. No. 60/17/64-Estt. (A) dated the 4th August, 1965 shall not apply to such a case. Their absence even for a part of a day in the above circumstances shall be deemed to be unauthorized absence for a whole day, and action may be taken in regard to the unauthorized absence as outlined in paragraph 2 and 3 above.
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