This writ petition has been filed on behalf of the petitioner for issuance of appropriate writs, directing the respondents-authorities to grant the leave salary/leave encashment with interest since 25th August, 2011.

2. The petitioner was an Indian Administrative Service Officer and took voluntary retirement on 25-08-2006 and, thereafter, he was appointed as Commissioner, State Information Commission and joined the above-said post on 26th day of August, 2006. He demitted the office of Commissioner, State Information Commission on 25-08-2011 after completion of 5 years in the said office. Before demitting the office, he applied for seven days’ casual leave from 29-09-2010 to 07-10-2010 and made prayer to prefix the aforesaid casual leave with Puja holidays from 08-10-2010 to 17-10-2010 and to combine restricted leave for 18-10-2010. The Accountant General, having found 148 days earned leave and 70 days half pay leave to the account of the petitioner wrote letter No. 615 dated 23-08-2011 to General Administration Department, Bihar for sanction of the above-stated leave. The Accountant General sent several reminders to General Administration Department, Bihar, Patna and thereafter, it was informed by General Administration Department, Bihar, Patna that for sanction of earned leave, the matter has been referred to His Excellency Governor of Bihar and lastly, the Governor of Bihar sanctioned the earned leave of the petitioner after converting the casual leave, Puja holidays and restricted holidays from 29-09-2010 to 18-10-2010 into earned leave.

3. The stand of the respondent No, 1 is that the aforesaid deduction of 20 days from earned leave of the petitioner has been made as per Appendix 13(B) of Bihar Service Code and as a matter of fact, the proposal for sanction of 20 days earned leave was sent to the Governor Secretariat on 25-03-2011 and the concerned file returned from Governor Secretariat to General Administration Department on 30-12-2013. After return of the file, the 20 days earned leave was sanctioned to the petitioner vide Notification No. 1076 dated 24-01-2014 and the Accountant General, Bihar, Patna was requested for sending fresh leave admissibility report. It has also been pleaded that the sanction order shall be issued after receipt of leave admissibility report from the Accountant General, Bihar, Patna.

4. Learned counsel, appearing for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is not an employee of Bihar Government and, therefore, Bihar Service Code is not applicable in the case of the petitioner. He further submits that as a matter of fact, the petitioner is entitled to get earned leave according to All India Services (leave) Rules and in All India Services (Leave) Rules, there is a provision to prefix or suffix the casual leave with Sundays and close holidays. He further submits that according to All India Services (leave) Rules, Public holidays and weekly offs falling within a period of casual leave should not be counted as part of the casual leave and similarly, restricted holidays can also be prefixed or suffixed to casual leave and, therefore, the respondents wrongly converted the casual leave and restricted holidays into earned leave.

5. Since the aforesaid 20 days casual leave and holidays were converted into earned leave by the concerned respondents during pendency of this writ petition, by the Notification No. 1076 dated 24-01-2014, the petitioner has challenged the aforesaid notification No. 1076 dated 24-01-2014 by filing interlocutory application No. 3023 of 2014.

6. On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the State submits that according to Appendix 13(B) of Bihar Service Code, casual leave cannot be combined with vacation or other kind of leave and should not arbitrarily extend more than 16 days in any one calendar year and in the present case, the petitioner prefixed casual leave with holidays and restricted holidays for more than 16 days and, therefore, the aforesaid leave was rightly