An employee may withdraw their resignation at any time before acceptance; failure to act on resignation renders it unaccepted.

ORDER :

1. This writ petition is filed to direct the respondents to treat that the deceased employee as on duty from his joining until he attained the age of superannuation, i.e. 30.04.2019, and to grant all other promotional and consequential benefits.

2. Heard Sri T.P. Acharya, learned counsel for the petitioners and Sri Koya Prabhakar Reddy, learned Standing Counsel for Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences, appearing for respondents.

3. The brief facts of the case are as follows:-

(a) Since the original petitioner by name Dr. B. Shankar Rao (hereinafter referred to as “deceased employee”) died during the pendency of the Writ Petition, his legal representatives were brought on record as petitioners No.2 to 4.

(b) The deceased employee joined as a Lecturer in the first respondent Institute on 01.11.1991 and worked till 09.10.1993. His post was redesignated as Assistant Professor, and he had been working since 10.10.1993. The first respondent, vide Proceedings, dated 29.04.1997, appointed the deceased as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care, on a temporary basis. The deceased employee accepted the said appointment on 12.05.1997, and his services were regularized with effect from 12.05.1997 vide Proceedings, dated 13.03.2000, and he was placed on probation for two years within a continuous period of three years from the date of regularization. He was declared to have satisfactorily completed the probationary period in the category of Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, vide proceedings dated 14.05.2001.

(c) While things stood thus, on account of some domestic issues, the deceased employee was on EL from 19.08.2003 to 06.09.2003 and reported to duty on 08.09.2003 in the forenoon. Subsequently, on 28.10.2003, due to unavoidable circumstances, he extended his leave till the end of November 2003, and the said letter was duly received by the first respondent’s office. However, the first respondent rejected his request for extension of leave for the said period and instructed him to join duty immediately. A show cause notice was issued vide proceedings, dated 14.05.2004, asking him to show cause as to why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for his alleged unauthorized absence from 20.10.2003 within 15 days of the receipt of the same, in default, further disciplinary action would be initiated against him as per NIMS Employees Conduct Standing Order 1995.

(d) Due to personal problems, the deceased employee tendered his resignation to his post as Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology, Intensive care, by addressing a letter to the 2^nd respondent on 16.06.2004 and requested that his terminal benefits be settled. The 1^st respondent on 16.07.2004 issued a letter, RC.No.1239/97/ACAD/A4, instructing him to pay three months salary in lieu of the notice period, for the purposes of taking further action to accept his resignation. Similar letters were issued on 07.08.2005, 01.03.2006 and 29.04.2006, respectively. The cumulative effect of the said letters was that inasmuch as he failed to pay three month’s salary in lieu of the notice period, the respondents have not taken any further action in accepting his resignation. Thus, he was in service as his resignation had not been accepted. On 22.05.2006, the deceased employee addressed a letter to the 2^nd respondent withdrawing his resignation, inter alia stating that the 2^nd respondent did not accept the resignation submitted by him while he was on EOL without pay. As such, he would