IREC Rule No.521: Regulation Of Commuted Leave / Leave On Production Of Medical Certificate By The Railway Servants

521.  Commuted Leave / Leave On Production Of Medical Certificate By The Railway Servants Shall Be Regulated As Follows:-

(1)   A Railway servant (Gazetted or Non-gazetted), on being a Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS / Railway Health Services (RHS) beneficiary and living in an area covered by the CGHS / RHS at the time of illness, shall be required to produce a Medical and Fitness Certificate in the Form prescribed in Annexure-XI to Rule 538 and Rule 541 of Indian Railway Medical Manual, Volume-I, 3^rd  Edition, 2000 either from an authorized CGHS Medical Officer or a Railway / Government Authorized Medical Officer.

In circumstances where the Railway Doctor’s line visits do not materialize, the Railway employees, who are covered by the line jurisdiction of the Railway doctor and who have fallen ill, may obtain a Medical Certificate from a Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) subject to the condition that if the leave applied for on medical grounds is for more than 3 days, the employee should report to the Railway doctor if he is fit to travel or send intimation about his condition, if he is bed-ridden, at such intervals as directed by the Railway doctor.

(2)   Railway servants (Gazetted or Non-gazetted), who are not CGHS  beneficiaries, (including those who have opted out of the CGHS / RHS or are CGHS or RHS Card Holders, but at the time of illness are residing outside the  jurisdiction of the CGHS / RHS facilities or take ill while being outside the Headquarters) are required to produce a Medical and Fitness Certificate from  his Authorized Medical Attendant (AMA) provided that in the case of a Non-gazetted Railway employee, if no AMA is available within a radius of 8 kilometers of his residence or place of temporary stay outside the Headquarters, the leave sanctioning authority may at his discretion, sanction Leave / Commuted Leave on production of a Medical Certificate from the Registered Medical Practitioner, after satisfying itself of the facts / merits of the case .

(3)   In case of hospitalization / indoor treatment permitted in a private hospital recognized under the CGHS / Central Services (Medical Attendance) Rules, 1944 and Railway Medical Attendance Rules as contained in Indian Railway Medical Manual, Third Edition, 2000 a Railway servant (Gazetted or Non-gazetted), whether a CGHS / RHS beneficiary or not, may produce the requisite Medical / Fitness Certificate from the Authorized Medical Officer of such a hospital in case his hospitalization / indoor treatment, is on account of the particular kind of disease (e.g. heart, cancer etc) for the treatment of which the concerned Hospital has been recognized by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. There may be instances where an employee may be initially admitted to such a hospital at a stage when the disease has yet not been fully diagnosed and it may subsequently be established that the disease was not that, the suspicion of which prompted his / her admission to the hospital. In such cases, the leave sanctioning authority, with the approval of the General Manager, may grant Leave / Commuted Leave on the basis of the Medical Certificate from the Authorized Medical Officer of such a hospital, if he is satisfied about the genuineness of the case.

(4)   In cases where a Non-gazetted Railway servant finds it difficult to obtain the Medical / Fitness Certificate from a CGHS / RHS doctor or AMA in exceptional cases, the leave sanctioning authority, may consider grant of leave on the basis of the Medical / Fitness Certificate from an RMP after taking into account the circumstances of the specific case. Such a certificate should be, as nearly as possible, in the prescribed form as given in Annexure-XI of Rule 538 and Rule 541 of Indian Railway Medical Manual, Volume-I, 3^rd Edition, 2000, and should state the nature of illness and the period for which the Railway servant is likely to be unable to perform his duties. The competent authority may, at its discretion accept the certificate, or in cases where it has reasons to suspect the bona fides, refer the case to the Divisional Medical Officer for advice or investigation. The Medical Certificate from registered private practitioners produced by the Railway servant in support of their application for leave may be rejected by the competent authority only after a Railway Medical Officer has conducted the necessary verifications and on the basis of the advice tendered by him after such verifications.

(5)   Certificate of Fitness in the case of employees working in the Zonal Railways and Field Units will continue to be governed by the provisions contained in Rule 538 and Rule 541 of Indian Railway Medical Manual, Volume -I, 3^rd Edition 2000.

Note: Ordinarily, the jurisdiction of a Railway Medical Officer will be taken to cover Railway servant residing within a radius of 2.5 kilometers of the Railway Hospital or health unit to which the Doctor is attached, and within a radius of one kilometer of a Railway station of the Doctor’s beat.

[Authority: RBE No.145/2002, No.E(P&A)l-97/CPC/LE-7, 29.08.2002, ACS No.85]

Railway Ministry’s Decisions:-

(1)  Where a Railway employee remained on medical leave upto and including 3 days duration and reported back for duty with a fitness from the medical practitioner, he may be allowed to join duty without obtaining fitness certificate from the Railway Medical Officer subject to the conditions that the employee furnished a declaration that he had not suffered during this period from any eye disease. In the other cases where the duration of the sickness is more than 3 days, the railway employee should be put back to duty within 24 hours on his producing fitness certificate from a private medical practitioner, provided he is found fit by the competent railway medical officer. In case there is any delay beyond 124 hours in obtaining the fitness certificate from the competent Railway Medical Officer, the employee concerned will be deemed to have been put back to duty within 24 hours of his producing the medical certificate of the private medical officer.

[Authority: No.E(G)78LE 1-17, 18.01.1979]

(2)  With a view to preventing misuse, the Railway administration may with draw for specified periods (From 1^st April to 30^th June in Summer, from 1^st October to 15^th November during Diwali and when mass sick reporting is contemplated by staff of any department) the privilege of acceptance of medical certificate from Registered Medical Practitioners for grant of Medical Certificates to Group ‘C’ and Group ‘D’ Railway servants.

[Authority: No.E(G) 72LE-1-11, 28.09.1972]

521. Commuted Leave/ Leave on Production of Medical Certificate by the railway servantS:-

Omitted.

[Provisions of this rule have been merged in Rule 519(1)]

[Authority: Railway Board’s No.E(P&A)I-2017/CPC/LE-5, dated 01.11.2019 (RBE No. 186//2019) (ACS No.138)]