Fresh One-Year Extension in Service for Haryana Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi — Rule 3 of AIS (CoS-RM) Rules, 1960 would have to be relaxed again, All India Services (Death cum RetirementBenefit) Rules, 1958 provide for maximum 6 months extension only, says Advocate Hemant Kumar
Face2News/Chandigarh:
The Haryana Government recently approached the Union Government seeking another one-year extension in service for Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi, a 1990-batch IAS officer, reviving debate over the legal framework governing post-retirement extensions to the State’s top bureaucrat.
Rastogi, born on 21 June 1965, attained the age of 61 last week. His original retirement from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) was due on 30 June 2025, when he completed the prescribed retirement age of 60 years. However, in June, 2025 the Union Government granted Rastogi a one-year extension, allowing him to continue in service until 30 June 2026.
According to Punjab and Haryana High Court a
Advocate & administrative law expert Hemant Kumar, the governing legal provisions make the issue particularly significant.
Quoting Rule 16(1) of the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958, Hemant explained that every IAS, IPS and IFoS officer ordinarily retires on the afternoon of the last day of the month in which he or she attains the age of 60 years.
He pointed out that the same rule, amended by the Union Government in November 2005, specifically empowers the Centre to grant an extension in service to a serving Chief Secretary, but only up to a maximum of six months, provided the concerned State Government makes a strong recommendation in public interest.
“Despite this statutory ceiling of six months, Anurag Rastogi was granted a full one-year extension last year,” Hemant said.
1960 Residuary Rules Become Crucial:
Hemant explained that the Centre achieved this by invoking Rule 3 of the All India Services (Conditions of Service–Residuary Matters) Rules, 1960.
The rule authorises the Central Government to relax the application of service rules in an individual case where strict application of the existing rules may cause undue hardship to a member of an All India Service.
According to Hemant, if the Centre decides to grant Rastogi another extension—whether for one year or even a shorter duration—it would once again have to invoke Rule 3 of the 1960 Rules, as the 1958 Retirement Rules by themselves do not permit such an extension beyond six months.
Rare Precedents Across States : Hemant noted that multiple extensions to a Chief Secretary have been extremely rare in recent years.
The most notable exception was Durga Shankar Mishra, former Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, a 1984-batch IAS officer. Originally scheduled to retire on 31 December 2021, Mishra received two successive one-year extensions followed by a further six-month extension, enabling him to continue in IAS service for a total of two-and-a-half years beyond his original retirement date.
In contrast, Manoj Ahuja, former Chief Secretary of Odisha, was granted only one year of extension from 1 January 2025, after which no further extension was approved when his tenure ended on 31 December 2025.
Similarly, Prabodh Saxena, former Chief Secretary of Himachal Pradesh, received only a six-month extension from 1 April to 30 September 2025, with no subsequent extension thereafter.
Hemant observed that, barring the Uttar Pradesh precedent, no other State Chief Secretary in recent years has been granted more than one extension, making the Haryana proposal legally and administratively significant.
