On 1st September 2025, the Government of Punjab introduced the new Leave Rules 2025 for the Lahore High Court, Lahore. These rules set out clear guidelines on how judges, officers, and staff members of the High Court can apply for and manage their leave. The aim is to make the process more transparent, fair, and in line with modern workplace needs, ensuring that leave policies are applied consistently across the institution. Find below the revised Lahore High Court Leave Rules, 2025.
Notification: In exercise of the powers conferred under Article 208 read with Article 203 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Governor of the Punjab is pleased to make the following, namely:-
Key Points of High Court Leave Rules, 2025
I have written down some key points given in the Leave Rules, 2025:
Chapter I (Preliminary)
The first chapter of these leave rules is often called Preliminary, in which the name of these rules is given as “The Lahore High Court Leave Rules, 2025.” Also, some definitions of different terms and words are given, a few of them are: appointing authority, Bench, Competent Authority, Establishment, Judicial Officer, and service.
Chapter II (Leave)
Leave Rules
- There are different types of leave under these rules.
- Leave is earned according to these rules.
Leave is not a right
- You cannot demand leave as a right.
- Leave will only be given if the work of the office or service allows it.
Authority to grant leave
- The officer or authority mentioned in the Schedule can approve different kinds of leave.
- However, the Chief Justice of the High Court has the power to grant all types of leave.
Chapter III (Application for Leave)
Application for Leave
A leave application must be submitted at least seven days before the start of leave. This condition does not apply to casual leave.
Submitting an application does not mean that leave is automatically approved.
If the Competent Authority refuses leave, the decision must be immediately communicated to the applicant. The communication can be made through email, WhatsApp, SMS, or any other digital or modern method, so that it reaches the applicant before the leave is due to start.
No officer or employee can remain absent from duty if no communication is received regarding the leave application.
If the Competent Authority does not send any response, it will be considered as a refusal of leave.
If an employee leaves duty or assignment without receiving any communication, that absence will be treated as unauthorized. Such absence may lead to disciplinary action under the relevant rules.
To stop the practice of repeatedly applying for leave extensions or staying away for long periods, no leave of any kind will be granted unless the employee gives a written undertaking. This undertaking must state that no request for an extension of leave will be made, except in exceptional circumstances.
Leave to be applied for, expressed, and sanctioned in terms of days.
Chapter IV (Calculation and Accumulation of Leave)
Calculation of Leave
- Leave is earned only on full pay. It is calculated at the rate of four days per calendar month of duty. This leave is called Leave on Full Pay.
- If an employee works for more than 16 days in a month, it will be counted as a full month.
- There is no maximum limit on how much earned leave can be accumulated.
- No leave is earned while an employee is already on leave.
Earning of Leave
- All service performed by an officer or official qualifies them to earn leave according to these rules.
- However, leave is not earned during the period when the person is on leave.
Vacation Establishment or Service
- For officers or staff who get summer or winter vacations, leave on full pay is earned as follows:
- a) If the person avails a full vacation in a year, they earn 1 day of leave for every calendar month of duty.
- b) If the person is not able to avail the full vacation (like an employee in a non-vacation department), they earn 4 days of leave for every calendar month of duty.
- c) If the person avails only part of the vacation, leave will be earned proportionately.
Chapter V (Grand of Leave)
The maximum period of leave on full pay without conveyance allowance that may be granted at one time shall be as follows:
| (i) | On compelling grounds other than medical exigency | 12 Days |
| (ii) | With a medical certificate | 180 Days |
| (iii) | On a medical certificate from the leave account, for the entire service | 365 Days |
12. Leave on half pay: (1) Leave on full pay may, at the option of the officer or official, be converted into leave on half pay; the debit to the leave account will be at the rate of one day of the former for every two days of the latter, fraction of one-half counting as one full day’s leave on full pay.
(2) The request for conversion of leave referred to in sub-rule (1) shall be specified by the officer or official in his application for the grant of leave.
(3) Leave under this rule may be granted only on the presentation of a medical certificate or for personal reasons, and shall not exceed a period of 90 days.
13. Leave on a medical certificate: (1) An application for leave on a mediçal certificate made by any officer or official, or a member of the Service, shall be accompanied by a medical certificate duly issued and countersigned by the authorized mediçal officer of the Government Hospital.
(i) When any officer or official or a member of the Service submits a mediçal certificate for the grant of leave, it shall be, by an Authorized Medical Officer
in the form attached to these rules.
(2) An Authorized Medical Practitioner shall not recommend the grant of leave in any case in which there appears to be no reasonable prospect that the officer or official or a member of the Service concerned will ever be fit to resumę his duties and, in such case, the opinion that the officer or official or a member of the Service is permanently unfit for service shall be recorded in the medical certificate.
(3) The Competent Authority to grant leave may, at its discretion, secure a second medical opinion by requesting a Government Medical Board to have the applicant medically examined on the earliest possible date.
(4) It shall be the duty of the Government Medical Officer referred to in sub-rule (2) to express an opinion both as regards the facts of the illness and as regards the necessity for the amount of leave recommended, and for that purpose may either require the applicant to appear before himself or before the Medical Board of the Government.
(5) The issuance of a medical certificate under this rule does not confer any entitlement to leave upon the concerned officer or official or a member of the Service by itself. The medical certificate shall be submitted to the authority competent to approve leave, and leave shall be availed only after the Competent Authority has granted such leave.
14. Leave to an official or officer, or a member of the Service who is unlikely to be fit to return to duty: (1) When a Medical Authority or Board, as the case may be, has reported that there is no reasonable prospect that an official “or officer or a member of the Service will ever be fit to return to duty, leave shall not necessarily be refused to such an official or officer oramember of the Service (2) The leave may be granted, if due, by the Competent Authority to grant leave on the following conditions:
(i) If the Medical Authority or Board is unable to report with certainty that the official or officer or member of the Service will never again be fit for service, leave not exceeding twelve months in all may be granted, and such leave shall not be extended without further reference to a Medical Authority or Board or
(ii) if an official or officer, or a member of the Service, is declared by a Medical Authority or Board to be completely and completely and permanently. Incapacitated for further service, leave or an extension of leave may be granted to him after the report of the Medical Authority or Board has been received, provided the amount of leave as debited to the leave account together with any period of duty beyond the date of the report of the Medical Authority or Board does not exceed six months.
(3) An official or officer, or a member of the Service who is declared by a Medical Authority to be completely and permanently incapacitated for further service shall:
(i) if he is on duty, not be invalidated from service during his service period;
(ii) or if he is already on leave, not be invalidated from service on the expiry of that leave or extension of leave, if any, granted to him under subrule (1).
Chapter VI (Casual Leave)
15. Casual leave:- (1) Casual leave up to a maximum limit of twenty days in each year may be granted to officers or officials, or members of the Service.
(2) Casual leave may be granted for reasons of health or for any other reason, up to four days at a time, which can be extended for up to ten days once a year, only for special reasons.
(i) Half Day Casual Leave: One day casual leave is to be forfeited for every 02-half day leaves.
(ii) Short Leave: One day casual leave is to be forfeited on account of 03 short leaves at the time when that accumulated with the explanation as follows:- Explanation: Short leave will consist of up to two hours late attending the office except Fridays, when it will be regarded as ‘Half day casual leave.’
(3) Holidays may not be prefixed or suffixed to casual leave; however, all the holidays falling during the leave period shall be included in the period of leave.
(i) Public Holiday: Public Holidays that are sandwiched between the casual leave shall be debited from the casual leave account.
(4) Application for casual leave or extension of casual leave, with simultaneous absence from duty on grounds of illness, for a period exceeding two days, will not be granted unless áccompanied by a medical certificate in accordance with the provisions of leave on medical certificate criteria given above.
(5) Supervisory Officer shall maintain and preserve casual leave accounts and applications till the end of the following calendar year.
(6) All applications submitted by officers or officials, or members of the Service, shall be dealt with by the Supervisory Officer concerned of the branches or Benches, in accordance with this rule.
(7) When an officer or official or a member of the Service is transferred, the casual leave record of the officer or official or member of the Service shall be transferred amongst the Supervisory Officers concerned.
16. Casual Leave Quota Exhausted Leave:- An Officer or Official or a Member of the Service may be granted leave without pay, in exceptional circumstances of compelling grounds such as:-
(i) Death of an immediate family member;
(ii) Medical exigency accompanied by a Medical Certificate or in other justified emergent circumstances.
16(a). No combination of casual leave:- No casual leave shall be granted in combination with any other kind of leave provided in these Rules.
Similarly, the Chapters from VII to XI also got some updates and a revised method. I have given a link to download the complete Lahore High Court Leave Rules, 2025.
Relevant Posts:
- Lahore High Court Holiday Calendar for Year 2025
- Up-Gradation of Computer Operator to Computer Programmer in Punjab 2022
- Eligibility for M.Phil Allowance-Clarification for Federal Employees
