R. V. RAVEENDRAN, J. ( 1 ) THE first respondent is working in the State Accounts Department. Between 8-9-1998 to 16-7-2001 she was working as Accounts Superintendent in the office of the Karnataka State Women's Commission (second petitioner ). On 16-7-2001, she was transferred on promotion and posted as Audit Officer in the office of the Department of Rural Development engineering, second respondent. She approached the Karnataka administrative Tribunal in Application No. 9687 of 2001 seeking a direction to the second petitioner herein to despatch her last pay certificate forthwith to the second respondent so as to enable her to draw her salary. In the said application she stated that in spite of expiry of four months from the date of transfer, the second petitioner did not issue the last pay certificate. When the matter came up for preliminary hearing before the Tribunal on 22-11-2001, the Tribunal directed the Government pleader to take notice and disposed of the application directing the second petitioner herein to despatch the last pay certificate of the first respondent herein to the office of the second respondent within three days from the date of receipt of the order with a condition that if the second petitioner failed to do so, he shall be personally liable to pay interest at 12% per annum on the salary of the first respondent herein for the period during which the last pay certificate was withheld from 16-7-2001. ( 2 ) THE petitioners filed a Review Application No. 2 of 2002 contending that the first respondent had not handed over charge of office on her promotion and transfer as per order dated 16-7-2001 and that was coming in the way of issuing the last pay certificate. The petitioners also relied on Rule 85 of the Karnataka Financial Code in this behalf. The tribunal rejected the review application by an order dated 7-6-2002 on the ground that handing over charge is not a condition precedent for issue of a last pay certificate and if a Government servant did not hand over charge, it was open to the employer to either initiate disciplinary action or recall the employee to the department from which he was transferred for obtaining charge. ( 3 ) FEELING aggrieved, the petitioners have filed this petition and sought quashing of the order dated 22-11-2001 passed in Application No. 9687 of 2000 and order dated 7-6-2002 passed in Review Application No. 2 of 2002. The respondents though served, have remained unrepresented. ( 4 ) ISSUE of last pay certificate is governed by Article 85 of the Karnataka financial Code, 1958, made in exercise of the power under Article 283 (2) of the Constitution of India. The relevant portions of Article 85 are extracted below:"the head of an office should give a last pay certificate to a government servant of his establishment who is transferred or deputed to another establishment. The certificate should be given even when a subordinate is transferred from one establishment to another under the same Government servant. (i) The last pay certificate (Form No. 14) provides for details of the fund deductions, although the officer preparing the bills is responsible for their correctness; but the officer preparing the last pay certificate in responsible not only for entering in the certificate all demands against the departing Government servant, including any made under an order of attachment of his pay by a Court of law of which he may have received notice before granting the certificate, but also for passing on any of which he may afterwards receive notice, to the treasury of the disbursing office from which the Government servant will in future, draw pay. (iv) The last pay certificate of a Government servant who is transferred or is proceeding on leave should not be issued until the date and hour making over charge are known to the treasury or other Government servant who has to issue the certificate". (emphasis supplied) article 97 of the Financial Code requires the last pay certificate to be issued without any delay, to avoid hardship to the officers. We extract below the form of last pay certificate (Form No. 14) ( 5 ) RULE 12 of the Karnataka Civil Services Rules ('kcsr', for short) requires that when charge of an office is made over, both the relieving and the relieved Government servants should be present. Chapter VII of kcsr dealing with the joining time makes it clear that a Government servant, on transfer, should make over charge at the place from which he is transferred. Chapter VII of kcsr dealing with the joining time makes it clear that a Government servant, on transfer, should make over charge at the place from which he is transferred. The explanation inserted at the end of Rules 76 to 85 in Chapter VII of KCSR provides as to when transfer of charge is complete. It reads as under. "explanation. Transfer of charge is not completed until the certificate of transfer of charge has been signed by both the relieving and the relieved Government servants. As soon as the transfer of charge is thus completed, the relieved Government servant is regarded as on joining time and must take charge of his new post before its expiry. Ordinarily, the transfer of charge should be completed before the expiry of the joining time of the relieving Government servant and it is his duty to arrive at the new station in time to take charge within the joining time admissible to him. Where the relieving Government servant does not sign the transfer certificate within this period, he should be regarded as having exceeded his joining time". ( 6 ) A reading of the relevant provisions of the Karnataka Civil Services rules and the Karnataka Financial Code, makes it clear that handing over charge and issue of last pay certificate are interlinked and are integral parts of the process of transfer. In fact, the form of last pay certificate requires a specific entry as to when the Government servant made over charge. A Government servant may be in charge of stores or cash or records/confidential documents or other valuables. When the government servant is transferred, he should account for the record/cash or other valuables in his custody and deliver the same to the new incumbent so that work of the respective office can be continued smoothly and there is no loss of records/cash or other property entrusted to the Government servant. ( 7 ) THE Tribunal has recognised the fact that handing over of charge is absolutely necessary when a person is transferred. ( 7 ) THE Tribunal has recognised the fact that handing over of charge is absolutely necessary when a person is transferred. But it has proceeded on the premises that when there is failure on the part of a Government servant to handover charge, the only remedy available is to initiate disciplinary action or to recall him for handing over charge; and that withholding the salary by not issuing the last pay certificate is not one of the consequences of failure to handover charge. We are afraid that the tribunal committed an error when it treated handing over charge on transfer and issue of last pay certificate on transfer, as two independent issues not linked to each other. Complete delinking of the issue of last pay certificate from the issue of handing over charge may lead to disastrous consequences in the working of the department. Officers who have committed irregularities or who have not maintained records properly may leave the department without handing over charge to the new incumbent and bring the work of the department to a standstill or disarray. There is no gainsaying the importance of handing over charge by an officer who is transferred or who proceeds on leave. ( 8 ) THE Tribunal has also wrongly assumed that when disciplinary proceedings are initiated and last pay certificate is withheld, on the ground of failure to handover charge, it will amount to double jeopardy by firstly, exposing the employee to disciplinary action which may result in imposition of a punishment and secondly, withholding of salary. But non-release of salary is not by way of punishment, but on account of the government servant's refusal or failure to comply with a condition precedent for release. If for example, a receipt is needed for releasing salary, an employee cannot refuse to issue a receipt and then complain that non-payment of salary is a punishment. Consequences of non-fulfilment of a condition precedent for payment of salary is not imposition of a penalty or punishment by the employer. ( 9 ) IN this case, the appellant has clearly stated that the first respondent has not handed over charge. The first respondent has not appeared nor contested the said allegation. Nor did the first respondent produce before the Tribunal, any relieving order which is issued on handing over charge. ( 9 ) IN this case, the appellant has clearly stated that the first respondent has not handed over charge. The first respondent has not appeared nor contested the said allegation. Nor did the first respondent produce before the Tribunal, any relieving order which is issued on handing over charge. Therefore, it has to be held that first respondent is not entitled to last pay certificate until she hands over charge as required under the rules. ( 10 ) IN the circumstances, this petition is allowed as follows. (i) The order of the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal, dated 22-11-2001 passed in Application No. 9687 of 2001 directing the second petitioner to issue last pay certificate of the first respondent and the order dated 7-6-2002 passed in Review application No. 2 of 2002 are set aside. (ii) Application No. 9687 of 2001 on the file of the Tribunal stands dismissed. It is however made clear that the first respondent may go over to the office of the second petitioner and handover charge and thereafter seek expeditious issue of a last pay certificate. --- *** --- .