New Delhi, Jul 13 (IANS): The Central government may withhold pension for a specified period or indefinitely if a retired government official is convicted of a serious crime or found guilty of a grave misconduct.

Also, no government servant, who has worked in any intelligence or security-related organisation, shall publish any material related to the domain of the organisation after retirement, without prior permission from the head of such organisation.

No sensitive information in any form, which may affect the sovereignty of the country, can be published by such retired personnel. An undertaking would have to be given by the retired government servant, declaring that he or she will not indulge in any such activity without prior permission of the concerned authority.

Any failure on the part of such a person to fulfil the undertaking will result in withholding of his or her pension.

These are some of the key changes which came into effect from July 6, after the Centre through a gazette notification amended the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefit) Rules 1958. The amended rules are now known as the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Amendment Rules, 2023.

The notification was issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

Also, as per the amended rules, if a person, who in the event of death of a government servant, is eligible to receive family pension, is charged with murdering or abetting the murder of the government servant, the family pension shall not be paid to such a person until the conclusion of criminal proceedings instituted against him or her.

Till the criminal proceedings are going on against such a family member of the deceased government servant, the family pension shall be paid to another eligible member of the family.

In case the spouse of the government servant is charged with murdering the latter, and the other member of the family is a minor child, the family pension to such a child shall be payable through a duly appointed guardian, the amended rules said.