The English common-law rule, adapted in Article 310, that civil servants of the Union or a State hold office "during the pleasure" of the President or Governor, meaning their tenure can be terminated without a contractual right to a fixed term.
- Article 310 states that members of the defence services and civil services of the Union hold office during the pleasure of the President, and State services during the pleasure of the Governor.
- The doctrine is not absolute in India: Article 311 grants procedural protection to civil servants against arbitrary dismissal, removal or reduction in rank.
- Article 311(1): a civil servant cannot be dismissed or removed by an authority subordinate to the one that appointed him.
- Article 311(2): no dismissal, removal or reduction in rank without an inquiry and a reasonable opportunity to be heard, subject to three exceptions (conviction on a criminal charge, where inquiry is not reasonably practicable, and where the President or Governor is satisfied that an inquiry is against State security).
- The doctrine does not apply to Supreme Court and High Court judges, the CAG, the Chief Election Commissioner, or the Chairman and members of UPSC, who have constitutionally secured tenure.
The pleasure doctrine governs the service security of all government servants, including the CAPFs and police; Articles 310 and 311 and their exceptions are standard recall items.
Article 310 (pleasure) is balanced by Article 311 (safeguards); the doctrine in India is qualified, unlike the unrestrained English version.
Article 310: civil servants hold office during the pleasure of the President or Governor, tempered by the safeguards in Article 311.