Deepti Uppal’s inter-cadre transfer on grounds of marriage okayed; but Jagannathan’s extension in Kerala lands up in CAT

HERE is a case where sarkari files did not hinder an early reunion of an IAS and an IFoS (Indian Forest Service) officer who wanted to be living together after marriage. Only three days after DoPT secretary Sanjay Kothari took up this case of an inter-cadre transfer of 2011 batch Jammu and Kashmir cadre IAS Ms Deepti Uppal to Punjab cadre on the grounds of marriage with Punjab cadre Indian Forest Service officer (2012 batch) Vikram Singh Kundra, the DoPT on October 16 issued an order saying that…
the government transfers Ms Uppal to move to Punjab on an inter-cadre transfer. This was done according to sub-rule (2) of Rule 5 of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954. According to government rules, inter-cadre transfer on the grounds of marriage could be possible only among IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service officers.
In the Kothari-chaired meeting held on October 13, Ms Uppal’s application was discussed. The meeting was convened to consider cases of inter-cadre deputation and inter-cadre transfers that require relaxation of guidelines. As Ms Uppal’s home state is Haryana, and both the state governments --  Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab-- conveyed their no objection to the proposed cadre change of the officer, the Kothari panel directed that “the proposal may be put up for the approval of competent authority.” And in three days time, the final order of inter-cadre transfer was issued.
A bachelor of commerce and MA in economics, Ms Uppal knows Sanskrit language, in addition to English and Hindi, according to the executive record sheet of the officer stored by the DoPT. The officer is 31-year-old. She secured 81st rank in the civil services examination.
Meanwhile, the same DoPT secretary-chaired meeting could not take a call on extension of inter-cadre deputation of Assam-Meghalaya cadre IAS Shyam Jagannathan in Kerala, as the officer had already approached CAT’s Ernakulam branch. Jagannathan is a 1997 batch IAS. In fact, what the officer had wanted was an extension of his deputation. But the problem occurred as his parent cadre, i.e. Assam-Meghalaya did not give him the requisite consent for extension of the deputation tenure. Meanwhile, the officer handed over his charge in the government of Kerala on October 9, 2015, and approached the CAT. “The directions of the CAT have been received. The Committee directed to dispose off the directions of CAT within the time limit”, the minutes of the Kothari-chaired meeting said.