Court Rules Both Employees Governed by Same 1973 Service Rules, Declares Cancellation of Mutual Transfer Illegal
In a significant judgment dated September 8, 2026, the Division Bench of the Gauhati High Court, comprising Justices Michael Zothankhuma and Anjan Moni Kalita, dismissed the appeal filed by the Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, Assam, thereby upholding a mutual transfer order of two Junior Assistants working in the department.
The dispute arose when Mustafizur Rahman and another respondent, both Junior Assistants appointed on June 1, 2023, through the same advertisement and in the same grade pay, sought a mutual transfer approved by the Animal Husbandry Department. The approval was granted under an Office Memorandum (O.M.) dated January 1, 2025, which allowed mutual transfers provided both employees were governed by the same service rules.
However, the Department later canceled the transfer on July 12, 2025, contending that the two employees were governed by different service rules. The Department maintained that respondent No. 1 was governed by the Assam Directorate Establishment (Ministerial) Service Rules, 1973 ("1973 Rules"), whereas respondent No. 2 was governed by the Assam District Establishment (Ministerial) Service Rules, 1967 ("1967 Rules").
Challenging this cancellation, the respondents filed a writ petition which was allowed by a Single Judge of the Gauhati High Court on December 10, 2025. The Single Judge held that the Department had misconstrued the service rules and that both employees were indeed governed by the 1973 Rules. Consequently, the cancellation of the mutual transfer was declared illegal, and the transfer order was revived.
The State Government appealed this order. Upon hearing submissions from both sides, the Division Bench carefully examined the relevant provisions of the 1967 and 1973 Service Rules. It noted that the 1967 Rules apply to ministerial staff working under the Deputy Commissioner and Sub-Divisional Officers. The Court observed that the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department is not included in the definition of "District Establishment" under the 1967 Rules and that the appointing authority for the posts held by the respondents was the Director of the Animal Husbandry Department under the 1973 Rules.
Furthermore, the Court highlighted that the 1973 Rules explicitly cover ministerial staff of the Animal Husbandry Department, including those posted in district offices under the Department's control, with the Director as the appointing authority. The Court also referred to an affidavit filed by the Director of Animal Husbandry stating that there were no specific service rules governing respondent No. 2, further undermining the Department's claim of differing service rules.
The Division Bench concluded that both respondents were governed by the same service rules, i.e., the 1973 Rules. Therefore, the mutual transfer was valid under the Office Memorandum dated January 1, 2025, which permits mutual transfers only among employees governed by the same service rules. The Court found no justification for the Department's cancellation of the transfer order and accordingly dismissed the appeal.
This judgment clarifies the interpretation of service rules applicable to employees in the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department and reaffirms the legality of mutual transfers where employees fall under the same service regulations. The ruling strengthens employees' rights under the mutual transfer policy and curtails arbitrary administrative cancellations.
Bottom Line:
Mutual transfer of two Junior Assistants in Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department could not be cancelled on the ground that they were governed by different service rules, when both employees were in fact covered by the Assam Directorate Establishment (Ministerial) Service Rules, 1973 and the Office Memorandum dated 01.01.2025 permitted mutual transfer of employees covered under the same service rules.
Statutory provision(s):
Assam Directorate Establishment (Ministerial) Service Rules, 1973, Assam District Establishment (Ministerial) Service Rules, 1967
