Asif Iqbal Naik
Jammu, Feb 03, 2026:
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Jammu Bench, has allowed Transfer Application No. 642/2020 and quashed the decision dated September 11, 2018 of the Establishment-cum-Selection Committee, directing the Government to provide promotional and absorption benefits to in-service BVSc & AH qualified employees of the Animal Husbandry Department.
The judgment was delivered by a Bench comprising Hon’ble Mr. Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member, and Hon’ble Mr. Ram Mohan Johri, Administrative Member.
The applicants — Dr. Mohammad Akseer Mir, Dr. Ghulam Mohammad Bali, Dr. Mir Baz, Dr. Kewal Krishan Kharka, Dr. Nasir Iqbal Mughal and Dr. Ram Lal — were represented by Advocate Faheem Shokat Butt, while the respondents were represented by Mr. Rajesh Thappa, AAG, and Mr. Sudesh Magotra, AAG.
The applicants had challenged the rejection of their long-pending claim for career advancement to the post of Veterinary Assistant Surgeon, despite having acquired BVSc & AH degrees as in-service candidates on Government nomination.
The Tribunal observed that the matter originated from Cabinet Decision No. 69 dated February 23, 1980, manifested through Government Order No. 581-GD of 1980, under which departmental candidates were deputed for professional veterinary education with a clear assurance of future prospects and career advancement. Acting on this assurance, the applicants completed the BVSc & AH degree, which is the prescribed qualification for appointment as Veterinary Assistant Surgeon.
CAT noted that between 2008 and 2018, the Government itself repeatedly initiated proposals to amend Recruitment Rules, reserve quota for in-service veterinary graduates and even create 36 supernumerary Veterinary Assistant Surgeon posts, which were concurred by the Finance Department. The Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission had also recorded that the Government was obliged to consider the demand of in-service BVSc candidates.
However, before the matter could be finalized by the Cabinet or State Administrative Council, it was placed before the Establishment-cum-Selection Committee, which rejected the proposal in September 2018 citing existing Recruitment Rules providing 100 percent direct recruitment and possible administrative inconvenience.
Terming this rejection arbitrary and unreasonable, CAT held that the decision ignored decades of consistent Government policy, Finance Department concurrence, Public Service Commission opinion and the legitimate expectations of the applicants. The Tribunal ruled that the State is bound by the doctrines of promissory estoppel and legitimate expectation, observing that when Government nominates employees for specialized degrees with assurances of career progression, it cannot later go back on its promise.
The Tribunal also took note that the Union Territory of Ladakh has already framed Recruitment Rules providing promotional quota for subordinate veterinary staff possessing BVSc & AH degree, and observed that similarly placed employees in Jammu and Kashmir cannot be subjected to discriminatory treatment.
Allowing the application, the Tribunal quashed the impugned decision and directed the Government to proceed with absorption and appointment of in-service BVSc & AH qualified employees as Veterinary Assistant Surgeons against the supernumerary posts approved by the Finance Department as a one-time measure. The beneficiaries will be entitled to notional seniority from the date of creation of supernumerary posts, while monetary benefits will accrue only from the date of actual appointment. The entire exercise has been ordered to be completed within three months from submission of a certified copy of the judgment.
The judgment is being seen as major relief for in-service veterinary graduates who had waited for decades for realization of the career advancement assured to them under the 1980 Government policy
