Geeta Kakati Pathak v. the State of Assam and 3 Ors.
Case brief
What is this about?
Gauhati High Court, W.P(C) No. 6583/2024 and W.P(C) No. 1338/2024, decided 02.12.2025, Soumitra Saikia, J. Keywords: Rule 8(i)(a); Assam Ministerial District Establishment Service Rules 1967; Assam Ministerial District Establishment Service (Amendment) Rules 2009; Administrative Officer selection; Deputy Commissioner establishment branches; no separate establishment branch; establishment section under Personnel branch; substantial compliance with eligibility criteria; judicial review under Article 226 of selection procedures; relative merits of candidates; narrow parameters of review; malice in selection; Dalpat Abasahed Solunkee (1990) 1 SCC 305; Bhubaneswar Sarma 2024(5) GLT 275; Ritu Bhatia (2019) 3 SCC 422; appointment order dated 02.03.2024; writ petitions dismissed, no costs.
What did the court decide?
Where the Deputy Commissioner's establishment presently has no separate 'establishment branch', services rendered in various branches including the establishment section under the Personnel branch constitute substantial compliance with Rule 8(i)(a); the strict application of that criterion cannot be insisted upon in the prevailing setup.