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Judgment
Justice L. Narasimha Reddy:
The applicant is an IAS officer of West Bengal cadre. She made a request to the concerned authorities to change her cadre to AGMUT, on the ground that she married to an IPS officer of that cadre. The request was rejected by the State of West Bengal, through an order dated 25.05.2016. The applicant intends to challenge the said order. Since there is a delay of 1256 days, she filed this MA with a prayer to condone the delay.
The applicant contends that she could not file the OA in time, on account of various developments that are referable to her family life. It is also stated that in the recent past, the Covid situation has also contributed to that.
We heard Shri Ashutosh Ghade, learned counsel for applicant and Shri Hanu Bhaskar, learned counsel for respondents at length and perused the pleadings.
The delay involved is more than 3½ years. It need strong and acceptable reasons. The applicant is an IAS officer and she is said to have faced serious family problems. However, in the context of filing the OA to challenge the order of rejection of request for change of cadre, the various reasons mentioned in the application hardly constitute a valid ground for condonation, such a long delay. We are not convinced. Added to that, the applicant is said to have made a fresh application seeking transfer of the cadre. She can pursue the remedies in that behalf. The MA is accordingly rejected.