JUDGMENT : RAJESH MAZUMDAR, J. Heard Mr B D Das, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner. Also heard Mr M Bhuyan, learned counsel representing the Health and Family Welfare Department, for the respondent Nos. 1, 2, and 3. Mr N Haque, learned counsel appears for the private respondents. 2. The matter had been heard on earlier occasions and today, the counsels were required to file their written arguments. 3. The petitioner had joined his services in the office of the Joint Director of Health Services, Dhemaji, as an LDA-cum-Typist, (which is now redesignated as a Junior Assistant). By the notification dated 27.03.1996, issued by the Joint Director of Health Services, Assam, his services were regularized w.e.f. 01.04.1995. During the course of his service, by an order dated 30.04.2008, the petitioner was promoted to the post of an Upper Division Assistant in the office of the Joint Director of Health Services, Dhemaji. 4. The petitioner later came to be transferred in the capacity of an UDA, which he was still holding, to the office of Joint Director of Health Services, Lakhimpur, in place of another Upper Division Assistant, who was also transferred. By an order dated 28.09.2018, the petitioner’s earlier transfer order was modified posting him against the then existing vacant post of UDA in the Office of the Joint Director of Health Services of Dibrugarh. In the meantime, the post of the UDA has been redesignated as Senior Assistant. 5. By a communication dated 18.05.2024, the Joint Director of Health Services forwarded a Gradation List to the Director of Health Services, Assam, where a certain Mr Ashok Kumar Phukan had been shown to be senior to the petitioner with the date of his promotion to the post of UDA being shown as 05.03.2007. The petitioner was kept at Serial No. 2 with the date of promotion to the post of UDA shown as 01.04.2008 and the respondent No. 4 was kept at the Serial No. 3 of the aforesaid Gradation List with his date of promotion to the post of UDA being shown as 02.07.2011. 6. Sri Ashok Kumar Phukan, who was shown to be senior to the petitioner by the Gradation List of 18.05.2024, had been given the promotion to the post of Head Assistant and he was supposed to retire on 30.11.2024. 6. Sri Ashok Kumar Phukan, who was shown to be senior to the petitioner by the Gradation List of 18.05.2024, had been given the promotion to the post of Head Assistant and he was supposed to retire on 30.11.2024. When the post of the Head Assistant of the Office of the Joint Director of Health Services, Dibrugarh, was about to fall vacant on 30.11.2024, the petitioner submitted a representation/application for promotion to the said post. 7. Acting upon the application, the Joint Director of Health Services, Dibrugarh, communicated with the Directorate of Health Services, Assam, stating that the post of Head Assistant would fall vacant on the 1st of December, 2024, and there would be no objection from the office, in case, the petitioner is promoted to the post of Head Assistant in the office of the Joint Director of Health Services, Dibrugarh. 8. By a communication dated 19.11.2024, the Joint Director of Health Services, Dibrugarh, forwarded a gradation list of the Upper Division Assistant (now renamed as Senior Assistant) to the Directorate of Health Services, Assam, where the petitioner was shown to be senior to the respondent No. 4. The petitioner was shown to be the seniormost person with the date of promotion to the post of UDA being 01.04.2008, while the respondent No. 4 was shown at Serial No. 2 of the Gradation List with date of promotion to the post of UDA shown to be 02.07.2011. 9. Simultaneously, the respondent No. 4 made a representation to the Director of Health Services, Assam, on 25.11.2024 praying that the respondent No. 4 be considered for promotion to the post of Head Assistant by considering the seniority given in the aforesaid communication dated 25.11.2024,. In the aforesaid representation, the respondent No. 4 had shown his date of promotion to the post of UDA as 02.07.2011 and the date of promotion of the petitioner herein, as 01.04.2008. However, the date of joining of the respondent No. 4 in the present district as an UDA was shown as 02.07.2011, while the date of joining for the petitioner in the district as UDA was shown as 04.10.2018 with the remark that the petitioner had been transferred to the said district. 10. However, the date of joining of the respondent No. 4 in the present district as an UDA was shown as 02.07.2011, while the date of joining for the petitioner in the district as UDA was shown as 04.10.2018 with the remark that the petitioner had been transferred to the said district. 10. By a communication dated 22.01.2025 the Office of the Joint Director of Health Services, Dibrugarh informed the Director of Health Services, Assam, that the Gradation List sent along with the communication dated 19.11.2024 showing the petitioner to be the seniormost UDA was correct and that there was no objection if the petitioner was promoted to the next higher post of Head Assistant. 11. The Office of the Joint Director of Health Services thereafter executed a complete U-Turn and issued another communication dated 27.01.2025, to the Director of Health Services, Assam, thereby cancelling the Gradation List dated 19.11.2024 and the letter dated 22.01.2025, and submitted a fresh Gradation List of UD Assistant, based on a previous Gradation List of 2020. The fresh Gradation List dated 27.01.2025 had placed the respondent No. 4 over the present petitioner by showing the date of joining in the present place of posting at Dibrugarh to be 02.07.2011 for the respondent No. 4, 28.09.2016 for another employee and as 04.10.2018, for the petitioner. The other person who has been shown to be senior to the petitioner by the Gradation List of 27.01.2025 is also a party to this writ petition and arrayed as respondent No. 5. Her interests are represented through the counsel who is also representing the respondent No. 4 12. Being aggrieved by the aforesaid Gradation List dated 27.01.2025, placing the respondent Nos. 4 and 5 above the petitioner and also praying for a direction to maintain seniority of the petitioner in the Gradation List dated 19.11.2024, this present writ petition is filed. 13. It would be relevant to mention here that the petitioner had previously also filed WP(C) No. 1350/2025. In the said writ, the petitioner had prayed for finalization of the Departmental Promotional Committee proceedings which had earlier considered the petitioner for promotion to the post of Head Assistant but had not been brought to its logical conclusion by the respondent authorities. It would be relevant to mention here that the petitioner had previously also filed WP(C) No. 1350/2025. In the said writ, the petitioner had prayed for finalization of the Departmental Promotional Committee proceedings which had earlier considered the petitioner for promotion to the post of Head Assistant but had not been brought to its logical conclusion by the respondent authorities. During the pendency of the aforesaid writ petition, the petitioner had come to know about the introduction of a new Gradation List on 27.01.2025, and, therefore, the present writ petition had been preferred challenging the Gradation List dated 27.01.2025 without which the prayers in WP(C) No. 1350 of 2025 could not have been effectively pursued by the petitioner. 14. An affidavit-in-opposition has been filed by the Director of Health Services, Assam. The learned standing counsel has submitted that this affidavit would cover the stand of the respondent Nos. 1, 2 and 3. 15. The learned counsel appearing for the respondent Nos. 4 and 5 has submitted that he would rely upon the stand taken by the State Respondents in the matter and would not be filing any other affidavit for the respondent Nos. 4 and 5. The learned counsel for the respondent Nos. 4 and 5 has submitted that the date of seniority should be counted from the date when a person joins his office and the seniority of the respondent Nos. 4 and 5 could not have been made to suffer only because the respondent authorities had thought it fit to transfer the petitioner to the office where they were already serving. 16. A perusal of the affidavit filed by the state respondent reveals that the respondent authorities have also filed their affidavit in WP(C) No. 1350 of 2025, which is a more elaborate affidavit, describing the stand of the respondent authorities. In the said affidavit filed in WP(C) No. 1350/2025 by the Director of Health Services, the stand of the Director of Health Services, Assam is to the extent that the Joint Director of Health Services, Dibrugarh had been submitting different Gradation Lists at different points of time, which had created a confusion regarding the seniority of the incumbents holding the post of Upper Division Assistant. It is also the stand of the Director of Health Services that further steps for considering the petitioner for promotion to the post of Head Assistant could not be taken since the WP(C) No. 1350 of 2025 was subjudice before this Court. It has been stated in the affidavit that action regarding the promotion of the petitioner herein would be taken immediately after directions or Judgments of the Court are received in the department in due course. 17. The affidavits filed by the Director of Health Services, Assam in the matter does not reveal as to why or how the Gradation List of the Upper Division Assistants (now designated as Senior Assistants) had been changed by the Joint Director of Health Services, Dibrugarh, from time to time. It is the particular stand in the affidavit-in-opposition filed by the respondent No. 2 in WP(C) No. 5275 of 2025 that the petitioners or the private respondents or any other incumbents had not been informed about the rapid changes in the Gradation List by the respondent authorities since it was not considered necessary to disseminate such information regarding the preparation and submission of the Gradation List. 18. This Court has heard the learned counsel for the contesting parties and has also considered the annexures appended to the writ petition and the affidavit-in-opposition. 19. There is no quarrel at the Bar that the services of the petitioner had been regularized in the post of Lower Division Assistant w.e.f. 01.04.1995 by the order dated 27.03.1996. 20. It is also an admitted position that the petitioner had been given his promotion to the post of Upper Division Assistant by the order dated 30.04.2008. It is not the case of the respondent No. 4 or the respondent No. 5 or the State respondents that the respondent Nos. 4 and 5 had been promoted to the post of Upper Division Assistant prior to the petitioner being afforded his promotions to the same post. The petitioner had been transferred from Dhemaji to Lakhimpur in the interest of public service by the order dated 24.08.2018, which order came to be modified by the order dated 28.09.2018 only to the extent that the place of posting of the petitioner was changed to the office of the Joint Director of Health Services, Dibrugarh, in place of the Joint Director of Health Services, Lakhimpur. Thus, this Court notices that the transfer of the petitioner was in public interest. 21. It is the settled position of law that the seniority of an incumbent to a particular post cannot suffer to his detriment, if he stands transferred from a particular office to another, whether in the same district or different district, in public interest. Therefore, this Court is of the considered opinion that the petitioner would retain his seniority in accordance with the date of his promotion to the post of UDA, even though he was transferred to a different district in the year 2008. 22. From the documents appended to the writ petition and the affidavits-in- opposition, it appears that the Joint Director of Health Services, Dibrugarh in the year 2025, had considered the date of joining at Dibrugarh by the different incumbents to create a fresh Gradation List of the UD Assistants, thereby placing the respondent No. 4 and the respondent No. 5, ahead and above the petitioner, who had joined the office at Dibrugarh on 04.10.2018, but had been promoted to the post of UDA, at least 3 years ahead of the respondent No. 4 and at least 5 years ahead of the respondent No. 5. 23. This Court cannot accept the Gradation List dated 27.01.2025, since it tampers with the seniority of the petitioner only on the ground of the date of joining at the present place of posting without any reference to the date of promotion of each of the incumbents to the post of UDA and without reference to the fact that the petitioner had joined at Dibrugarh on transfer in public interest. Accordingly, this Court is of the considered opinion that the Gradation List dated 27.01.2025 requires interference and is accordingly, interfered with. The Gradation List dated 27.01.2025, accordingly stands quashed and set aside. 24. It is not disputed by the respondent authorities that the case of the petitioner had been taken up for consideration for promotion to the post of Head Assistant in the office of the Joint Director of Health Services, Dibrugarh, on his own turn, on the basis of his seniority. As per the affidavit-in-opposition filed, the respondents would bring the aforesaid process initiated to its logical conclusion on the disposal of the writ petitions which are pending before this Court. As per the affidavit-in-opposition filed, the respondents would bring the aforesaid process initiated to its logical conclusion on the disposal of the writ petitions which are pending before this Court. Accordingly, the respondent authorities are directed to proceed with the Departmental Promotional Committee proceedings, where the case of the petitioner was placed for consideration on 03.12.2024 and consider the case of the petitioner for promotion to the post of Head Assistant, taking his date of promotion to the post of UD Assistant to be 01.04.2008. 25. The affidavit-in-opposition of the respondent authorities have stated that the Committee could not, on the earlier occasion, complete the considerations, since some documents were found to be lacking and a request had been initiated to place the same before the next DPC meeting, along with proper documents. 26. The respondents have not divulged what proper documents were missing before the particular DPC. Accordingly, the Joint Director of Health Services and the Director of Health Services shall ensure that all relevant supporting documents required for consideration by the DPC shall be placed before the relevant DPC, so that a complete consideration can be given to the petitioner for the promotion to the post of Head Assistant. The respondents shall ensure that consideration by the Departmental Promotion Committee and finalization of the prospect of promotion of the petitioner to the post of Head Assistant shall be carried out within the period of 3(three) months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order. 27. Since the petitioner’s case was first due to be considered admittedly in the year 2024, in case, the petitioner is found fit for promotion in all other aspects, by counting his date of seniority from 01.04.2008, he shall also be granted notional benefits that would have accrued to him, had the promotions been granted by the DPC which had initially considered him on 03.12.2024. 28. Writ Petition accordingly stands disposed of. 29. No cost(s).