If you said Haryana, you would be right.

Traditionally, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu have been considered the preferred cadres of IAS and IPS officers. But of late, Haryana is proving to be the most attractive destination.

None of the officers from Haryana who are married to All India Service (AIS) officers belonging to other cadres have sought permission to shift. Haryana has become the state with the maximum number of “power couples”. 

When asked about the new trend of seeking cadre change on account of marriage, several serving and retired officers made the same quip: “Haryana is not just a cadre, but something more.”   

Desperately Seeking Haryana

A senior IAS officer said on condition of anonymity, “The geographical location of Haryana makes it the most sought-after cadre, as it offers a good life for them and their future generation.”

The state surrounds the national capital from three sides – North, South and West – making a posting in the state as good as living in Delhi, with better infrastructure, health services, and educational facilities, he noted.   

The list of officers who have sought cadre transfer to Haryana on the basis of marriage is long, with the latest being 2021 batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IPS officer Aditi Singh. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which is the cadre controlling authority, in April approved her cadre transfer application following her marriage to 2021 batch Haryana cadre IAS officer Vivek Arya.

In January this year, 2022 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer Utsav Anand was allotted the Haryana cadre following his marriage to batchmate Anjali Shrotriya, who is already posted in the state.

Similarly, 2020 batch Tripura cadre IAS officer Rahul Modi shifted to the Haryana cadre in September 2023. The Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) accepted his application following his marriage to Haryana cadre IPS officer Deepti Garg, who was already serving in the state.

In April the same year, 2018 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS officer Anupama Anjali had also been allowed to change her cadre to Haryana after her marriage to 2020 batch Haryana cadre IAS officer Harshit Kumar. 

In November 2022, Renu Sogan, a 2019 batch West Bengal cadre IAS officer, was transferred to the state following her marriage to 2019 batch Haryana cadre IAS officer Hitesh Meena.

In October 2024, Kaanchi Singhal, a 2022 batch IPS officer from the Tamil Nadu cadre, was transferred to Haryana after her marriage to IPS officer Harshit Goel. Before her, 2017 batch Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer Arsh Verma was allowed to shift to Haryana from West Bengal after his marriage to 2018 batch IPS officer Nikita Khattar. 

Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer of 2021 batch Amrinder was allowed to change his cadre to Haryana in March 2024 following his marriage to 2023 batch IAS officer Ruhani.

What Service Rules Say

Notably, the service rules for IAS and IPS allow the government to leniently consider cadre transfer of officers on the grounds of marriage. “Under Rule 5(2) of the IAS and IPS Cadre Rules, inter-cadre transfers are permitted when both spouses serve in the All India Services and are posted to different cadres, subject to central government approval. There is one constraint: no officer may be transferred to their home state,” the notification reads.

Since there is a restriction with regard to “home state”, in February 2022, Balpreet Singh, a Kerala cadre IAS officer of 2017 batch, got his cadre changed after his marriage to Upasana, a 2017 batch Haryana cadre IPS officer who was already posted in the state. Therefore, the officer not only got his posting near Delhi but also near his home state Punjab, with Chandigarh being the capital of both states.

Earlier still, in May 2015, DoPT issued a gazette notification transferring Parth Gupta, a 2013 batch IAS officer from the AGMUT cadre - comprising Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territories - to Haryana following his marriage to Astha Modi, a 2013 batch IPS officer who was already serving there.

Ajit Balaji Joshi, a 2003 batch IAS officer, was in the Haryana cadre. His wife Gauri Prashar, a 2009 batch officer, was posted in Odisha. A straightforward spousal transfer might have seemed in order - except that Prashar had declared Haryana as her home state on her Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) form, which barred her from being transferred there. She had never actually lived, studied, or worked in the state. 

The couple then approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which directed the central government to consider their case. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, eventually decided to move both officers to Punjab instead.