JUDGMENT :

N. Kotiswar Singh, J.

1. Heard Mr. J.I. Borbhuiya, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. T. Chakraborty, learned counsel assisted by Mr. A.D. Choudhury, learned counsel for the Bank respondents.

2. This is an instance of how human tragedies are dealt with in this country by the officialdom bogged down by rules.

3. The petitioner is presently serving as an Assistant Manager in the Assam Gramin Vikash Bank, a joint undertaking of the Government of India, Government of Assam and United Bank of India. He entered service as a Junior Clerk cum Cashier in the year 1984 and raised in the ladder of hierarchy through promotions and is presently serving in the aforesaid capacity of Assistant Manager.

4. When and how tragedy strikes a person, nobody knows. But when it strikes, it is that particular family which has to bear the brunt of the pain. It is in such situations, fellow human beings come to their side to lessen their pain. That is an index of human civilization, a trait sometimes difficult to observe nowadays, lost in a maze of rules and regulations.

5. In the present case, petitioner's wife met with an accident on 17.06.2013 in which she sustained serious head injuries and remained in a comatose stage. Though she has now recovered, has to undergo continuous and regular medical treatment. She has been suffering from severe disability, loss of memory, comprehension, impairment of right shoulder dislocation, needing constant support for her daily needs. Her condition has been so described by the doctors concerned and that she would need regular follow up and rehabilitation which is being currently managed at home, as advised and certified by the concerned doctor. These certificates were issued on 02.10.2013, 12.12.2015, 25.10.2016 and 06.12.2017, copies of which are to be found at Annexure-2 to the writ petition.

6. The Competent Authority of the State Government has also given a disability certificate in which she has been certified to be suffering from locomotors disability and that she has 80% permanent physical impairment in relation to her whole body.

According to the petitioner, because of the aforesaid medical condition, she constantly needs not only medical care but also personal care.

7. Apart from the aforesaid tragedy which struck the petitioner, fate has been not very kind to him, as his only son who is presently aged about 25 years, has been suffering from behavioral disturbance since 2008. The peculiar symptoms of which he is suffering from, are lack of communication with others, remaining aloof in public place, inability to recognize his relatives and having difficulty in making comprehensive sentences.

Apart from it, his intelligence had been progressively declining and he often becomes aggressive and easily irritable and his aggressiveness lasts for about 2-3 minutes after which he becomes fatigued. His son who is suffering pervasive development disorder is also on medication and requires constant monitoring of his health and treatment.

It has been submitted that there is no substantial improvement in the condition of his son, thus requiring constant monitoring and care of his son. The petitioner, however, has been managing to take care of both his wife as well as his son, being posted in his home place at Nalbari.

8. The Bank authority however, claims to have accommodated the petitioner on earlier occasions by posting him within the Nalbari Region, Nalbari being his home town.

Later, while serving at Kumarikata within Nalbari Region, the petitioner was holding the post of Office Assistant (Multi Purpose) and the petitioner was considered for promotion to the higher post of Assistant Manager to which he was promoted on 19.10.2016 with effect from 12.10.2016.

9. According to the Bank, as per the transfer policy of the Bank, promotion to a higher post would invariably entail transfer to another Region. Accordingly, after his promotion, the petitioner was transferred to Bijni, outside Nalbari Region which is