The Centre has altered service rules to allow married civil service officers to be posted in one state, PTI reported on Tuesday. The development follows a petition filed by 2011-batch IAS officer P Parthiban, who had married his colleague and Tamil Nadu cadre IPS officer Nisha from Delhi. When Parthiban was asked to move to Delhi, the couple had requested a common posting, as the civil services bar personnel from working in their home states.

A statement by the Department of Personnel and Training said the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has made way for several new provisions. A candidate has to list three preferred cadres while applying for the civil services. Under the new rules, an effort will be made to give married couples the cadre that most closely aligns with their preferences as long as it is in neither of their home states.

If the authorities do not receive a preference within the prescribed time limit from the officers concerned, the couple may be assigned to the “most deficit cadre” from the options they chose. The posting is subject to a clearance from the “parent and recipient cadres”.

The statement said all ministries concerned have been directed to consider inter-cadre transfers.