Makwana has been fighting this legal battle since 1996, shortly after his cadre allocation. He initially requested the Centre to appoint him in the Gujarat cadre, arguing that under the 2:1 cadre allotment ratio for outsiders and insiders, he should have been placed in Gujarat as an insider. He took his case to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and then to the HC after being denied. 

The Centre said the petitioner had no inherent right to his home state’s cadre and that cadre allocation is an administrative matter, subject to judicial review only in clear cases of discrimination.