Bombay High Court
Purushottam S/O. Ghanshyam vs Maha. State Power Generation Co. ... on 25 April, 2016
Bench: V.A. Naik
wp1067.16.odt
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
NAGPUR BENCH AT NAGPUR
WRIT PETITION NO.1067/2016
PETITIONER: Purushottam s/o Ghanshyam Harode
Aged about 50 years, Occu. : Service,
R/o Plot No.9 Pratap Nagar, Near
Khamala Telephone Exchange,
Khamala Road, Nagpur.
...VERSUS...
RESPONDENTS : 1. Maharashtra State Power Generation
Company Limited through its Managing
Director, 1st Floor, Prakashgad, Plot No.G-9
Bandra East, Mumbai 400051.
2. Maharashtra State Power Generation
Company Limited through its Chief Engineer,
Paras Thermal Power Station, Distt. Akola.
3. Maharashtra State Power Generation
Company Limited through its Chief
Engineer, Thermal Power Station
Khaperkheda, Nagpur.
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Shri F.T. Mirza, Advocate for petitioner
Shri A.D. Mohgaonkar, Advocate for respondents
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CORAM : SMT. VASANTI A. NAIK, AND
V.M. DESHPANDE, JJ.
DATE : 25.04.2016
ORAL JUDGMENT (PER : SMT. VASANTI A. NAIK, J.)
Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. The petition is heard
finally with the consent of the learned Counsel for the parties.
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By this writ petition, the petitioner seeks a direction to the
respondents to issue relieving order/letter to the petitioner relieving him
from the Thermal Power Station, Paras for joining in the Thermal Power
Station, Khaperkheda, in view of the transfer order dated 21.7.2015.
The petitioner is working as an Additional Executive
Engineer in the Thermal Power Station at Paras. Since the petitioner is to
retire after attaining the age of superannuation in March, 2017, he made
a representation to the respondents for transferring him from the Thermal
Power Station, Paras to the Thermal Power Station, Khaperkheda.
According to the petitioner, he was entitled to be transferred as per the
policy of the respondents, more so, when the wife of the petitioner had
suffered a spine injury in an accident and needed attention. The
representation of the petitioner was favourably considered by the
respondent - Company and after securing the consent/approval of the
Chairman and Managing Director of the Maharashtra State Power
Generation Company Limited, the Chief Engineer (Technical) by the
order, dated 21.7.2015 transferred the petitioner from the Thermal Power
Station Paras to the Thermal Power Station, Khaperkheda. It is the case of
the petitioner that despite the order transferring the petitioner to
Khaperkheda Thermal Power Station, the concerned respondent i.e.
respondent no.2 is not issuing a relieving order in favour of the petitioner
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so that he can be relieved from Paras for joining at Khaperkheda. It is
stated that though several representations are made by the petitioner by
pointing out the difficulty faced by the petitioner at the fag end of his
services due to the illness of his wife, the respondent no.2 is not relieving
the petitioner from Paras.
The learned Counsel for the respondents submitted that
there is a dearth of officers in the Thermal Power Station at Paras. It is
stated that though eight engineers are transferred to the Thermal Power
Station at Paras, they have not joined their duties at Paras. It is stated that
the Thermal Power Station, Paras is working with little more than 50% of
the requisite staff. It is stated that due to administrative difficulty, the
petitioner is not relieved from the Thermal Power Station, Paras.
On hearing the learned Counsel for the parties, we find that
the relief sought by the petitioner needs to be granted. Since the
petitioner is due to retire in March 2017, the petitioner had applied for
his transfer to Khaperkheda as his ailing wife resides at Nagpur. Also,
according to the policy of the respondents, normally, a person who is due
for retirement is entitled to transfer to his home-town or to a place where
he is desirous of residing after his retirement, as far as possible. Though
the representation made by the petitioner was favourably considered by
the respondent no.1 and the petitioner was transferred from the Thermal
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Power Station, Paras to the Thermal Power Station, Khaperkheda by the
order dated 21.7.2015, the respondent no.2 did not relieve the petitioner
from Paras Thermal Power Station. Merely because there is less strength
of engineers at Thermal Power Station, Paras, the respondent no.2 could
not have refused to relieve the petitioner from the said Thermal Power
Station when the Chief Engineer (Technical) had passed the order of
transfer of the petitioner to Khaperkheda Thermal Power Station after
securing the approval of the Chairman and Managing Director of the
Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited. The respondent
no.2 ought to have relieved the petitioner and ought to have ensured that
some other engineer from elsewhere joined the Thermal Power Station at
Paras. However, this was not done for nearly one year and despite the
order of transfer, the petitioner was not relieved. In the circumstances of
the case, specially when the petitioner is due to retire within a period of
one year and as his wife is suffering from a spine injury, it would be
necessary for the respondent no.2 to immediately relieve the petitioner
from the Thermal Power Station, Paras so that the petitioner could join
the the Thermal Power Station, Khaperkheda.
Hence, for the reasons aforesaid, the writ petition is
allowed. We hereby direct the respondent no.2 to relieve the petitioner
from the Thermal Power Station at Paras within a period of ten days so
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that the petitioner could join the Thermal Power Station at Khaperkheda.
The respondent no.3 should immediately permit the petitioner to join the
Thermal Power Station at Khaperkheda, in pursuance of the order of
transfer, dated 21.7.2015.
Rule is made absolute in the aforesaid terms with no order
as to costs.
JUDGE JUDGE
Wadkar
