Bratati Chatterjee vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2023 Latest Caselaw 547 Cal

18.01.2023
Item No. 10.
Court No.6.
    S. De
                                 M.A.T. 67 of 2023
                                        with
                               I.A. No. CAN/1/2023

                                Bratati Chatterjee.
                                        Vs
                          The State of West Bengal & Ors.

                     Mr. Bhaskar Roy,
                                ...for the appellant/writ petitioner.

                     Mr. Ansar Mondal,
                     Mr. Suprabhat Bhattacharyya,
                                           ...for the State.

                     By consent of the parties, the appeal and the

               connected application are taken up together for

               hearing.

                     A judgment and order dated January 11, 2023,

               whereby the appellant's writ petition being WPA 428 of

               2023 was disposed of, is under challenge in this

               appeal.

                     The appellant had approached the learned

               Single Judge with a case that she had been sexually

               harassed while serving as a Gram Rojgar Sevak in

               Egara Gram Panchayat, District-Paschim Burdwan.

               Apparently, she had suffered sexual harassment in the

               hands of the respondent no.6, who had joined the post

of Executive Assistant in January 4, 2022, on transfer

from Kajora Gram Panchayat. Soon thereafter the

petitioner was transferred to Amrasota Gram

Panchayat in the same capacity.

The appellant/writ petitioner challenged the

transfer order and also prayed for a direction on the

authorities to consider her complaint against the

respondent no.6.

The learned Judge rejected the challenge to the

transfer order on two grounds. Firstly, the learned

Judge observed that under the Sexual Harassment at

Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal)

Act, 2013, as an interim measure the concerned

authority can transfer the complainant and remove

her from unhealthy environment in which she had

been allegedly harassed. Secondly, the transfer was

for administrative reasons. Transfer is an incidence of

service.

As regards the other prayer of the appellant, the

learned Judge granted liberty to the appellant/writ

petitioner to approach the Block Development Officer,

Raniganj Development Block for constitution of an

Internal Complaints Committee as per law, for

adjudication of the issue of sexual harassment in

accordance with the provisions of the 2013 Act. The

learned Judge further directed that if such approach is

made, the Committee will be constituted and the

consequential steps will follow as per law. The learned

Judge directed the appellant to join the transfer post

within January 17, 2023.

Being aggrieved, the writ petitioner is before us

by way of this appeal.

We have heard learned counsel for the parties.

We see no apparent infirmity in the order under

appeal. Indeed, an employee can be transferred for

administrative exigency. Transfer is no doubt an

incidence of service. No employee has any vested right

to continue to work at any one place. Further, for the

protection of a lady employee who alleges sexual

harassment, transfer may also be effected. We do not

interfere with the learned Judge's decision on the

issue of transfer.

However, learned advocate for the appellant says

that the appellant has been transferred to a place

which is eight kilometers from her residence. This will

cause undue hardship to her. There are posts

available much nearer to her residence. The

authorities should consider posting her at some place

which is near her residence.

We grant liberty to the appellant to make a

representation to the concerned Sub-Divisional Officer

with a prayer for being posted at a nearby place. If

such a representation is made within a week from

date, the same shall be disposed of by the Sub-

Divisional Officer in accordance with law by passing a

reasoned order, after giving an opportunity of hearing

to the appellant or her authorized representative,

within a fortnight from the date of receipt of the

representation. While we do not tie the hands of the

Sub-Divisional Officer, we are sure the officer shall

consider the representation sympathetically.

In so far as the other limb of the order under

appeal is concerned, we modify the order to the extent

that instead of approaching the Block Development

Officer, the appellant will be at liberty to approach the

District Magistrate being the respondent no.5 herein

for taking appropriate steps in accordance with the

2013 Act.

We see from the order under appeal that the

appellant was directed to join the new workplace by

January 17, 2023, i.e. yesterday. We extend such

time till January 20, 2023.

Since we have not called for affidavits, the

allegations contained in the stay application are

deemed not to be admitted by the respondents.

M.A.T. 67 of 2023 is disposed of along with the

application being I.A. No. CAN 1 of 2023.

Urgent certified photostat copy of this order, if

applied for, shall be given to the parties as

expeditiously as possible on compliance with all the

necessary formalities.

(Apurba Sinha Ray, J.) (Arijit Banerjee, J.)