Madhya Pradesh High Court
Dr. R.C. Panika vs Public Health And Family Welfare ... on 6 April, 2021
Author: Vivek Rusia
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W.P. No.8186/2021
HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH : BENCH AT INDORE
(SINGLE BENCH : HON. Mr. JUSTICE VIVEK RUSIA)
W.P. No. 8186 of 2021
(Dr. R.C. Panika S/o. Sukhdev Prasad Panika V/s. State of M.P. &
others.)
Date: 06.04.2021 :
Petitioner by Ms. Mini Ravindran, Advocate.
Respondents/State by Shri Aditya Garg, Panel Advocate on
advance copy.
Heard on the question of admission.
ORDER
The petitioner has filed the present petition being aggrieved
by order dated 3.4.2021 whereby he has been transferred from the post of
Chief Medical & Health Officer (CMHO), Dhar to the Office of Regional
Director, Health Services, Ujjain against the vacant post of Joint Director.
The petitioner is holding the post of CMHO. He is assailing
the transfer order mainly on the ground that he has not completed the
normal tenure of three years as CMHO, Dhar and he is a victim of
frequent transfers.
According to the petitioner, vide order dated 27.2.2019 he
was transferred from the post CMHO Dhar to CMHO, Dewas. He
complied with the said order and joined at the transferred place, vide
order dated 8.3.2019 by amending order dated 27.2.2019, he was
transferred as CMHO, Balaghat. Thereafter, vide order dated 5.7.2019, he
was transferred from the post of CMHO, Balaghat to Joint Director,
Directorate of Health Services, Bhopal. Being aggrieved by order dated
5.7.2019, the petitioner filed W.P. No.15332/2019 before the Principal
Bench of this Court at Jabalpur. Vide order dated 31.7.2019 the said writ
petition was disposed of with a direction to the respondents to consider
the representation of the petitioner by a speaking and reasonable order
within a period of 30 days and till then, operation of order dated 5.7.2019
was stayed.
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W.P. No.8186/2021
In compliance of the aforesaid order, the respondents have
cancelled the transfer order of the petitioner dated 5.7.2019 and the
petitioner continued as CMHO, Balaghat. Vide order dated 21.4.2020, the
petitioner was again transferred from Balaghat to CMHO, Dhar.
According to the petitioner, within a year he has again been transferred
from Dhar to the office of Regional Director, Health Services, Ujjain.
Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that working of
the petitioner as CMHO, Dhar is excellent, there was no complaint against
him, he has achieved the all the targets during this Corona epidemic.
Clause 11.1 of the transfer policy dated 4.6.2019 prohibits the transfer
from the scheduled area within a period of three years. The petitioner has
submitted the representation dated 4.4.2021 which has not been
considered so far. She further submitted that the petitioner has been
replaced by a Specialist Doctor who is not even a regular CMHO.
The petitioner is assailing the impugned transfer order on the
ground of harassment and inconvenient due to frequent transfers.
Up to 27.2.2019 the petitioner was posted as CMHO, Dhar
and vide order dated 27.2.2019 the he was transferred from the post of
CMHO, Dhar to the post of CMHO, Dewas. Vide order dated 5.7.2019
aforesaid order dated 27.2.2019 was amended and in place of Dewas he
was transferred to Balaghat. Vide order 5.7.2019 he was transferred from
Balaghat to the office of Joint Director. But he obtained the stay by filing
W.P. No.15332/2019 vide order dated 31.7.2019. Accordingly, vide order
dated 31.10.2019 the aforesaid transfer order was cancelled. Therefore,
technically the petitioner was transferred only once from Dhar to Balaghat
vide order dated 8.3.2019 and from 8.3.2019 till 21.4.2020 he worked at
Balaghat and thereafter transferred to the post of CMHO, Dhar. The
petitioner did not challenge the order dated 8.3.2019 and order dated
21.4.2020 on the ground of frequent transfers because he got his choice of
posting as CMHO and now when he has been transferred from the post of
CMHO as Joint Director, he is again assailing the order on the ground of
frequent transfers. It means that the petitioner is only interested in
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W.P. No.8186/2021
working as a CMHO. Earlier, he was transferred to the office of Joint
Director, he challenged the said order and obtained the stay and now again
when he has been transferred to an administrative post of Joint Director,
he is again challenging the said order. It is not in dispute that the pay-scale
of the post of CMHO and the pay-scale of Joint Director is the same.
Thus, the regular CMHO can be posted as Joint Director. Therefore, the
petitioner cannot be permitted to challenge the transfer order just because
the transfer order is not of his choice place. The petitioner cannot adopt
the double standards. When he was transferred to his choice place, he has
not challenged the action of the State Government on the ground of
violation of transfer policy. The petitioner is holding a transferable post
and he is liable to be transferred from one place to another place.
Learned counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance over
the judgment passed by the apex Court in the case of T.S.R.
Subramanian & others V/s. Union of India : (2013) 15 SCC 732 and
order dated 3.12.2019 passed by co-ordinate Bench of this Court in W.P.
No.21175/2019. As discussed above, the petitioner has assailed the
transfer order twice because he was transferred from the post of CMHO to
the office of Joint Director. But he is interested in working only as a
CMHO, particularly at Dhar. Earlier, he was transferred from Dhar to
Balaghat, but he got managed his transfer back to Dhar. Hence, the
conduct of the petitioner does not inspire this Court to interfere with the
transfer order.
Accordingly, this petition is dismissed in limine.
( VIVEK RUSIA )
JUDGE
Alok/-
Digitally signed by ALOK GARGAV
Date: 2021.04.08 19:12:44 +05'30'
