Rajasthan High Court

Smt. Jyoti Bala Kumawat W/O Late ... vs State Of Rajasthan on 11 May, 2022

Bench: Inderjeet Singh

       HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN
                   BENCH AT JAIPUR

               S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 6753/2022

Smt. Jyoti Bala Kumawat W/o Late Shri Bansilal Kumawat, Aged
About 44 Years, Resident Of Bundi Road, Near Chetak Transport,
Chittorgarh.
                                                                     ----Petitioner
                                    Versus
1.     State   Of    Rajasthan,          Through         Its     Additional   Chief
       Secretary,     Education          Department,             Government     Of
       Rajasthan, Government Secretariat, Jaipur.
2.     Director, Secondary Education, Rajasthan, Bikaner.
3.     District Education Officer, Secondary Education, Dausa.
4.     Principal, Govt. Sr. Sec. School, Kaluwas, Block Lalsot,
       District Dausa.
                                                                  ----Respondents

For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Dilip Singh Kurka For Respondent(s) :

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE INDERJEET SINGH

Order

11/05/2022

1. This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner with the

following prayers;

"It is, therefore, prayed that this writ petition may kindly be allowed and by appropriate writ, order or directions, the judgments of the Tribunal dated 13.04.2022 may kindly be quashed and set aside.

That the impugned order dated 25.9.2021, 21.1.2022 & 29.1.2022 may kindly be quashed and set aside. The respondents may further be directed to allow the petitioner to continue as

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Lecturer, Hindi, Government Sr. Sec. School, Kaluwas, Ward No. 3, Block Lalsot District Dausa with regular salary and all benefits.

That the respondents may further be directed to post the petitioner as per transfer policy with regard to widow lady and as per choice and option submitted by the petitioner with all benefits. Any other relief which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit in favour of the petitioner may also be awarded to the petitioner.

That the cost of the writ petition may also kindly be awarded in favour of the petitioner."

2. Brief facts of the case are that the petitioner has been

transferred from Government Senior Secondary School, Kaluwas,

Dausa to Government Senior Secondary School Mahwa, District

Dausa.

3. Being aggrieved by the transfer order dated 25.09.2021 the

petitioner filed appeal before the Rajasthan Civil Services

Appellate Tribunal which was dismissed by the Tribunal vide order

dated 13.04.2022. Hence, this writ petition has been filed by the

petitioner.

4. Counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is a

widow lady and according to circular of the Department, the

widow/divorcee lady can only be transferred on the application

being submitted as per choice.

5. In support of the contention, counsel relied upon the

judgment passed by the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the

matter of Manju Swami Vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors (S.B.

Civil Writ Petition No. 13958/2021).

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6. Heard counsel for the petitioner and perused the record.

7. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of Union of India

and Anr. Vs. Deepak Niranjan Pandit and Anr. reported in

(2020) 3 Supreme Court Cases 404 in para Nos. 3 and 4 has

held as under:-

"3.The High Court, in interfering with the order of transfer, has relied on two circumstances. Firstly, the High Court has noted that as a result of the stay on the order of transfer, the headquarters of the respondent will remain at Mumbai and even if he is to be suspended, his headquarters will continue to remain at Mumbai. The second reason, which was weighed with the High Court, is that the spouse of the respondent suffers from a cardiac ailment and is obtaining medical treatment in Mumbai. In our view, neither of these reasons can furnish a valid justification for the High Court to take recourse to its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution in passing an order of injunction of this nature. Significantly, the High Court has not even found a prima facie case to the effect that the order of transfer was either mala fide or in breach of law. The High Court could not have dictated to the employer as to where the respondent should be posted during the period of suspension. Individual hardships are matters for the Union of India, as an employer, to take a dispassionate view.

4.However, we are categorically of the view that the impugned order of the High Court interfering with the order of transfer was in excess of jurisdiction and an improper exercise of judicial power. We are constrained to observe that the impugned order has been passed in breach of the settled principles and precedents which have consistently been enunciated and followed by this Court. The manner in which judicial power has been exercised by the High Court to stall a lawful order of transfer is disquieting. We express our disapproval".

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8. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of 'Rajendra

Singh & Ors. Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. reported in

(2009) 15 Supreme Court Cases 178, where in para Nos. 8, 9

& 10, it has been held as under:-

"8. A Government Servant has no vested right to remain posted at a place of his choice nor can he insist that he must be posted at one place or the other. He is liable to be transferred in the administrative exigencies from one place to the other. Transfer of an employee is not only an incident inherent in the terms of appointment but also implicit as an essential condition of service in the absence of any specific indication to the contrary. No Government can function if the Government Servant insists that once appointed or posted in a particular place or position, he should continue in such place or position as long as he desires (see State of U.P. v. Gobardhan Lal; SCC P.406 para 7).

9. The courts are always reluctant in interfering with the transfer of an employee unless such transfer is vitiated by violation of some statutory provisions or suffers from mala fides. In Shilpi Bose v. State of Bihar & Ors.1, this Court held : (SCC p.661, para 4) "4. In our opinion, the courts should not interfere with a transfer order which is made in public interest and for administrative reasons unless the transfer orders are made in violation of any mandatory statutory rule or on the ground of mala fide. A government servant holding a transferable post has no vested right to remain posted at one place or the other, he is liable to be transferred from one place to the other.

Transfer orders issued by the competent authority do not violate any of his legal rights. Even if a transfer order is passed in violation of executive instructions or orders, the courts ordinarily should not interfere with the order instead affected party should approach the higher authorities in the department. If the courts continue to interfere with day-to- day transfer orders issued by the government and its subordinate authorities, there will be complete chaos in the administration which would not be conducive to public interest. The High Court overlooked these aspects in interfering with the transfer orders."

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10. In N.K. Singh v. Union of India, this Court reiterated that : (SCC p. 103; para 6) "6. ... the scope of judicial review in matters of transfer of a Government Servant to an equivalent post without adverse consequence on the service or career prospects is very limited being confined only to the grounds of mala fides or violation of any specific provision...."

9. This writ petition filed by the petitioner deserves to be

dismissed for the reasons; firstly, the petitioner has been

transferred by the respondent(s) within the same district i.e.,

Dausa, therefore, it cannot be said that the petitioner has been

transferred in violation of any circular of the Department;

secondly, the order passed by the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court

relied upon by the petitioner clearly shows that the condition with

regard to not relieving the widow candidate has been mentioned

in the transfer order, which is not the position herein; thirdly, in

view of the judgment passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the

matters of Union of India & Rajendra Singh (both supra), no

case is made out for interference by this court under Article-226 of

the Constitution of India.