Rajendra Singh Panwar vs Chief Education Officer
2022 Latest Caselaw 3418 UK

IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL

      THE CHIEF JUSTICE SHRI VIPIN SANGHI
                      AND
     JUSTICE SHRI RAMESH CHANDRA KHULBE
                     20th OCTOBER, 2022

              Special Appeal No.335 of 2022

Rajendra Singh Panwar                              ......Appellant

                              Vs.

Chief Education Officer,
District Pauri Garhwal and Others            ......Respondents

Presence: -
Mr. Sandeep Kothari, learned counsel for the appellant.
Ms. Mamta Bisht, learned Deputy Advocate General for the
State.

JUDGMENT: (Per Shri Vipin Sanghi, Chief Justice)
           The appellant has assailed the order dated
28.09.2022 passed in WPSS No.1875 of 2022, whereby the
learned   Single   Judge   has   dismissed   the   writ-petition
preferred by the appellant.

2.         The appellant is serving as a Head Master in a
Government Primary School. He was transferred to his own
village, namely, Government Primary School, Dehalchauri
vide order dated 17.05.2022, pursuant to which, he joined
his duties on 19.05.2022.

3.         It appears that there were complaints made
against the appellant with regard to abuse of his authority
by permitting his wife to run a private primary school next
to the building of the Government School, where the
petitioner was posted. An inquiry was conducted and,
based on the said inquiry report, an order was passed by
the District Education Officer on 15.09.2022, transferring
the petitioner to Government Primary School, Dhandri,
 Block Pauri within the same district. The petitioner was
aggrieved by the said transfer and preferred the petition,
which was dismissed by the learned Single Judge.

4.             The submission of the learned counsel for the
appellant is that no finding was recorded in the inquiry
against the petitioner abusing his authority. He submits
that the transfer has been affected due to political
pressure.

5.             We need not to go into the issue whether the
inquiry on the complaints made against the petitioners for
abuse of authority was substantiated or not. It is the policy
of      the   State,   which   has   legislative   sanction   that   a
Government Servant would not be posted in his home
town. We may refer to Section 17(2)(b) of The Uttarakhand
Annual Transfer for Public Servants Act, 2017.

6.             Thus, the petitioner could not have been posted,
in the first place, in his own home town. He has no vested
right to continue to serve in his own home town.
Consequently, his transfer within the same district to a
different Government Primary School in a different village
cannot be complained of by the appellant.

7.             We find no merit in the present special appeal
and, accordingly, the same is dismissed.



                                           ________________
                                            VIPIN SANGHI, C.J.


                               ________________________
                               RAMESH CHANDRA KHULBE, J.

Dated: 20th October, 2022 SS/SK