WPSB/254/2025
2025 Latest Caselaw 3280 UK

Uttarakhand High Court

WPSB/254/2025 on 25 June, 2025

                   Office Notes,
                      reports,
                     orders or
                   proceedings
SL.
        Date       or directions                          COURT'S OR JUDGES'S ORDERS
No
                        and
                    Registrar's
                    order with
                    Signatures
      25.06.2025                   WPSB No. 254 of 2025
                                   Hon'ble G. Narendar, C.J.

Hon'ble Alok Mahra, J.

Mr. Dushyant Mainali and Mr. Nikhil Bhatt, learned counsels for the petitioner.

2. Mr. J.C. Pande, learned Standing Counsel for the State.

3. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Standing Counsel for the State.

4. It is submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner that the instant transfer order, though, he is not in the eligibility list, has been passed on the alleged excuse of administrative ground and he would place before the Court a letter addressed by one Smt. Rekha Rawat, claiming to be the Chairperson, Block Development Committee, Block Ramnagar, Nainital, addressed to Smt. Rekha Arya, Hon'ble In-charge Minister, District Nainital, who, in turn, has endorsed the complaint/ representation of the said Smt. Rekha Rawat to Chief Minor Irrigation, and the complaint/ letter of said Smt. Rekha Rawat, Chairperson, Block Development Committee, reads as under:-

"Ma'am, While being posted at this office, Sri Pramod Kumar, Additional Assistant Engineer (Minor Irrigation) is not taking keen interest in discharge of his duties and which is affecting the functioning of Block.

Therefore, it is prayed before you to issue necessary directions from your end for transferring Sri Pramod Kumar from this Block to elsewhere."

5. In fact, the petitioner has also pleaded a specific ground in Paragraph No.19. It is apparent that the transfer on the complaints/ administrative ground is required to be in compliance with the proviso to sub- section (4) of Section 18 of the Uttarakhand Annual Transfer of Public Servants Act, 2017. Proviso to sub- section (4) of Section 18 of the Act reads as under:-

"Provided that the transfer on administrative grounds shall not be made casually or on the basis of complaints of routine nature and in the orders of such transfer it shall be necessary to mention Administrative Grounds."

6. In the order, in question, no such administrative grounds have been mentioned. The petitioner, not being in the eligible list of transferees, in the light of the proviso to sub-section (4) of Section 18 of the Act, and in the light of the judgment of the Full Bench, the transferring authority is required to record reasons. In the absence of such reasons, the malafides can be inferred.

7. Learned Standing Counsel would submit that he requires time to secure instructions as to whether any records are available, or any reasons have been recorded in support of the administrative transfer.

8. List on 27.06.2025.

(Alok Mahra, J.) (G. Narendar, C.J.) 25.06.2025 25.06.2025 NISHANT