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Uttarakhand High Court
Rajani Rawat vs State Of Uttarakhand & Others on 25 February, 2026
2026:UHC:1283-DB
HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. MANOJ KUMAR GUPTA
AND
HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE SUBHASH UPADHYAY
25TH FEBRUARY, 2026
WRIT PETITION (S/B) NO. 102 OF 2026
Rajani Rawat ......Petitioner.
Versus
State of Uttarakhand & others ....Respondents.
Counsel for the Petitioner : Mr. Abhijay Negi, learned counsel.
Counsel for the State : Mr. B.S. Parihar, learned Additional
Chief Standing Counsel with Ms. Rajni
Supyal, learned Brief Holder.
JUDGMENT :
(per Mr. Manoj Kumar Gupta, C.J.)
1. The petitioner is currently posted as Chief
Administrative Officer in the Directorate of Medical Health
Services, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. She has assailed the
order of her transfer in the same capacity to District
Hospital Chamoli by order dated 13.02.2026, issued by
Director General, Medical Health and Family Welfare,
Dehradun. The order recites that the transfer has been
made on administrative grounds.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
the transfer of the petitioner on administrative grounds has
been made on basis of report dated 30.06.2025 by Director
General, Medical Health to the State Government. He
submits that the said report was submitted on basis of
allegations levelled against the petitioner by other
2026:UHC:1283-DB
employees of the Department at Dehradun without seeking
explanation from the petitioner and also without holding
any proper inquiry. Reliance has been placed on Section
18(4) of the Uttarakhand Annual Transfer for Public
Servants Act, 2017, which reads as follows:-
"18(4) On enquiry, on the grounds of serious
complaints of misconduct, misbehavior with senior officers
and lack of interest in work etc. after necessary enquiry and
confirmation, transfer of such employees may be made on
administrative grounds:
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."
3. It is submitted that the Statute itself provides for
necessary safeguards while ordering transfer on
administrative grounds. Necessary inquiry has to be held
and the allegations levelled in any complaint have to be
verified and which pre-supposes that the concerned
employee would be given opportunity of hearing to rebut
the allegations and to lead the evidence in support of his/
her case. It is urged that no such procedure has been
followed.
4. Learned State Counsel has placed on record the
instructions from the Assistant Director (Administration) on
behalf of the Director General, Medical Health and Family
Welfare, Uttarakhand, Dehradun. Therein, it is alleged that
2026:UHC:1283-DB
the petitioner has not complied with the order of inter-
departmental transfer issued in the past. Reliance has also
been placed on the complaint filed against the petitioner by
other employees. It is also stated that there are allegations
of financial irregularities against the petitioner and on basis
of the said allegations, by order of the Director General,
Medical Health dated 14.10.2025, an Inquiry Committee
was constituted. However, what happened in the said
inquiry has not been disclosed. It is also stated that the
petitioner was required to submit audit reports of last six
years of the Uttaranchal Medical and Public Health
Ministerial Association, Uttarakhand, in which, she remained
President for a considerable period. However, she also
failed to comply with the said direction.
5. Although, it is stated that during inquiry,
petitioner was given full opportunity, but none of the
documents annexed along with the instructions, reveal that
any opportunity of hearing was given to the petitioner.
There is no reference to the explanation of the petitioner to
the alleged defaults on her part.
6. Consequently, we find that the impugned
transfer order, though passed on administrative grounds,
was not preceded by proper inquiry and the observations
made by Director General, Medical Health and Family
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Welfare, in the report submitted on 30.06.2025, was based
on her own perception.
7. This, in our considered opinion, does not fulfill
the requirement of law. Consequently, the transfer order
passed on administrative grounds cannot be sustained and
is, hereby, quashed.
8. The petitioner has already submitted a detailed
representation on 15.02.2026 in respect of the allegations
mentioned in the report of the Director General, Medical
Health and Family Welfare, dated 30.06.2025. We permit
the respondents to pass a fresh order after taking into
consideration the said representation and affording proper
opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.
9. Accordingly, the writ petition stands disposed of.
10. It is made clear that the petitioner will cooperate
in the inquiry.
11. Pending application, if any, also stands disposed
of.
MANOJ KUMAR GUPTA, C.J.
SUBHASH UPADHYAY, J.
Dated: 25th February, 2026
NISHANT
NISHANT
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KUMAR
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Date: 2026.02.26 17:45:55 +05'30'
