B.G. RAJAGOPAL Vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition has been filed to issue direction to the respondent Nos. 2 and 3 to relieve the petitioner of his duties as Surveyor from the office of the 2nd respondent, pursuant to an official memorandum dated 13.08.2012 issued by the 2nd respondent and to direct the 1st respondent to accept the duty report/to take the petitioner to duty as Surveyor i.e., at the transferred place. The petitioner is a civil servant working as a Surveyor in the Department of Survey, Settlement and Land Records. The grievance of the petitioner falls within the definition of 'service', under S. 3(q) of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1995. In view of the provisions under S. 28 of the said Act and the decision of the Apex Court in the case of this L. Chandrakumar Vs. Union of India, 1997 3 SCC 261, writ petition being not maintainable could have been rejected by reserving the liberty to the petitioner to seek redressal of his grievance before the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal. Since there is suppression of material facts by the petitioner it is necessary to make a reference to the events which have come into being till date and decide the petition.

(2.) The petitioner was working as a Second Division Surveyor from 03.11.2005, in the office of the Tahasildar, Bangalore South Taluk. By an Official Memorandum dated 15.06.2010, he was transferred to Belgaum and one B.C. Lokesh was posted in his place. Challenging the said transfer and posting orders, the petitioner filed Application No. 4030/2010 in the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (for short KAT). By virtue of the interim order of the stay granted on 29.06.2010, he continued to work in the office of the Tahasildar, Bangalore South Taluk. Since an averment had been made in the said application that a representation made as against the order of transfer had remained unconsidered, an interim order was passed on 18.09.2010, to consider the petitioner's representation and to intimate the outcome. An order dated 08.10.2010 having been passed and one M.K. Umesh having been posted under an Official Memorandum dated 08.10.2010, the petitioner assailed the same by filing Application No. 6531/2010. Subsequently, the Commissioner for Survey, Settlement and Land Records, passed an order as per Official Memorandum dated 21.04.2012, confirming the earlier transfer of the petitioner to the office of the Assistant Director of Land Records, Resurvey, Belgaum, by stating that in view of posting of another person in the vacant post at Bangalore, the representation of the petitioner to post him to a post in Bangalore South Taluk was not considered. Challenging the said Official Memorandum dated 21.04.2012 the petitioner filed Application No. 2297/2012 in KAT.

(3.) Since all the said applications were relating to the transfer and posting of the petitioner, they were consolidated, heard and were dismissed by a common order dated 18.06.2012, wherein, it has been held as follows: