SARASWATHY PRABHA A. Vs. KERALA STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, who is holding the post of Assistant Executive Engineer (Civil) in the service of the Kerala State Electricity Board, is aggrieved by the impugned Ext.P-8 dated 12.7.2016 and Ext.P-9 proceedings dated 13.7.2016 (transfer proceedings), whereby the petitioner has been ordered to be transferred and posted from her present station at Athirappilly Hydro Electrical Project, Thrissur, to the office of the Chief Engineer, Civil Design & Consultancy, Kozhikode, as per serial No.15 of Ext.P-8 and contesting respondent No.5 has been ordered to be transferred and posted in the post held by the petitioner at Athirappilly, as per serial No.2 of of Ext.P-9. The petitioner is a lady now aged 49 years and it is averred that her elder child (daughter) is studying in the Government Engineering College, Thrissur, and younger child (son) is studying in Plus Two course and that if she is transferred to Kozhikode, it will cause serious prejudice to her in the smooth running of her domestic affairs, etc. The sheet anchor of the petitioner's defence is that the impugned transfer order is against the substance and spirit of Clause 7(vii)(d) of Ext.P-6 transfer norms, more particularly sub clause (d) thereof, which reads as follows:

(2.) It is pointed out that the petitioner has been working in the present station at Athirappilly Hydro Electrical Project from 11.1.2016 and that the said station is a generation section, which is situated in a rather remote and inaccessible place. It is also averred that prior to that, the petitioner was posted at Poringalkuthu, which is a generation station, with effect from 18.8.2012 as evident from serial No.2 of Ext.R-3(a). It is pointed out that Poringalkuthu Generation Station is situated in a remote and inaccessible station and that since the petitioner has been working in Generation Stations since 18.8.2012 upto now, she is entitled at least to protection from transfer to distant places like Kozhikode, even though she is not now claiming the preferential right of posting to a station nearby her station, etc. It is in the light of these facts and circumstances that the petitioner has filed the instant Writ Petition (Civil) with the following prayers:

(3.) When the matter had come up for consideration on 15.7.2016, this Court had ordered that the operation and implementation of Exts.P-8 and P-9 transfer proceedings shall be kept in abeyance to the limited extent it affects the petitioner and that consequentially the petitioner shall be allowed to continue in the present station in Hydro Electrical Project, HED, Athirappilly, Thrissur district.