SANGITA PANWAR Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is preferred against the order passed by the learned Single Judge in WPSS No. 1872 of 2019. In the order under appeal dated 06.08.2019, the learned Single Judge noted that the petitioner's earlier writ petition was disposed of by order dated 04.07.2019, directing the competent Authority to take a decision on the petitioner's representation; pursuant thereto, the Chief Education Officer had decided the representation, and had directed her to join at her transfered place; while rejecting the representation, the authorities had assigned the reason that the place, to which the petitioner had exercised her option for transfer, was not vacant; and a second writ petition, on the very same cause of action, was, therefore, not maintainable. Accordingly, the writ petition was dismissed by order dated 06.08.2019 with costs of Rs. 10,000/- for wasting the valuable time of the Court.

(2.) Mr. Kurban Ali, learned counsel for the appellant, would submit, not without justification, that the earlier writ petition was disposed of directing the respondents to consider the petitioner's representation; since the respondents had illegally rejected the petitioner's request, she was entitled to again invoke the jurisdiction of this Court; transfers, in the State of Utttarakhand, are governed by the provisions of the Uttarakhand Annual Transfer for Public Servant Act, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as the "2017 Act"?); the petitioner stood at serial no. 10 in the seniority list of teachers, liable to be compulsorily transfered from a sugam area to a durgam area; the sixth respondent stood below her at serial no. 13, in the said list; instead of posting the petitioner to the Government Primary School, Pali (which was her fifth option among ten choices), the sixth respondent, who stood at serial No.13, was posted to Pali ignoring the petitioner's claim to be posted thereat.

(3.) When the matter came up earlier, Mr. B.S. Parihar, learned Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand, sought time to obtain instructions. Today, the learned Standing Counsel, on instructions, would submit that 31 places were identified to which requests for transfer could be made; Pali was not one among those 31 places; yet the appellant-writ petitioner had exercised her fifth choice to be posted at Pali; since the post at Pali was not vacant, she was posted instead to the Government Primary School, Rangaon; the vacancy at Pali subsequently arose, consequent on the selection of the candidate, posted at Pali, to another post; and since the vacancy at Pali arose on 01.07.2019, after the appellant-writ petitioner was posted at Rangaon, the sixth respondent was posted at Pali on 11.07.2019.