P YAGNA NARAYANA Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition is filed seeking a writ of certiorari calling for the records pertaining to the order dated 26. 3. 2009 passed in O. A. No. 3952 of 2009 by the Andhra Pradesh administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad and the transfer order issued by the first respondent vide G. O. Rt. No. 382 dated 2. 3. 2009 and for quashing the same.

(2.) THE petitioner, who is working as sub-Registrar Grade-I at Patamata of vijayawada, Krishna District, has been transferred and posted to the place of the sixth respondent at Kavutaram, machilipatnam vide G. O. Rt. No. 382 dated 2. 3. 2009 issued by the first respondent in relaxation of ban on transfer of employees. Challenging the same, he filed O. A. No. 3952 of 2009, but the same was dismissed on the ground that as G. O. Rt. No. 382, dated 2. 3. 2009, whereby the petitioner was transferred, was issued after following due procedure, there is no illegality or irregularity in the said order. Aggrieved by the same, he filed the present writ petition.

(3.) LEARNED Counsel for the petitioner submits that Rule 38 of the Rules and rule 4-A of the Code provides the manner in which the officer has to exercise the powers and the purpose of effecting transfers. The relevant rules are extracted as hereunder: under Rule 38 of the Andhra Pradesh state and Subordinate Service Rules, 1996 (for short 'the Rules), a member of a State service or class of a State Service may be posted to any post borne on the cadre of such service or class of service anywhere in the State. Under Rule 38 (c) of the Rules, all transfers and postings of a member of state or Subordinate Service shall be made subject to sub-rules (a) and (b) by the appointing authority or such other authority subordinate to the appointing authority specified in the special, rules or to whom the appointing authority has delegated such powers of postings and transfers. Under Rule 38 (c) (ii) of the Rules, the head of the Department may transfer a member of a service from the unit of one appointing authority to the unit of another appointing authority, where the Presidential order is not applicable. Under Rule 4-A of the Andhra Pradesh civil Services Code (for short 'the Code'), the appointing authority for the categories of sub-Registrars, Grades-I and II shall be the deputy Inspector General of Registration and Stamps. He contended that the impugned transfer order was passed by the Government at the behest of the Honourable Chief Minister and in violation of the executive instructions issued by the second respondent-Commissioner and Inspector General of Registration and stamps Department vide memo dated 31. 5. 2008, as per which, an employee with less than two years of service in the present place of working as on 30. 6. 2008 should not be transferred, as the petitioner has completed one year five months service at Patamata of Vijayawada. He relied upon the judgment of this Court in W. P. No. 17906 of 2008 dated 19. 8. 2008, wherein the judgments of the Apex Court in sarvesh Kumar Awasthi v. U. P. Jal Nigam, (2003) 11 SCC 740 and Kendriya Vidyalaya sangathan v. Damodar Prasad Pandey, (2004) 12 SCC 299, were referred to. In sarvesh Kumar Awasthi's case (supra), it was held as under: