UNION OF INDIA Vs. VILAS RAMESH CHAND TARHATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) INVOKING the extra-ordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners, namely, the Union of India and the functionaries of the Railway Administration, have called in question the sustainabilily of the order dated 17-10-2001 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Jabalpur Bench, Jabalpur (in short 'the Tribunal') in Original Application No. 508/2001.

(2.) THE facts as perceivable from the order passed by the Tribunal and the petition presented before this Court are that the respondent No. 1, Vilas Ramesh Chand Tarhate instituted Original Application No. 508/2001 under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, before the Tribunal questioning the soundness of order dated 19-7-2001 whereby he had been transferred from Jabalpur to Mumbai. It was putforth before the Tribunal that the applicant therein was working as Chief Law Assistant and was posted at Jabalpur with effect from 11-5-2000. Earlier he had been transferred vide order dated 31-1-97 from Jabalpur to Mumbai. Thereafter, he was posted back to Jabalpur with effect from 27-5-97. As pleaded, he was posted again to Mumbai vide orders dated 30-6-98 and 13-7-98. Thereafter, at his own request he was re-transferred to Jabalpur and joined in the office of Divisional Railway Manager with effect from 11 -5-2000.

(3.) THE respondent No. 1 herein was placed under suspension vide order dated 15-6-2001. Thereafter he was issued a charge-sheet under Rule 9 of the Railway Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1968 (for brevity 'the Rules') as per Annexure A-6 to the original application. An explanation was called from him. After passage of some time, the order of suspension was revoked. After revoking the order of suspension the employer-Railway transferred him from Jabalpur to Mumbai in the same capacity by the impugned order which was received by him on 27-7-2001. It was urged by him before the Tribunal that he was suffering from Bilaterial Pleural Effusion (Tuberculosis) and, therefore, the authorities should have been more sympathetic towards him. It was proponed before the Tribunal that as the charge-sheet had been issued to him and the order for departmental enquiry was passed he could not have been transferred from Jabalpur to Mumbai, as such an order of transfer is punitive in nature. It was putforth before the Tribunal that the order of transfer was passed to accommodate one Shri S. K. Singh.