UNION OF INDIA Vs. KISHORE CH. MOHANTY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Union of India has preferred this Appeal against the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Cuttack Bench, Cuttack in O.A. No. 415 of 2010, wherein it allowed the application filed by the opposite party and quashed his order of transfer from Cuttack to Rourkela.

(2.) IT is borne out from records that the opposite party has been working as Programme Executive (PEX), All India Radio (in short, 'AIR), Cuttack. He has been transferred from Cuttack to Rourkela as per the order dated 4th August, 2010. Challenging such order of transfer, the opposite party filed the Original Application before the learned Tribunal, inter alia, pleading that Clause (xxi) of the policy of transfer of the All India Radio employees provides that there should be no transfer within a period of three years of retirement and if such transfer is inevitable, then effort should be made to post him nearer to his home town. It is further pleaded that Clause (xxi) further provides that as far as possible, the transfer should be synchronized at the end of the academic year, so that, education of children does not suffer. The opposite party further pleaded that he will be retiring w.e.f. January, 2013 and his son will be appearing +2 final examination. Hence, on the event of his transfer he could neither shift his family nor he being a Heart and BP patient can live at Rourkela alone. He, therefore, prayed before the Tribunal to quash the order of transfer.

(3.) LEARNED counsel appearing for the Union of India contended that transfer is an incident of service and secondly, transfer policy does have the force of a statute and its violation does not confer any right on the opposite party. Therefore, the Court should refrain from interfering such order. Learned counsel for the opposite party, on the other hand, relying upon the reported case of Rajendra Roy v. Union of India and another, AIR 1993 S.C. 1236 contended that if a transfer order is passed mala fide or in violation of the rules of service and guidelines for transfer without any proper justification, should be set aside by the Tribunal. Therefore, he prayed to dismiss the writ petition.