JIBESWAR THAKURIA Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All the aforesaid three writ petitions have been filed by the respective writ petitioners assailing the legality and validity of the orders of transfer/transferring them from one place of another. It is their case that such orders of transfer are not founded on bonafide exercise of power, but have been issued illegally and arbitrarily and not in any public interest. According to them the orders have been issued due to extraneous consideration and out of sheer favouritism. Considering the allegations made in all three writ petitions towards assailing the orders of transfer, I have decided to dispose of all the three writ petitions by this common Judgment. BRIEF FACTS LEADING TO FILING OF THE THREE WRIT PETITIONS W.P.(C) No. 8921/03

(2.) The petitioner has been serving as Assistant Professor of Medicine in Guwahati Medical College and Hospital to which post he was promoted on 05.06.02. He has been transferred to Silchar Medical College, Silchar by the impugned order dated 21.10.03. When his representation dated 23.10.03 against the. said order of transfer has not yielded any result, he has approached his court by filing this writ petition. According to the petitioner there are many senior persons who have been enjoying their posting in Guwahati Medical College and Hospital for many years. He asserts that the said order of transfer has been issued not in any public interest but on political pressure to satisfy and to accommodate the respondent No. 4 who was earlier posted in Silchar Medical College, Silchar by a notification dated 14.02.03. The respondent No. 4 did not carry out the said order of transfer and he was attached to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital. It is the case of the petitioner that the transfer order has been issued just to accommodate the respondent No. 4 in Guwahati Medical College and Hospital and the same has been issued on extraneous consideration upon political pressure. According to the petitioner the respondent No. 4 has been continuing in Guwahati for se veral years. As per t he averments made in the writ petition, the respondent No. 4 could get his order of transfer to Silchar cancelled and in his place one Dr. Dhiraj Das w as sought to be transferred by an order dated 14.10.03. However, said Dr. Dhiraj Das could also get the order of transfer cancelled using the political pressure and a notification dated 15.10.03 canceling the earlier order of his transfer dated 14.10.03 was issued. By the said notification dated 14.10.03, the respondent No. 4 who was shown as Assistant Professor of Medicine, Silchar Medical College, has been transferred in the same c apacity and p osted in G uwahati Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati. According to the petitioner there has been violation of the adopted policies of the Govt. in the matter of transfer of Govt. Servants. He has also referred to a decision of this Court passed in W.P. (C) No. /5216/01 (ShriDayal Das Vs. State of Assam and others) by which this Court emphasized the need to check the arbitrary transfer of Govt. Officials. In pursuance to the said judgment of this court the Govt. of Assam in the Department of Personnel issued an office Memorandum on 04.02.02 followed by yet another office memorandum dated 22.05.02 laying down the policies on transfer. For a ready reference the aforesaid Office memorandum dated 22.05.02 is quoted below:

(3.) It will be seen from the aforesaid Office Memorandum that in case of any modification of the earlier order of transfer the same would require the approval of the Chief Minister and that the modification must be made only on justifiable ground (emphasis supplied). In the instant case the respondent No. 4 was posted at Silchar Medical College by order dated 14.02.03, but his services were attached to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati. Thus, although he was promoted as Assistant Professor of Medicine at Silchar Medical College by the said notification dated 14.02.03, his service was attached to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati and he did not have to go to Silchar. By the impugned notification dated 21.10.03 the respondent No. 4 was shown transferred from Silchar Medical College and posted in Guwahati Medical College and Hospital as Assistant Professor in place of the petitioner, who by the same notification was transferred to Silchar. Such transfer order was stated to be in the public interest. This was preceded by issuance of a notification dated 14.10.03 by which said Dr. Dhiraj Das, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Guwahati Medical College and Hospital was transferred to Silchar Medical College and the said notification was cancelled by another notification datedl5.10.03. It is the notification dated 21.10.03 which is under challenged in this writ petition and the whole grievance of the petitioner is that he has been transferred to Silchar only to accommodate the respondent No. 4 and there is no public interest in transferring the petitionerto Silchar. It is his case that the respondent No. 4 has been staying in Guwahati due to favour shown to him and the petitioner has been made a victim of malafide and colourable exercise of power. W.P.(C) No. 9417/03