CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION Vs. JAGADISH BARMAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition is filed by the petitioners being aggrieved with the order dt. 30/7/2024 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (hereinafter to be referred as 'Tribunal'), Guwahati Bench in O.A. No.163/2024 and Misc. Application No.81/2024 whereby the Tribunal has allowed the O.A. filed on behalf of the respondent No.1 herein (hereinafter referred to be as the private respondent) and has interfered with the transfer order of 2/7/2024 qua the private respondent and has directed the petitioners to allow the private respondent to continue in his current posting as Joint Secretary (Head, Centre of Excellence) CBSE, Guwahati.

(2.) The relevant brief facts of the case are that the private respondent was working as Assistant in the Assam University since 1994. However, he joined All-India Service of Central Board of Secondary Education (hereinafter to be referred as "CBSE") in the year 2002 on the post of Sec. Officer. Later on, he was promoted as Assistant Secretary, Group A on 14/2/2011 and he was further promoted on 23/2/2018 to the post of Deputy Secretary (Regional Officer) at the Regional Office, Patna. It is to be noticed that since his joining as Sec. Officer in the CBSE, the private respondent remained posted in Guwahati till February, 2018 when he was promoted to the post of Deputy Secretary (Regional Officer). On his promotion as Deputy Secretary (Regional Officer), the private respondent was posted at Regional Office, CBSE Patna. From February, 2018 to August, 2022, the private respondent remained posted in Patna though in between he was promoted to the post of Joint Secretary vide order dtd. 4/8/2022. On 17/10/2022, the private respondent was transferred as Head, Centre of Excellence at Guwahati and pursuant to that he joined on the said post on 9/11/2022. Thereafter, vide order dtd. 2/7/2024 issued by the CBSE, the private respondent was transferred from Guwahati to Thiruvananthapuram as Head CoE.

(3.) Being aggrieved with the same, the private respondent has approached the Tribunal challenging his transfer to Thiruvananthapuram on various grounds which have been noted by the Tribunal in paragraph 4 of the impugned order dtd. 30/7/2024. The CBSE has contested the challenge made by the private respondent to his transfer before the Tribunal. During the course of pendency of the O.A. before the Tribunal, affidavits and counter affidavits were filed on behalf of the respective parties and the same were placed on record. After taking into consideration the submissions made on behalf of the parties, the Tribunal has concluded that as per the settled principles of law, transfer of an employee can be interfered with only on the following three grounds;