SUKH DEV KALIA Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner as well as responder No.2 both are working as Principals in Government Senior Secondary Schools. Their inter se transfer has given rise to these Court proceedings.

(2.) The 2nd respondent was posted as Principal, Government Senior Secondary School, Raili Jajri, District Hamirpur. He came to be posted at that place on 24/7/2018. While he had not completed his normal tenure of three years, the State Government issued a transfer order dtd. 24/7/2018, whereby respondent No.2 was ordered to be transferred from Raili Jajri, District Hamirpur to Government Senior Secondary School, Pandoa, District Shimla. The petitioner was at that time under transfer to Pandoa. The 2nd respondent challenged his transfer order before the H.P. Administrative Tribunal and his Original Application was disposed of with the direction to submit a representation and till then he was protected to continue at the same place of posting, i.e. Raili Jajri, District Hamirpur. Respondent No.2 thereafter was ordered to be transferred to Government Senior Secondary School, Tarsooh, District Bilaspur, vide order dtd. 5/10/2018 (Annexure P-3), but he felt dissatisfied with the said posting also and challenged the said transfer order again before the Tribunal. In the second Original Application, the Tribunal has set aside the transfer order and directed that the 2nd respondent be adjusted against a post which was to fall vacant on 31/12/2018. As the 2nd respondent was not adjusted, he again approached the Tribunal and in the 3rd round the Tribunal has set aside the transfer order affecting the petitioner also though no hearing was given to the petitioner.

(3.) The present case is a glaring example of frequent transfers, apparently, without any legal or administrative necessity. There is nothing on record to suggest that there was such a dire need of frequent transfers. Similarly, it appears to us that learned Tribunal also should not have intervened in the matter so frequently and take over the administrative responsibilities of the State Government in the matter of postings of employees, which is ordinarily an incidence of service.