KANWALDEEP Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner working as Nurse Grade II at Community Health Centre, Kesrisinghpur, Dist. Sri Ganganagar challenged her impugned transfer order Annex. 3 dt. 31.5.2012, serial No. 259 in the list transferring her from Community Health Centre, Kesrisinghpur, Dist. Sri Ganganagar to the vacant post under the Chief Medical and Health Officer, Nagore. Vide condition No. 4 in the impugned order, it was stated that if the concerned CMHO where the various employees have been transferred does not have a vacant post for such employee, he/she may be directed to report for duty in the Directorate keeping them APO (awaiting posting order). The petitioner challenged the said transfer order on the ground that the transfer order was not passed in any administrative exigency, since the condition No. 4 in the impugned order reflected that the respondent Additional Director even was not sure that there was any vacant post available with the CMHO, Nagaur at the transferred place for the petitioner and therefore, no such administrative exigency could be inferred so as to justify such transfer of the petitioner. By placing on record the transfer order of her husband, Mr. Gautam Kumar who is also working as Nurse Grade II vide Annex. 1. dt. 24.3.2012 transferring her husband to Ganganagar, the petitioner also sought to make out a ground for cancellation of her transfer from Sri Gaganagar to Nagaur as Nurse Grade II so that both the husband and the wife can work at the same place, which would be in accordance with the Government Policy regarding the transfers.

(2.) WHILE issuing notices to the respondents, a coordinate bench of this Court stayed the operation of the impugned transfer order on 26.7.2012 by noticing the aforesaid arguments of the learned counsel for the petitioner, Mr. K.S. Yadav. Thereafter the respondent -Department has filed its reply to the writ petition justifying the impugned transfer order and have also relied upon the various case laws of the Hon'ble Supreme Court to the effect that not only the Additional Director had full jurisdiction to pass such transfer order, but also that question of administrative exigency cannot be gone into by this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, since there is neither any violation of statutory provisions nor any mala rides against the respondents hive been alleged while issuing such transfer order. A preliminary objection was also raised in the reply of the respondents that against the impugned transfer order, the petitioner had already approached the Rajasthan Civil Services Appellate Tribunal by way of an appeal and a copy of memo of appeal No. 1183/2012 has been placed on record as Annex. 4 by the petitioner herself and therefore, the petitioner cannot be allowed to pursue two remedies at the same time against the same impugned transfer order.

(3.) HAVING heard the learned counsel for the parties, this Court is of the considered opinion that interference in such administrative matters like transfer of an employee by the State Government cannot be made unless limited parameters and grounds available to such employees to assail transfer order are made out, namely, (i) violation of any statutory provision by the respondent authority or (ii) transfer has been made on mala fide grounds and such mala fids are established with specific averments and evidence.