AMITABH CHOUDHARY Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this writ application the petitioner has prayed for quashing the order of his transfer dated 18.6.2005 as contained in Annexure 1 and also that of respondent No. 4.

(2.) THE petitioner 'scase is that after the bifurcation of the State of Jharkhand under the provisions of the Bihar Reorganization Act, the petitioner has been allotted Jharkhand State Cadre, and thus he belongs to the cadre of Jharkhand Education Service, Class I. The petitioner 'sfirst posting was as the RDDE, Santhal Pargana at Dumka where he had joined on 20th April, 2002. The petitioner was, hereafter, transferred to and posted as OSD, Jharkhand Academic Council, Ranchi on 1.7.2004. The petitioner could not even complete one year as OSD, Jharkhand Academic Council, Ranchi an he surprisingly got another transfer order dated 18.6.2005, whereby he was transferred and posted as Regional Deputy Director, Palamau. Medninagar (Annexure 1). According to him, the petitioner is the President of Jharkhand Education Officers ' Association. In a meeting held on 16.4.2005, the respondent No. 3 had publicly abused one member of the Association Mr. Sushil Kumar for filing a writ application before this Court, whereupon his transfer order was stayed and said Sushil Kumar had made complaint to the Association (Annexure 2) and on receipt of the complaint the Association had passed a resolution that no Officer of Education Department will participate in any meeting called by respondent No. 3. The said resolution caused annoyance to the respondent No. 3 and he became hostile to the petitioner. The respondent No. 3 since thereafter tried to humiliate and penalize the petitioner for an incident, which had taken place in 1988 by initiating a second departmental proceeding on the charge earlier inquired into, ultimately exonerating the petitioner of the same. The petitioner challenged the said order of the respondent No. 3 in WP (S) No. 6097/2004 and during pendency of the said application the respondent No. 3 had ordered for re -enquiry by appointing a third Enquiry Officer. The said order was stayed by this Court by order dated 17.1.2005 passed in the said writ application. The respondent No. 3 having failed in his mission got the impugned order of transfer issued only to humiliate and harass the petitioner. The respondent No. 3 before that had also put pressure on the petitioner for appointment of the persons of his choice in Class II and Class IV posts in the departments, which was refused by the petitioner but when the petitioner had gone on leave from 14.6.2005 to 17.6.2005, a contractual appointee was made Incharge in place of the petitioner by order dated 14.6.2005 in order to get the irregular appointments of his men. The petitioner contended that the impugned order of transfer is malicious and vindictive and the same is wholly arbitrary and is liable to be quashed. During the pendency of the writ application, the petitioner filed a supplementary affidavit alleging therein that appointment of the Secretary of Jharkhand Academic Council cannot be made by way of transfer and no rule and procedure of selection has been followed in appointing the respondent No. 4 as the Secretary of Jharkhand Academic Council in place of the petitioner and that the respondents have no regard for law and the impugned transfer order is a mere device to cover the illegal appointment of respondent No. 4 as the Secretary of the said Council.

(3.) THE petitioner, in reply to the counter affidavit, has reiterated his stand taken in the writ application and has controverted the contrary statements made in the counter affidavit.