Rajasthan High Court: A Single Judge Bench comprising of Arun Bhansali, J. declined to interfere with the transfer order of the petitioner which was challenged by him in the instant writ petition.
The petitioner worked as an Assistant Engineer in Drilling Division at Udaipur. He was transferred to the post of Assistant Engineer in Sub-Division at Buran. The petitioner laid threefold contention challenging his transfer order which were however dismissed by the High Court. The contentions as put forth by the petitioner and repelled by the High Court were as follows:
Contention: The petitioner held charge of nine sanctioned posts of Assistant Engineer in Udaipur Drilling Division. His transfer would render the Division without officer. Held: The Court repelled the contention observing that according to the respondents, the petitioner was transferred in the interest of government for administrative reasons. Further, one Vikram Singh Gurjar had already been posted to Udaipur awaiting posting order.
Contention: The petitioner all along worked in the Drilling Division and now his transfer in the Sub-Division was not justified. Held: The aspect of the petitioner having all along worked in the Drilling Division by itself could not be a reason to affect validity of transfer especially when he was eligible to be appointed in the Sub-Division.
Contention: The petitioner’s retirement was due in 2020 and his transfer at the far end of his career was not justified. Held: This ground could not invalidate the impugned order as in the cases of administrative exigencies; an officer can be transferred even when he is nearing retirement.
In light of the above, the High Court held that the impugned order did not call for any interference. [Niranjan Sharma v. State of Rajasthan, 2018 SCC OnLine Raj 1282, dated 21-5-2018]
