{"id":304243,"date":"2023-10-10T13:30:13","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T08:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=304243"},"modified":"2023-10-19T10:38:08","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T05:08:08","slug":"college-authorities-must-issue-no-objection-certificate-for-transfer-requests-calcutta-hc-scc-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/10\/10\/college-authorities-must-issue-no-objection-certificate-for-transfer-requests-calcutta-hc-scc-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"College authorities must issue NOC for Transfer Requests; Suitability not their Domain: Calcutta High Court"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Calcutta High Court:<\/span> In a case seeking directions to the college authorities to issue No Objection Certificate (NOC), which is a prerequisite for the transfer, a single-judge bench comprising of Subhendu Samanta,*<\/span> J., held that the petitioner’s prayer for a transfer was justified, and the college authorities’ delay in responding to the NOC request was arbitrary because college authorities were not empowered to consider the suitability of the transfer; this authority rested with the State Directorate of Public Instruction.<\/p>\n

Brief Facts<\/p>\n

In the instant matter, the petitioner, an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Dhupguri Girls College, West Bengal, joined the college on 08-04-2017. In 2019, the petitioner applied for a transfer according to the West Bengal College (Transfer of Employees) Rules 2017. The transfer sought was for personal reasons, primarily to attend to his elderly parents who resided approximately 780 km away from the college. Despite multiple applications, the college authorities did not respond to the petitioner’s requests for a NOC, which is a prerequisite for the transfer. Consequently, the petitioner approached the Court seeking directions to the college authorities.<\/p>\n

Parties’ Contention<\/p>\n

The petitioner contended that the grounds for the transfer request were legitimate, as he needed to fulfill his moral duty towards his elderly parents and look after his family.<\/p>\n

The college authority contended that due to a shortage of teachers and non-compliance with teacher-student ratios, approving the petitioner’s transfer would adversely affect students’ interests. It was argued that another teacher from the English Department had also requested a transfer, making it impossible to grant both requests. The college authority had written to the Director of Public Instruction to create additional teacher posts, but this request was pending.<\/p>\n

Moot point<\/p>\n

Whether the college authority is obligated to issue an NOC for the petitioner’s transfer request, given the petitioner’s justifiable reasons, despite concerns about teacher shortages and student interests?<\/p>\n

Relevant Provisions<\/p>\n