The Allahabad High Court recently annulled the transfer of a Government Inter College teacher who had been transferred solely to accommodate another teacher in his place of posting.
A bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh noted that the transfer had been made under the 4% Minister’s quota contemplated under Clause 10 of the Government Order dated 18.04.2018 applicable to the academic session 2021- 22 and the discretion exercised by the administrative authority for the transfers was unauthorised and impermissible in law.
The HC said, “In absence of any clause under the government policy allowing for transfer to be made generally, the discretion of the administrative authority to give preference to Smt. Pooja Tyagi (the other teacher), could not be exercised to dislodge the petitioner from the post on which he was working satisfactorily”.
The HC added: “To allow the respondents to transfer a teacher serving satisfactorily on a post only to accommodate a person seeking transfer on that post would be to permit uncontrolled arbitrariness and whimsical action to the administrative authorities.”
The court added that “this action (the transfer), if permitted, would amount to a penalty imposed on the teacher dislodged from his settled place of posting, for no fault; without sanction of law and without initiating any disciplinary proceeding”.
Therefore, court quashed the transfer order issued against the petitioner and directed him to be allowed to re-join the Government Inter College, Nandgram, Ghaziabad, without prejudice to the rights of the other teacher.
Additionally, taking note of the fact that the petitioner had been wholly wronged for no fault of his, the HC held him entitled to costs of Rs 10,000 per month for the period when the petitioner could not work at the government college of his original posting.
TRANSFERRED TWICE
The order was passed in an appeal moved by one Devendra Kumar Sharma, who was working as Assistant Teacher (Mathematics) at Government Inter College, Nandgram, Ghaziabad. In July 2021, Sharma was transferred intra-district, to Government Inter College, Tyodi, Ghaziabad.
However, in September 2021 he had to be transferred again from Government Inter College, Tyodi again as there was no vacant post of Assistant Teacher (Mathematics).
The initial transfer was made under the 4% Minister’s quota contemplated under Clause 10 of the Government Order (GO) and the second transfer was occasioned on part acceptance of the objection of Sharma regarding no vacancy.
The HC found that the concerned GO only provided for mechanism to transfer teachers on their own request and it did not contain a general policy statement to enable transfer of teachers, on administrative considerations or generally.
The court also observed that even under the policy, to transfer teachers on their own request, applications could be made to seek transfer to a post mentioned in the list of vacant posts only, which was not the case in Sharma’s matter.
The HC held that as Sharma was serving at Government Inter College, Nandgram from before, and had not applied for a transfer, the transfer of the other teacher at his place of posting could not be done.
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