The main legal point established in the judgment is that the Corporation has the power to transfer employees, but it must respect the terms of the Settlements governing the service conditions of the employees. Transfers should be made sparingly, in public interest, and not for punitive or extraneous reasons. The Court can interfere with transfer orders if they are found to be unfair, arbitrary, or discriminatory.

Hanumanthappa, J.

1. The petitioners in all these Petitions who are either Drivers or Conductors in the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the Corporation) and working in various Divisions have filed these Petition? challenging the competency, correctness and propriety of the transfer orders transferring them from one Division to another. Since the questions for consideration in all these Petitions are almost identical, all the Petitions are clubbed together and disposed of by a Common Order.

2. The official status of the petitioners and the power of the Corporation to transfer its employees are not in dispute. The dispute is only in respect of (1) whether there can be a transfer ignoring Clause 14(c) of the Memorandum of Settlement of 1981 (in short the 1981 Settlement); (2) when the seniority of the employees appointed in a Division is maintained by the same Division, whether they are liable to be transferred to another Division; (3) when enquiries on the allegations made against the employees are pending, is it proper to transfer such employees on the basis of such allegations without enquiry; (4) whether the transfers of the petitioners can be said as administrative orders in the public interest and will improve efficiency or whether the transfers are in the nature of victimisation and with a mala fide intention on the part of the Corporation and (5) since the petitioners are all Class III employees belonging to lowest cadre, is it proper to transfer them in the middle of the year to far off places. On behalf of the petitioners learned Advocates Sriyuths Narasimhan and K. Subba Rao addressed arguments while Sri. V. Gopala Gowda and Sri. Lakshminarayana, learned Advocates, adopted the same.

3. On behalf of the Corporation its panel of Advocates Sriyuths K. Lakshminarayana Rao, B.B. Mandappa, L. Govindaraj and Smt. Manjula Devi advanced their arguments.

4. In order to answer the Points raised above it is proper to bear in mind the service conditions of the employees, Settlements which govern their service conditions including transfer and how far the Settlements bind the employees and the Corporation, Service conditions of the employees are governed by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (Cadre and Recruitment) Regulations, 1982 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations). Regulation 13(4) of the Regulations defines which are the Statewise Posts and Division wise posts. It reads as under:

"(4) Statewise and Divisionwise posts:

(a) the following posts shall be Statewise posts:-

Department Posts

Mechanical Engineering (common categories) for both Mechanical Engineering Maintenance and Production: Chargemen and above. Traffic Traffic Inspector and above. Stores and Purchase Store Keeper/Stock Verifier and above. Civil Engineering Draufgtsman/Junior Engineer and above. Administration Supervisor/Senior Stenographer and above, Statistical Supervisor (Statistical) and above. Security and Vigilance Divisional Security Inspector and above. Accounts Supervisor (Account) and above.

(b) All posts other than those specified in Sub-clause (a) above shall be Divisionwise posts.

(c) Normally, the employees holding Divisionwise posts will be considered for promotion under these Regulations, in respect of promotional vacancies in the Divisionwise posts in their respective Divisions only. In respect of the employees who are transferred from one Division to another on Administrative grounds, the entire service rendered by them In the Division from which they are transferred shall count for seniority in the Division to from which they are transferred. Such transfers shall be resorted to sparingly. The employees who are transferred to another Division on request shall take seniority in the post field by them on such transfer from the date on which they report in the Division to which they are transferred.

NOTE:- "Division" means the administrative Units of the Corporation functioning as such on