Transfer orders of police personnel under ECI directives are valid beyond elections, emphasizing public interest and administrative exigencies.

JUDGMENT:

(A.S. Chandurkar, J.)

1] This batch of writ petitions raises challenge to the common judgment of the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal, for short) dated 19/07/2024 whereby the learned Member of the Tribunal decided various Original Applications that had been preferred by police personnel in the rank of Police Inspector, Assistant Police Inspector and Police Sub-Inspector who had been transferred by the order dated 26/02/2024 in view of the directives issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI, for short). The learned Member of the Tribunal was of the view that the transfer orders that had been issued in view of directives of the ECI would lose their efficacy at the conclusion of the general elections and hence the transfers effected on that basis were in the nature of deemed deputation of the concerned police personnel during that period.

2] On 21/12/2023, the ECI issued communication to the Chief Secretary of all States and Union Territories as well as respective Chief Electoral Officers stating therein that no officer connected directly with elections should be permitted to continue in the current revenue district of posting if he/she was posted in her/her home district and if he/she had completed three years in that district during the last four years or would be completing three years on/or before 30/06/2024. The Additional Director General of Police, Maharashtra State in the light of aforesaid communication dated 21/1/2023 issued by the ECI and communication dated 22/02/2024 issued by the Chief Election Officer, Maharashtra State, issued transfer orders to about 73 police personnel in exercise of powers conferred under Section 22-N(2) of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951 (for short, Act of 1951). It was stated that these transfers were effected in public interest as well as on account of administrative exigencies. Some of the transferees being aggrieved by the order of transfer approached the Tribunal and filed separate Original Applications. The learned Member of the Tribunal after hearing the concerned parties held that the transfer orders were perishable in nature and that they did not have lasting effect at the conclusion of the elections by the ECI or the State Election Commission. The State of Maharashtra through its Home Department being aggrieved by the said common judgment has preferred these writ petitions.

3] Dr. Birendra Saraf, learned Advocate General in support of the challenge as raised to the impugned judgment submitted that the learned Member of the Tribunal committed an error in holding that the orders of transfer issued pursuant to the directives issued by the State Election Commission on 21/12/2023 were perishable in nature and that they were effective only till the time election process was ongoing. The orders of transfer having been issued in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 22-N of the Act of 1951 did not result in any deemed deputation of the transferees as held by the learned Member. He referred to the directives issued by ECI dated 21/12/2023 and submitted that in accordance therewith and with a view to comply with such directives issued by the ECI in exercise of the authority conferred by Article 324 of the Constitution of India, the transfer orders had been effected. The issues and grounds of challenge raised by the transferees had been considered in detail by the Division Bench in Mahendra Eknath Mali vs. State of Maharashtra , 2018 (5) Mh.L.J. 307. It had been held in clear terms that there was no question of any deputation in view of such transfer during the period when the election process was ongoing. The Division Bench had considered the judgment of the Karnataka High C