The limited scope of interference in military and para-military force transfers, emphasizing obedience to superior authority and service to the nation.

1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel for the Union of India.

2. In this case, the petitioner is challenging the order dated 24.05.2018 (Annexure-2), whereby and whereunder the petitioner has been transferred from Patna (Bihar) to Sukma (Chattisgarh). Against that, the petitioner has filed a writ petition before this Court vide C.W.J.C. No.10769 of 2018 (Annexure-3), in which the Court has directed the petitioner first to join the place of posting and whereafter he was given liberty to file a representation and the same was to be disposed of by a reasoned order and accordingly, the petitioner filed his representation before the Director General, C.R.P.F., C.G.O. Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi, in which he has stated that he was posted in 205 Cobra, which was deployed at Barachati, Gaya, for the period from 14.08.2010 to 05.01.2017, which comes under hard and naxal affected area and as per the Standing Order No.7 of 2018, specifically dealing with the transfer, posting and deployment of C.R.P.F. personnel, which provides after hard area posting, next posting would be made to soft/static posting, but instead of the same he was again posted in 36 Batalion Khonsa, Arunachal Pradesh, which comes under the hard area, but on the request and representation of the petitioner, the above transfer order was cancelled by the competent authority and he was posted in the range headquarter, Patna, but only after completion of one year, again he has been transferred from Patna (Bihar) to Sukma (Chattisgarh) whereas the normal posting tenure at Patna would have been for three years, which will be completing on 30.06.2020. It has been stated that the competent authority while passing order of transfer failed to take into consideration Para 4 (xv) of the Standing Order, which stipulates, premature transfer should not be allowed save and except the order of transfer must be embodied by a reasoned order. As per Para-5(xiii) of the Standing Order, no transfer can be made in the middle of the academic session as it would hamper the study of his children, giving an instance that his three children are studying at Patna, one is in Don Bosco School and two others in other Public Schools. The petitioner is a low salary paid employee and transfer will cause an immense problem to him. Further, the petitioner has placed reliance of Clause-4(viii) of the Standing Order, wherein it has been mentioned that normal tenure in the field station i.e. static area and station place is for four years and for hard area it is for three years. Further stated that Clause-9(viii) on de-induction, the Cobra personnel shall be allotted to their choice zone and further will be posted at the soft field/static offices / peace stations as per the eligibility. It has further been stated that as per the Office order dated 01.03.2018 only the person up to the age of 32 years can be deployed or posted or engaged in Cobra Division. Apart from that, his old mother and father are getting treatment at Patna as both are suffering from ailments and they are fully dependent upon them. More so, he has stated that in the year 2016 he was the member of the Cobra Unit, participated in Dumri Nala (Aurangabad) a naxal area operation, in which two naxalites were killed and 10 Jawans were killed in mine blast and requested the authority for reconsideration and withdrawal of his transfer from Patna (Bihar) to Sukma (Chattisgarh).

3. In this case, the primary question has been raised by the petitioner that he remained attached with Cobra unit for about 10 years combating the nexal menace, now again asking the petitioner to go to fight with the nexalites is against to its own Standing Order, which prescribes that a Jawan can only be attached with hard area for tree years, but in the present case, the petitioner remain attached with hard area and thereafter he was