ORDER :

Sanjay K. Agrawal, J.

1. This writ appeal is directed against the impugned order dated 17- 12-2020 passed by the learned Single Judge in W.P.(S) No.5439/2020, by which the writ petition filed by respondent No.1 herein was allowed and the order of transfer dated 15-9-2020 has been set aside finding the order of transfer to be in violation of Section 22(2) of the Chhattisgarh Police Act, 2007 (for short, ‘the Act of 2007’).

2. The respondent herein being the writ petitioner filed writ petition before this Court that he being the Head Constable/member of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force has been transferred by the Special Director General by order dated 15-9-2020 contrary to the provisions contained in Section 22(2) of the Act of 2007 and apart from that, he has not made any request for transfer, therefore, it is liable to be set aside. The respondent relied upon the Single Bench decision of this Court in W.P.(S)No.7929/2018 (Subhash Pandey v. State of Chhattisgarh and others), decided on 3-12-2018. The learned Single Judge by the impugned order, set aside the transfer order dated 15-9-2020 finding the same to be in violation of Section 22(2) of the Act of 2007 and also on the factual ground that the writ petitioner/respondent No.1 herein did not make any request for transfer, but the order impugned has been passed without issuing notice and without affording opportunity of hearing to the appellants herein/State. Thus, the order impugned has been called in question by the State and its authorities by way of this present writ appeal.

3. Mr. Amrito Das, learned Additional Advocate General appearing for the writ appellants/State, would submit that the respondent herein/writ petitioner is a member of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force and therefore his transfer would be governed by Section 9 of the Chhattisgarh Vishesh Sashastra Bal Adhiniyam, 1968 (for short, ‘the Act of 1968’) read with Rule 55 of the Chhattisgarh Vishesh Sashastra Bal Niyam, 1973 (for short, ‘the Rules of 1973’) and Section 22(2) of the Act of 2007 would not be applicable to the writ petitioner. Therefore, the impugned order is liable to be set aside.

4. Mr. Abhishek Pandey, learned counsel appearing for the writ petitioner/respondent herein, would support the impugned order and submit that in Subhash Pandey (supra), a coordinate Bench of this Court had already taken a view which has also been followed in other cases i.e. W.P.(S)No.5280/2021 (Damrudhar Rathiya v. State of Chhattisgarh and others) and other connected cases, decided on 16-3-2022, against which writ appeal has also not been preferred by the State, as such, the instant writ appeal deserves to be dismissed.

5. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and considered their rival submissions made herein-above and also went through the record with utmost circumspection.

6. Admittedly, the writ petitioner/respondent herein is a member of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force and at the time when the order of transfer was passed, he was posted at 13th Battalion, CAF Bango and he has been transferred to 21st Battalion, CAF Balod, which has been challenged by him by way of writ petition and which the learned Single Judge has allowed finding the same in violation of sub-section (2) of Section 22 of the Act of 2007, whereas, it is the case of the State/writ appellants herein that the Act of 2007 would not be applicable to the writ petitioner/respondent herein and the Act of 1968 read with the Rules of 1973 would be applicable and therefore the order impugned is liable to be set aside.

7. In order to consider the plea raised at the Bar, it would be appropriate to notice firstly the provisions contained in the Act of 2007. The Act of 2007 has been enacted to consolidate and amend the law relating to Police Force in the State of Chhattisgarh and matters connected therewith and incidental thereto. By virtue of Section 1(3) of the Act of 2007, it extends to the whole of the State of Chhattisgarh, and to the police officers of the