Interlocutory relief in the form of stay of transfer policies is a matter of judicial discretion and transfer orders are ordinarily not to be interfered with unless actuated by mala fides.

ORDER (Oral)

C. Hari Shankar, J. This writ petition under article 226 of the Constitution of India assails the following order dated 2 June 2023 passed by the learned Central Administrative Tribunal ("the learned Tribunal", hereinafter) in a batch of original applications, including O.A. 529/2023, preferred by the present petitioner. The impugned order reads thus:

"1. Learned counsel for the applicant initially submits that the applicants would not be pressing their prayer seeking quashing of the impugned Transfer Policy. However, they would like to contest some actions of the Chairman of ESIC vide which interstate transfers are either proposed or have been Made.

2. We have to confine ourselves to the prayer made in the OA. In case the applicant has no problem now with the impugned transfer policy, nothing sustains in the OA. However, when this is pointed out to the learned counsel for the applicant, he reverses his decision and submits that he would argue the OA on its own merit and seeks the relief as prayed for Counter reply is not on record. Let the respondents file reply within four weeks. Rejoinder, if any, may be filed within two weeks thereafter.

3. Learned counsel for the applicants prays for adjudication on the applicants prayer for interim relief, i.e., a stay on the transfer policy. We are not inclined to show any indulgence in the matter. Moreover, he has himself made a statement initially that he would be altering the prayer. Further, putting a restraint on policy is neither advisable and nor a correct course of action. It would be putting shackles on the respondents preventing them from taking routine administrative decisions.

4. Accordingly, the prayer for interim relief stands rejected.

5. List on 21.08.2023."

2. Mr. Vishnu Shankar Jain, learned Counsel for the petitioner essentially advanced, as the grounds for assailing the impugned order, two contentions.

3. The first contention of Mr. Jain is that, in similar circumstances, with respect to a parallel policy applicable to clinical staff in the ESIC, a coordinate bench of the learned Tribunal had, vide order dated 24 May 2023 in OA 1535/2023 (Dr. Meenu Mittal v. ESIC), granted a stay of the transfer of the applicant in that case. He has invited our attention to the said decision.

4. Paras 8.8 to 8.10 and 9 of the said decision, excluding the extract from the earlier decision in OA 2512/2022, which stands reproduced in para 8.10, reads thus:

"8.8 As per the impugned order of Transfer Annexure A-2, the Competent Authority on recommendation of Transfer Committee has ordered Annual General Transfers for the Transfer year 2023 with immediate effect. The applicant's name is at Sl. No.25, who is transferred from Rohini Dental College to Gulbarga Dental College. The impugned transfer order also highlights Clause 3 which reads as under:

"Due to technical reasons, Minutes of Transfer Committee is not being uploaded in HRMS portal and is made available on ESIC Hqrs. website for information of Officers of aforesaid cadre."

8.9 No explanation whatsoever is coming forth as despite having a time-line as per Annexure A-II, as already highlighted above, the preparatory work of annual transfer has to commence from 1st December and the Transfer Committee has to recommend till the disposal of online grievances regarding proposed transfer, i.e. on or before 15 March. No plausible reason is coming forth as to why vast transfers have been made de hors the policy as well as time-line itself. It is also noticeable that the Dental College of Gulbarga, Karnataka is just opened six years back. There are only 32 Dental Faculty in Rohini. No plausible reason is coming forth prima facie at this stage why all the remaining 28 faculty members have been transferred to Karnataka and all 9 regular dental faculty at Gulbarga to Delhi. It is also noticeable that since the ESIC Gulbarga Karnataka has opened only 6 years back, why all of a sudden such mass transfers have been made contrary to the time-l