Important Point – Court cannot interfere with a transfer/posting which is made in public interest or on administrative exigency.

J.B. Pardiwala, J.

1. Since the issues involved in all the captioned writ-applications are the same those were heard analogously and are being disposed of by this common judgment and order.

2. By these writ-applications under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners serving as Police Constables seek to challenge the impugned orders dated 24th April, 2015 transferring the petitioners to other districts.

3. All the petitioners are serving as Police Constables. Before the impugned orders came to be passed they all were serving in different Police Stations in the city of Ahmedabad. They are aggrieved by the order of transfer passed by the respondents Nos. 2 and 3, dated 24th April, 2015 outside the district of Ahmedabad.

4. It appears on plain reading of the orders of transfer that the same were passed in the public interest.

5. Mr. Goswami, the learned advocate appearing for the petitioners submitted that the impugned orders of transfer are contrary to the provisions of the Section 28(1) of the Bombay Police Act and rule 152 of the Gujarat Police Manual. He submitted that an officer of the cadre of a constable appointed in one district cannot be transferred to any other district. The only exception to this rule is the case of emergency wherein more force is needed at the place of transfer to meet with any exigencies. Mr. Goswami further submitted that the law in this regard is well settled in the case of Haroon Yusufbhai Kadiwala V. Director General of Police and another reported in : 2011 (3) GLH (UJ) 8. Relying on the said decision of this Court rendered by a Division Bench (to which I was a party) he submitted that the transfer of a Head Constable from one district to the other amounts to deputation and can be made only on administrative grounds in cases of emergency.

6. Mr. Goswami submitted that although the orders of transfer do not speak anything further then the public interest yet the reason for passing such orders of transfer is that the petitioners had attended the marriage reception of the son of a noted bootlegger, namely Kishor Sinh @ Langdo Lalsinh Rathod. Therefore, according to Mr. Goswami, the transfer could be termed as punitive in nature which is otherwise not permissible in law.

7. On the other hand, this application has been vehemently opposed by Mr. Rutvij Oza, the learned AGP appearing for the State. He submitted that the respondents Nos. 1 and 2 committed no error in passing the impugned orders of transfer.

8. Mr. Oza has placed reliance on the affidavit-in-reply filed by Shri R.J. Savani, D.I.G. at present serving as the Additional Commissioner of Police (Administration) Ahmedabad city. In the affidavit-in-reply the following averments have been made:

"8. I say and submit that it is necessary to draw this Hon'ble Courts attentions on the facts which were considered before passing of transfer order for the petitioners and therefore brief facts are as under:

A. The petitioner had attended the marriage reception on 15.02.2015 of the son of Kishorshingh @ Kishor Langda who is a well known bootlegger. There are in all 23 prohibition offences registered against Kishorsinh and other 11 offence are also registered and 18 times PASA orders were passed against him. As per the record of the deponent, Kishorsinh is a 'listed' offender as per the office record as the prohibition offences were registered under the jurisdiction of the Commissionerate of Ahmedabad. Annexed herewith and marked as Annexure-R-1 (colly) are copies of list of offences registered against Kishorshinh along with the list of PASA orders.

B. In pursuance to the presence of the petitioners at reception of son of Kishorsinh on 15.02.2015, a news article appeared on 18.02.2015 that Police Personal had attended the marriage reception of the son of a proclaimed and 'listed' bootlegger. On the same day Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad has taken a serious view and immediately ordered an inquiry into the matter. The inquiry was handed