The court upheld the principle of transfer in public interest and considered the impact on family members, while also providing the petitioner with the opportunity to request a choice place of posting.

JUDGMENT

Achintya Malla Bujor Barua, J. - Heard Mr. L. Dihingia, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. S.C. Keyal, learned ASGI for the respondent.

2. By the office order dated 12.07.2019 the petitioner along with several other personnel were transferred from their present place of posting to their respective places. At Serial No.3 of the part rationalization transfers the petitioner who was earlier posted under the frontier headquarter at Guwahati had been transferred and posted to frontier headquarter at Patna in public interest.

3. The petitioner instituted an earlier writ petition being WP(C) 6410/2019 which was given a final consideration by the order dated 02.09.2019. In the said writ petition, a stand was taken that the petitioner had submitted a representation for a modification of the transfer order and the said representation was rejected without taking into consideration two of the grounds raised that the petitioner''s elder mother who is a heart patient resides with him and the petitioner''s elderly son is a student of Class-IX of Delhi Public School, Khanapara. It is further contended that the order of transfer would completely dislocate his family life. A stand was also taken that as per the circular dated 09.05.2019, the tenure of posting in a frontier location would be 8 years, whereas, the petitioner was transferred to Guwahati Frontier location in the year 2015. In the premises, by the order dated 02.09.2019, the petitioner was required to file fresh representation highlighting the aforesaid aspects and thereupon the respondents were required to pass a reasoned order. It was further provided that till a reasoned/speaking order is being passed, the order of transfer of the petitioner would be kept in abeyance.

4. In the resultant circumstance, the order dated 20.09.2019 was passed by the Commandant (Pers-III) in the Directorate General Sashastra Seema Bal. As per the said order in Clause-9, it was provided that the request of the individual was examined and found that the individual was given ample opportunity to serve for more than 18 years in the North East Region despite having an All India transfer liability and as such, it would not feasible to allow him to continue in the same location in the organizational public interest as well as it will set a wrong precedence in the force. Clause-10 provides that keeping in view the illness of the mother of the petitioner and the non completion of the academic session 2019-20 of his son, the transfer from the Frontier Hqus. Guwahti to 47th Bn Ramgarhwa was deferred upto March 2020 in respect of the petitioner.

5. After being satisfied with the said order up to March 2020, the petitioner has now instituted the present writ petition and the same set of grounds are being urged upon that the mother of the petitioner who lives with him is suffering from certain illness and the son of the petitioner has in the meantime been promoted to Class-X and his board examination would be held sometime in March 2021. It is stated that the earlier ground of the tenure of posting in the Frontier location is 8 years is again been reiterated based upon the circular dated 09.05.2019. All that the circular provides is that the tenure of posting in the Frontier location would be for 8 years. Both the aforesaid locations in Guwahati as well as in Patna are within the concept of Frontier location and therefore, a transfer from another Frontier location to another would not invite the provision of the circular dated 09.05.2019 for the purpose to determine the tenure of 8 years in a Frontier location. As regards the illness of the elderly mother of the petitioner, no material has been produced as regards the nature of illness nor that appropriate medical attention would not be available in Patna for such illness. As regards the stand of the petitioner that the son of the petitioner has recently been promoted to ClassX and he would appear in his board examination in March, 2021, we