The main legal point established in the judgment is that the transfer of public servants should be made in public interest or administrative exigency, without arbitrary or extraneous considerations. The court emphasized the limited scope of judicial review against transfer orders and the requirement for specific averments and impeccable evidence to establish malafides.

ORDER

Tarlok Singh Chauhan, J. (Oral). - Aggrieved by the order of transfer, the petitioner has filed the instant petition for the grant of following substantive reliefs:

(a) Quash and set-aside the impugned transfer order passed vide Annexure P-l, dated 06.04.2021.

(b) Respondents may kindly be directed to permit the petitioner to discharge his duties at Civil Hospital, Karsog.

2. The respondents have placed on record the instructions dated 07.05.2021 wherein it is claimed that in order to rationalize the health services to the people through Medical Officers specialized in the field of Surgery, the petitioner has been transferred from Civil Hospital, Karsog, District Mandi to Regional Hospital, Kullu, District Kullu because two Surgeons were posted at Civil Hospital, Karsog and, therefore, one of them had to be urgently transferred to Regional Hospital, Kullu, where there was no Surgeon.

3. It is vehemently argued by Mr. Rajiv Rai, learned counsel for the petitioner that apart from the individual interest of the petitioner, even the general public at Karsog is aggrieved by his transfer and places strong reliance on the news cuttings that have been appended with CMP No.5666 of 2021 {Annexure P-3} (colly.).

4. We are afraid that even such contention holds no water for the simple reason that it is for the employer to decide the posting of an employee and not for the Court to decide when, where and at what point of time a public servant is to be transferred from his present posting. If the people are/were aggrieved, they can approach the public representative, but such representation will have no influence on a Court of law.

5. It would be noticed that the petitioner has assailed this transfer on usual grounds of short stay, but same has not been assailed on the ground that the same has not been effected on account of administrative exigency except to the limited extent above or public interest. Moreover, there is no allegation of malafide levelled against any person(s).

6. Issue of transfer and posting has been considered time and again by the Hon'ble Supreme Court as also this Court and entire law has been settled by catena of decisions.

7. Transfer is not only an incident, but an essential condition of service. It does not affect the conditions of service in any manner. The employee does not have any vested right to be posted at a particular place.8. Normally, the Courts will be loath to interfere with the order of transfer, particularly, when it is made in public interest or in administrative exigency.

9. It has been repeatedly held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court that transfer of a public servant made on administrative grounds or in public interest should not be interfered with unless there are strong and pressing grounds rendering the transfer order illegal on the ground of violation of statutory rules or on the ground of malafides.

10. It is more than settled that the challenge to an order of transfer should normally be eschewed and should not be countenanced by the courts or tribunals as they are Appellate authorities over such orders, which could assess the niceties of the administrative needs and requirements of the situation concerned. This is for the reason that courts or tribunals cannot substitute their own decisions in the matter of transfer for that of competent authorities of the State and even allegations of mala fides when made must be such as to inspire confidence in the court or are based on concrete materials and ought not to be entertained on the mere making of it or on consideration borne out of conjectures or surmises; except for strong and convincing reasons, no interference could ordinarily be made with an order of transfer.

11. It is trite that transfer is an incidence of service and as long as the authority acts keeping in view the administrative exigency and taking into consideration the public interest as the paramount consideration, it has unfettered powers to effect transfer subject of course to certain discipl