Transfers of government employees are a normal incidence of service and should not be interfered with unless proven to be arbitrary or mala fide.

JUDGMENT :

Tarlok Singh Chauhan, J.

1. The petitioner is a Class-I Officer, who earlier being posted as Block Development Officer, Chhohara (Chirgaon), has been transferred and posted as Block Development Officer, Churag, District Mandi, H.P. and aggrieved thereby has filed the instant petition for grant of the following substantive reliefs:

“a) That a writ in the nature of certiorari may kindly be issued and the impugned order/notification dated 20.02.2025 (Annexure P-7) may be quashed and set asidequa the petitioner, whereby the petitioner has again been transferred from Development Block Chhohara (Chirgaon) hard area to Development Block Churag in Distt. Mandi about 230 KM, when he had joined in compliance to order/judgment dated 03.04.2023 passed in CWP No. 755/2023 (on 11.04.2023) and has worked for about 01 year 10 months time in the hard area and has left just about 05 months for his superannuation (31.07.2025), in the interest of law, equity and justice.

b) That the action of the respondents to issue order dated 20.02.2025 at Sr. No.2 after the issuance of order dated 06.04.2023 (Annexure P-4) in compliance to judgment dated 03.04.2023 passed in CWP No. 755/2023, may be held illegal and arbitrary, in the interest of law and justice.

c) That the respondent may be directed to allow the present petitioner to complete his normal tenure and in case the department want to transfer the petitioner from hard area i.e. Chhohara Block of Chirgaon, then the petitioner may be ordered to be posted against the vacant post at Development Block Nahan in Distt. Sirmaur, in the interest of law and justice.

d) That the issuance of the office memorandum dated 13.02.2025 (Annexure P-6) may kindly be quashed and set aside, in the interest of law and justice.”

2. It is vehemently argued by Shri Naresh Kaul, learned counsel for the petitioner that the transfer of the petitioner cannot sustain, firstly, in view of the fact that the petitioner has completed only 1 year and 10 months at the present place of posting and has just left 5 months for his superannuation. Secondly, the transfer of the petitioner has not been effected on the basis of any administrative exigency or public interest, but on political grounds as the petitioner had initiated an inquiry into embezzlement of funds through District Panchayat Officer which did not go down well with the Pradhans, more particularly, the Pradhan of Gram Panchayat, Khabhal. Thirdly, since the petitioner has left only 5 months for his superannuation, he be given the same station. Fourthly, it is urged that an honest and upright Officer is being unduly punished by this punitive order of transfer.

3. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and gone through the material placed on record.

4. At the outset, it may be observed that 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 disciplines.

5. Once, it is admitted that the petitioner is State government employee and holds a transferable post, then he is liable to be transferred from one place to the other within the District in case it is a District cadre post and throughout the State in case he holds a State cadre post.

6. A government servant holding a transferable post has no vested right to remain posted at one place or the other and courts should not ordinarily interfere with the orders of transfer instead affected party should approach the higher authorities in the department. Who should be transferred where and in what manner is for the appropriate authority to decide. The courts and tribunals are not expected to interdict the working of the administrative system by transferring the officers to “proper place.” It is for the administration to take appropriate decision.

7. The administrative guidelines for regulating tr