The main legal point established in the judgment is that the transfer of an employee can be challenged in rarest and exceptional cases, but it must be shown that the transfer violated statutory rules, transfer policy, or was based on mala-fide.

1. The challenge in this petition is to Order No. 26-ADSJ of 2017 dated 31.07.2017 passed by respondent No. 3 to the extent petitioner has been transferred from Mulberry Circle Solki to the office of Manager Seed, Batote, with a further direction to the respondents to allow him to continue at his present place of posting, i.e. Mulberry Circle, Solki, District Rajouri or to post him in any other place near his place of residence.

2. The case of the petitioner is that he came to be appointed as a Daily Wager in the respondent No. 1-department on 16.12.1983 and after rendering service for a period of more than 11 years on daily wage basis, he came to be regularized as Helper. Petitioner continued to hold the post of Helper in the respondent department till the year 2013 when he was promoted as Seed Examiner in October, 2013. Vide order No. 40-ADSJ of 2014 dated 03.03.2014, petitioner came to be re-designated as Tassar Demonstrator, a post in the same pay scale as that of Seed Examiner.

3. It is contended that petitioner was operated upon for his gallbladder in February 2016 and while he was still recovering in the post operation period, petitioner met with road accident in February 2017 which has brought about permanent disability to the petitioner inasmuch as four of his ribs got broken in the aforesaid accident and his left shoulder got completely dislocated and has been reunited by insertion of two rods. It is also contended that the aforesaid disability has brought about stiffness in the chest and left arm of the petitioner and his movement has been restricted. Further, as a result of aforesaid accident, the petitioner has developed breathing problem due to chest injury and feels suffocated every now and then. Further, petitioner has also developed numbness in his left foot and can neither stand for long hours nor can sit in one position for long. It is also contended that first ever posting of the petitioner as Tassar Demonstrator was made in the Mulberry Circle Solki, District Rajouri and the petitioner continued to work against the same post till the passing of the order impugned being order No. 26-ADSJ of 2017 dated 31.07.2017 whereby the petitioner has been transferred and posted in the office of Manager Seed, Sericulture Development Department, Batote in District Doda.

4. The petitioner has challenged the impugned transfer order primarily on following grounds:-

(a) That the impugned Order No. 26-ADSJ of 2017 dated 31.07.2017 whereby the petitioner has been transferred from Mulberry Circle Solki to the office of Manager Seed, Sericulture Development Department, Batote is absolute illegal and arbitrary and is, therefore, violative of the rights guaranteed to the petitioner under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.

(b) That the petitioner has suffered severe physical disability as a result of a vehicular accident, which occurred in February, 2017 and in which four ribs of the petitioner were broken and his shoulder was dislocated which had to be reunited by insertion of two rods. Petitioner also has developed breathing problem and has numbness of the left foot as a result of the aforesaid accident and in these circumstances the transfer of the petitioner to the hilly area of Batote in District Doda is absolutely uncalled for. The respondents are very well aware of the aforesaid medical condition of the petitioner.

(c) That further, petitioner has been transferred from Mulberry Circle Solki to the office of Manager Seed in Batote. The entire operations in the Seed Sector result in generation of dust and, consequently, the petitioner who feels suffocated and has developed breathing problem as a result of the aforesaid vehicular accident would not get a healthy and congenial working atmosphere in the office of Manager Seed, Batote and his posting in the said office would, on the contrary, put the life of the petitioner to jeopardy. There are number of other Tassar Demonstrators working in the Mulberry Circle Rajouri,