Transfer is an incident of service.

W.P. No. 4816 of 2005 is filed challenging the transfer order passed by the second respondent dated 31.5.2005 by which, the petitioner who was a school assistant working in St, Antonys High School, Kappukadu, was transferred on administrative ground to St. Lawrence Higher Secondary School, Madathattuvilai and consequently, for a direction against the second respondent to repost the petitioner in the third respondent school, namely, St. Antonys High School, Kappukadu,Kanyakumari District.

2. The case of the petitioner is that he has joined in the third respondent school on 17.8.1979 as a School Assistant and he has served in the said for the past 26 years. It is due to the ill-will developed by the second respondent towards the petitioner, there was an order of suspension passed against the petitioner, against which, the petitioner moved before the Civil Court filing suit in O.S. No. 618 of 2004 on the file of the District Munsif Court and the same is pending.

3. According to the petitioner, the third respondent is a single unit school and not forming part of the corporate network. However, the second respondent has been claiming as a corporate management, even though, it is a separate unit.

4. It is also the case of the petitioner that the Diocese of Kottar had earlier filed a writ petition before the Principal Bench of this Court in W.P. No. 3990 of 2003 for a direction against the authorities to recognise the status of the writ petitioner and to recognise its status along with 57 educational institutions under the same corporate management and this Court has directed the authorities to consider the representation, and till date, the authorities have not granted such status to the Diocese of Kottar. When the third respondent remains a single unit school, the second respondent by the impugned order dated 31.5.2005 has transferred the petitioner from the third respondent school and by an order dated 1.6.2005, the petitioner was relieved.

5. Theimpugned order is challenged on various grounds including that the third respondent is an aided school front the State Government and though it is a minority institution it is discharging the public duty and the order of transfer is against the Tamil Nadu Private School (Regulations) Act and Rules made thereunder. Since the third respondent school is not coming under the corporate management category, the impugned order of transfer from the third respondent school is on the face of it illegal.

6. The petitioner would also state that the transfer is not an incident of service and when there is no corporate management and the contract does not provide the same, there cannot be a transfer from one unit to another. That apart, the petitioner would also state that the order of transfer is punitive in nature.

7. Thesecond respondent in the writ petition in W. P. No. 4816 of 2005 has approached this Court by way of filing writ petition in W.P. No. 11064 of 2005 praying for a direction against the second respondent viz., the District Educational Officer, Kanyakumari District to consider and pass orders on the proposals submitted by the petitioner dated 21.11.2005 for disbursing grant-in-aid towards the salary of the teacher Y. Balachandra Babu writ petitioner in W.P. No. 4816 of 2005, working as B.T. Assistant in St. Lawrence Higher Secondary School, Madathattuvilai. The said writ petition is filed consequent to the order of transfer dated 31.5.2005 by which the writ petitioner in W.P. No. 4816 of 2005 was transferred from the third respondent, school which is the subject matter of dispute in the said writ petition in W.P. No. 4816 of 2005.

8. . The second and third respondents in W.P. No. 4816 of 2005 who are the writ petitioners in the other writ petition in W. P. No. 11604 of 2005 have filed the counter affidavit.

9. The case of the second and third respondents is that Roman Catholic Diocese of Kottar is a registered society and a recognised religious minority institution, whic