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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
Augustine George Masih, Ashok Kumar Verma, JJ.
Ravi Prakash Gupta, Ias - Appellant
Versus
Union Of India & Ors. - Respondent
Civil Writ Petition No. 7857 of 2020
Decided On : 05-02-2021
Transfer - Violation of Cadre Rules - Rule 7 (3) and (5) of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954 - The court upheld the transfer of the petitioner from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Fatehabad to Director, Swarna Jayanti Haryana Institute for Fiscal Management, as it was found to be in compliance with the statutory rules governing the service. The transfer was recommended by the Civil Services Board and was made in public interest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The petitioner's completion of the requisite field experience for central deputation at the level of Deputy Secretary was also confirmed, dismissing the petitioner's primary grievance.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner, an IAS Officer, challenged the order of transfer from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Fatehabad to the post of Director, Swarna Jayanti Haryana Institute for Fiscal Management, on the ground of discrimination and violation of Rule 7 of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954. The petitioner had previously challenged transfer orders, which were set aside by the High Court and the Supreme Court, and was subsequently posted as Deputy Commissioner, Fatehabad. The petitioner argued that the transfer violated the Cadre Rules and the Supreme Court's judgment in T.S.R. Subramaniyam's case.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the transfer was in compliance with the statutory rules governing the service and was recommended by the Civil Services Board in public interest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The petitioner's completion of the requisite field experience for central deputation at the level of Deputy Secretary was confirmed, dismissing the petitioner's primary grievance. The court also held that the orders passed by the High Court and the Supreme Court had not been violated.
Issues: The issues involved in the case were the compliance or violation of the statutory rules governing the postings of an IAS Officer, the petitioner's completion of the requisite field experience for central deputation at the level of Deputy Secretary, and the alleged violation of the orders passed by the High Court and the Supreme Court.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the transfer was in compliance with the statutory rules governing the service, recommended by the Civil Services Board in public interest due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and did not violate the orders passed by the High Court and the Supreme Court. The petitioner's completion of the requisite field experience for central deputation at the level of Deputy Secretary was confirmed, dismissing the petitioner's primary grievance.
Final Decision: The court dismissed the writ petition and upheld the order passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench, Chandigarh, on 03.06.2020, which had dismissed the petitioner's original application challenging the transfer order.
JUDGMENT
Augustine George Masih, J. - Cm No.6914 of 2020
Prayer in this application is for placing on record written arguments of the petitioner.
Application is allowed subject to just exceptions.
Written arguments are taken on record.
CWP No.7857 of 2020
Challenge in this appeal is to the order dated 03.06.2020 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench, Chandigarh (hereinafter referred to as 'CAT') in OA No.060/00302/2020 vide which the Original Application filed by the petitioner challenging the order of transfer dated 18.05.2020 (Annexure P-5) from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Fatehabad, to the post of Director, Swarna Jayanti Haryana Institute for Fiscal Management, on the ground of discrimination and violation of Rule 7 of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954 (hereinafter referred to as 1954 Cadre Rules'), has been dismissed.
2. Briefly the facts are that the petitioner, an IAS Officer, who is 100% visually impaired, was initially allocated to Chhattisgarh State and as per the guidelines issued by the Government of India for cadre transfer for persons with disabilities, he was transferred to Haryana cadre vide Notification dated 21.10.2015. Petitioner expressed his willingness for field posting keeping in view the career progression of an IAS Officer as according to the Government of India instructions conveyed from time to time, an IAS Officer with three years' or two years' of combined field experience in the posts listed in the annexure, are only eligible for consideration to the central deputation at the level of Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary respectively. Since the petitioner did not have the requisite field experience on the posts referred to in the annexure which are the field posts, he had been making representations to the respondents for such posting. He had been asserting that all his batch mates had worked/handled the posts of Deputy Commissioner, Haryana, but he had been discriminated against.
Considering his representation dated 05.04.2016 for posting him as Deputy Commissioner, the same was accepted and the petitioner was assigned the post of Deputy Commissioner, Kaithal, vide order dated 25.04.2016. Hardly had 6-1/2 months been passed that a transfer order dated 12.11.2016 was issued posting the petitioner in the headquarters as Director, Foods and Supplies, Haryana, Special Secretary to Government of Haryana, Foods and Supplies Department and Managing Director, CONFED, in violation of Rule 7 (3) read with Rule 3 of the IAS (Cadre) Amendment Rules, 2014 read with Notification dated 13.04.2016. Subsequent orders of posting were also passed but none of it was a field posting.
3. Petitioner ultimately challenged the order dated 12.11.2016 passed by the respondents by filing OA No.60/1289 of 2017 in the CAT, Chandigarh Bench, whereby the petitioner had been transferred from the post of Deputy Commissioner, Kaithal. This original application preferred by the petitioner was dismissed by the CAT on 28.05.2018 resulting in challenge of this order in CWP No.16460 of 2018 titled as Ravi Prakash Gupta Versus Union of India and others. Even during the pendency of the writ petition, another transfer order dated 22.10.2018 was passed. A Division Bench of this Court vide order dated 05.12.2018, allowed the said writ petition by setting aside the order dated 28.05.2018 passed by the CAT and setting aside all the transfer orders, which have been passed by the respondents i.e. 07.11.2016, 03.01.2017, 22.08.2017 as also the order dated 22.10.2018, which was passed during the pendency of the writ petition. Direction was also issued to State of Haryana through Chief Secretary, Government of Haryana, to consider the case of the petitioner for posting him in the field strictly in accordance with law within a period of three weeks from the date of the order dated 05.12.2018. Special Leave to Appeal (C) No.5463 of 2019 preferred by the State of Haryana was dismissed by the Supreme Court v
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