JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri Kartikeya Saran, learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Sri M.C. Chaturvedi, learned Senior Counsel along with Sri Ankit Gaud, learned counsel for the State-respondents.

2. The present petitioners pray for issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari quashing the impugned transfer order dated 20.06.2022 and 06th July, 2022 passed by the respondent no. 2. The primary ground of challenge to the aforesaid transfer order is that it is in violation of the transfer policy of 2022-23 in so far as it relates to the petitioner.

3. The case as setup by the petitioners is that they are all selected and appointed as Class-III Clerical employees and are presently discharging their duties at various places in the State of Uttar Pradesh. It is also stated that all the petitioners being the ministerial employees are also the office bearers of the Uttar Pradesh Medical and Public Health Ministerial Association. The details of each of the petitioners along with his post, place of posting, date on which each was elected when they were elected in the respondent no.4-Association and where have they been transferred has been indicated in a chart which is the part of paragraph 4 of the petition.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner Sri Saran submits that the Government had modified the transfer policy for the year 2022-23 on 15.06.2022. Heavy reliance has been placed on Clause 12 of the Transfer Policy to buttress the submission that the said clause makes it very clear that in case a transfer is to be made of an office bearers of the District Level (which is the case of the present petitioners) then prior approval of the District Magistrate is to be taken in the said case. It is urged that in the present case, there is no approval of the District Magistrate rather only a general approval has been granted by the Director General (Medical and Health Services) Uttar Pradesh which is de-hors the transfer policy.

5. It is also urged that the Director General (Medical and Health Services) Uttar Pradesh just a day prior to his retirement on 30.06.2022 had given the approval to transfer 260 ministerial staff which included the present petitioners. An attempt has been made to show that the said transfer order has been passed in a malafide manner as 260 employees have been approved for transfer in one go which indicates that there is no application of mind. It is also urged that there is a clear violation of Clause 12 of the transfer policy and for the said reason, the order of transfer in so far as it relates to the petitioner is concerned, is bad and accordingly deserves to be set aside.

6. The learned counsel for the State Sri Ankit Gaud while opposing the aforesaid submissions submits that there is no violation of Clause 12, inasmuch as, prior approval of the Authority one rank higher than the Appointing Authority has been taken. It has been urged that similar issue was raised by another set of Class-III Ministerial Employees who had challenged their transfer before this Court at Lucknow in the case of Ajay Kumar Srivastava Vs. State of U.P. and others bearing Writ-A No. 4766 of 2022 which was connected with Writ-A no. 5568 of 2022 wherein similar grounds were taken and the said petition came to be dismissed by means of order dated 12.09.2022 holding that the transfer was valid.

7. It is further urged that the said order of the learned Single Judge was assailed in Special Appeal No. 411 of 2022 where again this issue including Clause 12 of the transfer policy was considered and thereafter it was held that there is no error or ground to interfere with the transfer and as such the Special Appeal was dismissed by means of order dated 11.10.2022.

8. It is thus urged that once the issue of transfer has been considered and decided by a coordinate Bench of this Court which has been affirmed in Special Appeal, the issue regarding the invalidity of the transfer that Clause 12 of the transfer policy has been violated is not open to be