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2026:HHC:17299

IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA

CWP No. 5091 of 2026

Decided on: 15.05.2026

Balwant Singh … Petitioner

Versus

H.P.S.E.B.L. through its Under Secretaryo

and others … Respondents

Coram

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, Judge.

Whether approved for reporting?1 Yes

_____________________________________________________

For the petitioner : Ms. Parul Negi, Advocate.

For the respondents : Mr. Rahul Thakur, Advocate for

respondent-Board.

Ajay Mohan Goel, Judge (Oral)

By way of this writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for

quashing of transfer order dated 25.03.2026, in terms whereof, he

has been transferred from Electrical Sub Division Bhaderwar under

iElectrical Division HPSEBL Sarkaghat, to Electrical Sub Division,

HPSEBL, Keylong.

2. Today, when the case was taken up for consideration,

learned Counsel for the respondents-Board has handed over an

office order passed by the respondent-Authority dated 08.05.2026,

in terms whereof, the representation of the petitioner, which was

pending with the Authority for consideration to be transferred to

some other station, has been rejected.

1 Whether reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment?

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3. The grievance of the petitioner is that in terms of the

impugned transfer order, the petitioner stands transferred to

Keylong not because of any administrative exigency or public

interest but as a result of a request generated by the private

respondent in terms of Annexure P-2 appended with the writ

petition. t

4. Ms. Parul Negi, learned Counsel for the petitioner has

taken the Court through the documents appended with the petition,

including Annexure P-2 and submitted that the documents

appended therewith demonstrate that the private respondent

requeste d the Hon’ble Chief Minister to undertake certain transfers,

which included the transfer of the petitioner from his present place

of posting to Keylong or Shimla. As a result thereof, respondent-

Board passed the impugned transfer order, transferring the

petitioner from his present place of posting to Keylong. She

submitted that above demonstrates that the impugned transfer

order was not passed by the respondent-Board by applying its

independent mind as to whether the petitioner deserved to be

transferred from his present place of posting to Keylong or not but it

simply obliged the private respondent by accepting his demand of

the transfer of the petitioner to a Tribal area.

5. On the other hand, learned Counsel for the respondent-

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Board submitted that the petitioner has already completed his

normal tenure at the present place of posting and his transfer to

Keylong was due to administrative exigency. He has also submitted

that irrespective of the fact that as to what was the reason to initiate

the transfer, fact of the matter is that the petitioner having

completed his normal tenure at tthe present place of posting, has no

inherent right to continue to serve at the said station. He further

submitted that the transfer has been effected by following the

process, as is in vogue, by the respondent-Board and therefore, as

there is no merit in the present petition, the same be dismissed.

6. I have heard learned Counsel for the parties and have

also carefully gone through the order passed by the Authority on

08.05.2026 as well as the documents appended with the petition.

7. The petitioner in terms of the impugned transfer order

stands transferred from Electrical Sub Division Bhaderwar under

Electrical Division HPSEBL Sarkaghat to Electrical Sub Division,

HPSEBL, Keylong.

8. Annexure P-2 demonstrates that the private respondent

sought transfer of the petitioner from Bhaderwar to Keylong or

Shimla.

9. On a query put to learned Counsel for the respondent-

Board, as to who is the private respondent, the Court was informed

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that he is a politician, who was u