Transfer without consent constitutes a breach of employment law principles regarding deputation, requiring lawful adherence to due process.

ORDER

By consent of both sides, the writ petition itself is taken up for final disposal at the stage of admission itself.

2.The writ petition has been filed challenging the impugned order passed by the 2^nd respondent herein in Na.Ka.No. 29537/VSC3/2025 (Serial No.2) dated 04.08.2025 and the subsequent impugned order passed by the 3^rd respondent in Na.Ka.No. 4155/A1/2025-1 dated 05.08.2025 and consequently direct the 2^nd respondent to retain the petitioner to continue his service in the 2^nd respondents Department.

3. The petitioner was appointed as Veterinary Assistant Surgeon in the 2^nd respondent on 15.11.1998. After serving at various places, he is now working as Assistant Director of Animal Husbandry, Dindigul in the 2^nd respondent department, on promotion vide order dated 20.03.2024 While so, vide impugned order dated 04.08.2025, the petitioner was transferred on deputation from the post of Assistant Director of Animal Husbandry Dindigul to Department of Milk Production & Dairy Department, Chennai along with three other persons. Challenging the same, the petitioner is before this Court.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that the 2^nd respondent deputed the petitioner to the 4^th respondent department, that too, without his consent, whereas among four in the impugned order one Indumathi and one Manojkannan were deputed to serve in the 4^th respondent after receiving their consent. However, without consent, the petitioner has been deputed. It is further submitted that deputation from one department to another department is only for a period of three years. However, the present impugned order is a transfer on deputation from one department to another department, that too, without any consent, which is in clear violation and is contrary to FR110(4) of the Fundamental Rules and the said deputation is not binding on the petitioner and also is contrary to the decision rendered in (1997) 8 SCC

372 [ State of Punjab v. Inder Singh ]

5. In support of his contention, the learned counsel has also relied upon the decision of the Division Bench of this Court in (2014) SCC Online Mad 1342 [ K.Rajaprabhu Doss and another v. Employees Provident Fund Organisation and others ). By relying the said decision, the learned counsel would urge that there are distinction between transfer and deputation and transfer on deputation. The deputation means service outside the cadre or outside the parent department. Deputation is deputing or transferring an employee to a post outside his cadre, ie., to another department on temporary basis. After the expiry of the said period of deputation, the employee has to come back to his parent department. However, as far as the case of the petitioner is concerned, the petitioner was simply transferred from the parent department to another department denoting the same as deputation. For all these reasons, the learned counsel prays for interference.

5. The learned Additional Advocate General appearing for the respondents, on the other hand, would submit that the department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying, Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare department is one of the departments of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The said department encompasses the departments of animal husbandry, dairy development and fisheries and therefore, transferring a person on deputation from Animal Husbandry to Dairy Development cannot be considered to be a transfer on deputation to other department, but within the encompassed departments of one department. Therefore, the learned Additional Advocate General would submit that though there are separate Director/Commissioner for the department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services and the department of milk production and Dairy Development, the Secretary to Government is one