IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH DECIDED ON:09.10.2025 LAXAMI DEVI ...PETITIONER VERSUS UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS ....RESPONDENTS CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP MOUDGIL Present: Mr.R.D Bawa Advocate with Mr.Samuel Gill,Advocate for the petitioner Ms. Promila Nain, Senior Panel Counsel, with Ms. Kanchan Kumari, Advocate for the respondents,UOI ****

SANDEEP MOUDGIL, J

1. Prayer The petitioner has approached this Court under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India seeking issuance of a writ of certiorari for quashing of the order dated 18.03.2025 (Annexure P-23), whereby she has been transferred from her present posting to 1085 Field Workshop (GREF), Daporijo, Arunachal Pradesh, and also for a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to consider her transfer/posting to any of the stations at Chandigarh, Delhi, Pathankot, Jammu, or Samba (J&K) on compassionate medical grounds. The petitioner has further prayed for directions regarding payment of ration money in lieu of ration and reimbursement of medical expenses.

2. Brief Facts The petitioner is serving as a member of the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) under the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and is presently attached with 1638 Pioneer Company / 141 Drain Maintenance Company (GREF) under Project Chetak at Ganganagar (Rajasthan), functioning under the administrative control of Additional Director General Border Roads (North-West), Chandigarh. Vide order dated 18.03.2025 issued by the Headquarters, Director General Border Roads, Pune, the petitioner has been transferred to 1085 Field Workshop (GREF) located at Daporijo in Arunachal Pradesh. Aggrieved by the said order, the petitioner has approached this Court seeking quashing of the impugned transfer order qua her only and a direction to the respondents to consider her posting on compassionate medical grounds at any of the stations Chandigarh, Delhi, Pathankot, Jammu, or Samba (J&K). The petitioner has pleaded that she is a low medical category employee (GREF-II, Permanent) suffering from osteoarthritis of both knees and kidney disease, for which she underwent Cystoscopy with Left Double J Stenting at Medanta Hospital, Gurugram. She has further pleaded that her grown-up daughter is a psychiatric patient suffering from schizophrenia, requiring her constant care. She also seeks directions for payment of ration money and reimbursement of medical bills. The respondents have raised a preliminary objection that the writ petition is not maintainable before this Court, as the impugned order was passed by the authority at Pune and the transfer is to Arunachal Pradesh, and therefore, no part of the cause of action has arisen within the territorial jurisdiction of this Court.

3. Contentions On behalf of Petitioner Learned counsel for the petitioner contended that the impugned posting order dated 18.03.2025 has been issued in violation of the medical and compassionate posting policies of the Government of India. It is urged that the petitioner has been placed in low medical category GREF-II (Permanent) due to osteoarthritis of both knees and kidney ailment for which she underwent Cystoscopy with Left Double-J Stenting at Medanta Hospital, Gurugram. It is further submitted that her grown-up daughter is a psychiatric patient suffering from schizophrenia and requires continuous care, and as per the Government of India’s policy dated 06.06.2014 and 08.10.2018, a government servant who is a caregiver of a mentally disabled child is not to be subjected to routine or rotational transfers. It is also pleaded that the impugned posting to Daporijo in Arunachal Pradesh is contrary to her medical employability restrictions, which specifically declare her unfit for High Altitude Area, Extreme Cold Climate, and Hilly Terrain. Learned counsel further argued that the petitioner is maintaining her residence at Chandigarh, where she has been attached for medical treatment and family reasons, and since the administrative co