2026 Supreme(Online)(UK) 1993

HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND
Manoj Kumar Tiwari, Pankaj Purohit, JJ
RAJESH KUMAR – Appellant
Versus
STATE OF UTTARAKHAND – Respondent
WPSB/ 198/ 2024

Courts generally do not interfere with departmental transfer orders, as they are incidents of service; however, the court may direct the competent authority to consider an employee's representation regarding their grievance within a specified time frame to ensure administrative accountability and fairness.

Headnote:(A) Service Law - Transfer of Government Servant - Judicial review - Transfer is an incident of service and ordinarily not to be interfered with unless it suffers from illegality or extraneous considerations - Where a government servant has a grievance regarding a transfer order, the appropriate recourse is to submit a representation to the competent authority, and the court may direct the consideration of such a representation within a specified timeframe to ensure administrative fairness. (Paras 6, 8)

Facts of the case:
The petitioner, a government employee, was transferred from one location to another. After an initial transfer order was modified upon request, the petitioner challenged the subsequent order directing him to report to a specific location. The petitioner has since complied with the transfer order and joined the new posting. The state argued that the employee, nearing the completion of the standard tenure at his previous place of posting, should address his grievances through a formal representation to the competent authority.

Findings of Court:
The court observed that there was no scope for interference with the administrative transfer order as it fell within the employer's prerogative. However, balancing the interests of the parties and acknowledging that a representation had already been submitted by the employee, the court directed the competent authority to decide on the pending representation in accordance with the law within a stipulated period.

Issues: Whether the court should interfere with the administrative transfer order and whether a direction to the competent authority to decide upon a pending representation is necessary.

Ratio Decidendi: Judicial interference in transfer matters is restricted to cases of clear illegality or abuse of power. In the absence of such circumstances, the proper administrative procedure is for the authority to evaluate the grievances raised in a representation, thereby fulfilling its duty to exercise discretion fairly without the court substituting its own view for that of the executive.

Result: Writ petition disposed of with directions.