Kailash Singh vs State of U.P.& Ors.

Sri Ravi Kant is present for the petitioner and Ms. Anakshi Sharma is present for respondent Nos. 1 and 2. Sri B.D. Mandhyan is present for respondent No. 3.

This writ petition has been filed against impugned order Annexure3 dated 30th May, 1998 by which the petitioner has been transferred from Gorakhpur to Deoria. The contention on behalf of the petitioner is that he has not been transferred in public interest and he has been transferred merely on the recommendation of a Minister, who was not holding charge of his department. In support of this contention the petitioner relies on Annexure5 which is a letter from Director, Local Bodies, Lucknow to Secretary, Urban Development, Lucknow. This letter dated 12th June, 1998 categorically states that the petitioner has been transferred on the basis of letter dated 25th March, 1998 written by Sri Shiv Pratap Shukla Minister for Jails. A copy of the said letter has also been filed by the petitioner and is Annexure7. A perusal of Annexure7 shows that Sri Shiv Pratap Shukla wrote the letter on the basis of information supplied to him by Sri Virendra Bharti, Maha Mantri, Bhartiya Janta Party, Gorakhpur. It is very surprising that with in three months of writing letter Annexure7 Sri Shiv Pratap Shukla wrote another letter Annexure8 dated 2461998 in which he has praised the petitioner as an honest officer and has stated that his relations with the public are cordial. Sri Shiv Pratap Shukla has recommended that the petitioner may be retransferred from Deoria to Gorakhpur.

Learned Standing Counsel has tried to support the order of transfer on the ground that there are several complaints against the petitioner. However, the details of those complaints have not been given. Assuming that there are complaints against the petitioner, the impugned order of transfer does not indicate that the transfer was ordered on the ground of complaints. Moreover, every complaint cannot be presumed to be correct and it is open to the Department to institute a preliminary enquiry or departmental enquiry as it may deem fit.

In view of the above discussion, the Court comes to the conclusion that the transfer of the petitioner from Nagar Nigam, Gorakhpur to Nagar Palika Parishad, Deoria was not in public interest and it was simply on the basis of a letter written by a Minister, who was not holding charge of local self Government.

Accordingly, the writ petition is allowed and impugned order of transfer Annexure3 dated 30th May, 1998 is quashed. It is ordered that the petitioner will be retransferred from Deoria to Gorakhpur with in a month.

This order will not debar the department from transferring the petitioner in future by way of a routine transfer.

Parties will bear their own costs.