Karnataka High Court Directs North West Road Transport Corporation To Issue Guidelines On Transfer Of Employees In 3 Months

The Karnataka High Court has directed the North West Road Transport Corporation (NWRTC) to frame within three months guidelines governing transfer of employees, adding that till such guidelines are issued the transfer orders made on administrative grounds shall be speaking orders containing reasons.

The court passed the order while setting aside the transfer of a driver, transferred from one division to another on administrative grounds, noting that the Corporation had no guidelines in place and the same could lead to arbitrariness.

Justice Lalitha Kanneganti posed a specific query to the respondent Corporation as to what are the circular/guidelines, governing the transfer of the employees. The Corporation's counsel placed a 2015 circular and said that the Corporation can, due to administrative reasons, transfer employees.

"Admittedly, the petitioner is a Class-IV employee working in the Corporation at Chikodi Division from the last 13 years. It is not the case of the respondent/Corporation that usually there are general transfers of the Class-IV employees. As per the order impugned dated 30.11.2024, along with 43 employees, who had sought for transfer on request, the petitioner is transferred. In the said transfer list, the petitioner is the only person, who did not make any request for transfer. Even assuming that there is an administrative reason behind his transfer, the transfer order should contain the reasons and the petitioner cannot be singled out. Except the petitioner, no other employee is transferred on administrative grounds. The Circular, which the learned counsel for the Corporation is relying on, applies to the request transfers and the impugned order does not even contain any reasons as to why the petitioner is transferred and what are the reasons and exigencies," the court said.

The court further said that the petitioner being an employee of the Corporation is not disentitled from questioning the transfer order. It said that though transfer of employees is a vital administrative tool for ensuring efficiency, integrity and smooth functioning of the Institution, however, when transfers are made arbitrarily or without uniform standards, they lead to dissatisfaction and the allegation of malafides.

"Hence, formulation and strict adherence to the transfer guidelines is a necessity rather than a mere administrative formality," the court said adding that "unfortunately" the Corporation does not have any transfer guidelines in place which can help in reducing the scope of arbitrariness.

Observing that it was high time that the respondents formulate their transfer guidelines the court passed the following directions:

i. The respondent/Corporation shall formulate the transfer guidelines, even in case of Class-IV employees within a period of three months from the date of receipt of copy of the order.

ii. Till such Circulars or transfer guidelines are in place, whenever a transfer is made on administrative grounds, the transfer order shall contain the reasons and necessarily be a speaking order.

The petitioner was appointed as a Driver-cum-Conductor in the Corporation vide Government Order dated 30.05.2006 on a temporary basis. His services were absorbed and regularized in the Corporation by order dated 12.10.2012 for having satisfactorily completed 2 years of probation.

The petitioner said that he was working as a Driver-cum Conductor in Athani Depot, Chikodi Division, for the last 13 years, without any blemish in his service. He had received many awards from the NWRTC for the satisfactory service rendered in the Corporation.

He said that he was transferred on 30.11.2024 from Chikodi Division to Belagavi/Khanapur Division on administrative grounds. He said that, along with other 43 employees, who were transferred on request, the petitioner is the only employee who was transferred without a request.

It is further stated that pursuant to the transfer order dated 30.11.2024, a movement order was passed on 02.01.2025 directing the depot manager to relieve the petitioner from Chikodi Division.

It was stated that the employees of the respondent/Corporation are governed by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (Cadre and Recruitment) Regulations, 1982. As per the Regulations, the employees holding Division wise posts will be considered for promotion in respect of promotional vacancies in their respective Division only.

In respect of employees, who are transferred from one Division to another on administrative grounds, the entire service rendered by them in the Division, from which they are transferred shall count for seniority in the Division to which they are transferred and such transfers shall be resorted to sparingly. The employees who are transferred to another Division on request shall take seniority in the post held by them on such transfer from the date on which they report in the Division to which they are transferred. It was submitted that the Rules do not apply to them

The respondents filed their objections stating that after the transfer order the petitioner had joined Khanapur Division and is currently working in Khanapur, therefore, the writ petition has become infructuous. It was further stated that the transfer is made on administrative grounds and that too in consonance with the Regulations of the Corporation wherein the Corporation has the authority to effect the transfer on administrative grounds.

The court thus set aside the petitioner's transfer order as arbitrary.

The plea was disposed of.

Case title: SHRI. CHANDRAKANTH Y.TORAVI v/s THE MANAGING DIRECTOR & Ors.

WRIT PETITION NO.100194 OF 2025

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