'No Mala Fides Shown In Order': Rajasthan High Court Refuses To Quash Clerk's Transfer From Defence Canteen Stores Dept To Head Office

While rejecting petition challenging the transfer, Rajasthan High Court held that any Lower Division Clerk (LDC) posted in the Canteen Stores Department (CSD), Ministry of Defence, (stores) did not mean that such person had any right to not be considered for posting at the back-end office or the administrative wing of the said store. The division bench of Justice Uma Shanker Vyas and Justice Ashok Kumar Jain further observed that the Transfer Policy of Group C employees dated October 4, 2011, was just a guideline that could not be enforced against the State by invoking Article 226/227 of the Constitution."petitioner was transferred on administrative ground, and administrative ground is the choice of the employer to relocate any employee to fulfil organizational needs, manage functional requirements, or resolve any conflict relating to the workplace. Any transfer on administrative ground is not an arbitrary decision and the same can only be challenged if mala fide is proved. However, in the absence of mala fide and vindictiveness, the Court cannot interfere with an order of transfer, which has been issued purely on administrative needs and exigencies...When a transfer order is an administrative order and the petitioner has failed to prove mala fide, in particular malice in fact or malice in law, then he is not entitled to any relief under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India, therefore, the Tribunal has not committed any error while dismissing the O.A"For context, the petitioner was appointed as LDC (Stores) in the CSD, Ministry of Defence, who was transferred from Jaipur to Mumbai. It was contended by the petitioner that since he was appointed on the post of LDC (Stores), he was entitled to be posted only in the Stores Department and not at the Head Office. It was argued that the appointment order of the petitioner did not contain any condition that empowered the State to transfer the petitioner. Further, it was submitted that as per the Transfer Policy dated October 4, 2011, it was the duty of the administration to follow the “the longest stay and choice station formula”. The petitioner further contended that since he was not paid bonus in 2022-23 without any justifiable reason, he had emailed to the Defence Ministry, and had also filed an RTI. Hence, the transfer was motivated only to suppress his voice. After hearing the contentions, the Court highlighted that transfer was an incident of service and employee had no vested right to remain posted at a particular post. “The principle regarding determination of suitability for any particular post is the sole discretion of the employer and the authority of any employer cannot be undermined or interfered with by any court of law. The Court cannot scrutinize the suitability of an individual or substitute its opinion.”“The posting as LDC in H.O. clearly means that instead of posting the petitioner at any store, his services have been taken at the administrative office. None of the condition in the appointment order give any right to petitioner to remain posted only in Stores or field.”In relation to the argument of violation of the Transfer Policy dated October 4, 2011, it was opined that the petitioner was not entitled to seek enforcement of the transfer policy since that was just a guideline. The Court further observed that in the absence of any mala fide or vindictiveness, the Court could not interfere with a transfer order made on administrative ground.It was also held that the issue regarding non-payment of bonus had not turned into a personal conflict to presume vindictiveness or anything to suggest that the transfer was made a in a hostile atmosphere. Accordingly, the petitioner was dismissed. Title: Chhatrapal Singh Gour v Union of India & Ors. Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 240Click Here To Read/Download Order

'No Mala Fides Shown In Order': Rajasthan High Court Refuses To Quash Clerk's Transfer From Defence Canteen Stores Dept To Head Office

Nupur Agrawal

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Nupur Agrawal

'No Mala Fides Shown In Order': Rajasthan High Court Refuses To Quash Clerk's Transfer From Defence Canteen Stores Dept To Head Office

Nupur Agrawal

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Nupur Agrawal

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