Inter Cadre Transfer Can't Be Denied Solely Citing Shortage Of Officers: Delhi High Court Raps West Bengal Govt

The Delhi High Court has rapped the action of West Bengal government for refusing, in multiple cases, the prayer for inter cadre transfers (ICTs) on the ground of shortage of officers.

A division bench comprising Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Ajay Digpaul said:

“The ground has been rejected in all the above cited cases, and there may be many more for all we know. Litigation is not fun and games. Nor can the precious time of Court be wasted by blowing the same bugle over and over again. At some point of time, the tune begins to jar.”

It added: “We, therefore, express our frank unhappiness at the fact that the Government of West Bengal, having failed to convince this Court, on multiple occasions, that the plea of shortage of officers would suffice to justify rejecting the request for ICT, is seeking to re-argue the issue yet again. We deprecate this.”

The Bench dismissed a plea filed by West Bengal Government's Chief Secretary challenging an order passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) granting relief to a 2021 batch of the Indian Police Service officer who was allocated the West Bengal cadre.

The IPS officer had married a woman IPS officer who was allocated to the Uttar Pradesh cadre. The former made a representation to the State of UP and the State of West Bengal seeking permission to transfer him from the West Bengal to the UP cadre so that he could be with his wife. While the Government of UP stated that it had no objection to the transfer, the Government of West Bengal rejected the request.

Referring to various judgments, the Bench observed that the refusal of a prayer for ICT, on spouse grounds, has to be allowed except in emergent circumstances.

It said that the right to family life is a sanctified human right all over the world, and has to be accorded primacy.

“Shortage of officers, decidedly, is not sufficient as a sole ground to deny the request,” the Court said.

It added: “That said, we also believe that in an extraordinary case, it is impossible to accede to the request for transfer as for example a situation in which one of the spouses may be engaged in some governmental activity of prime importance which could be irretrievably prejudiced if transfer were allowed, a request for inter cadre transfer may on justifiable grounds be rejected. Even there, once the urgency subsides, the request should be granted.”

The Court said that it would have been inclined to award costs upon the West Bengal government but refrained from doing so.

It added that non imposition of costs should not embolden the Government of West Bengal to again re-argue an issue which has been so decidedly rejected by the Court on so many occasions.

The Court noted that the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued an order transferring the IPS officer to UP and that the West Bengal government had to also only issue a relieving order.

“We direct it to do so, within 2 weeks from today,” it said.

Title: CHIEF SECRETARY GOVT OF WEST BENGAL v. VAIBHAV BANGAR & ORS.

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 218

Click here to read order