While hearing a bunch of petitions by government employees, challenging their transfer orders, Rajasthan High Court observed that the government functioning was paralysed since most of the employees were not willing to join the transferred place of posting.

The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand further opined that maximum number of employees were approaching the Court for getting the transfer orders cancelled. It was held that the jurisdiction of the Court under Article 226, is not to act as a second appellate authority over the transfer orders passed by the competent authority or the appellate tribunal.

“This Court is constrained to observe that there is a flood of writ petitions assailing the transfer orders…Maximum number of employees are approaching this Court and the Rajasthan Civil Services Appellate Tribunal (for short, 'the Tribunal') for getting their transfer orders stayed and cancelled on one pretext or the other, thereby bringing the administrative machinery to a standstill.”

The Court held that scope of judicial review in transfer matters is very limited and a transfer order could be assailed in rarest of rare cases on the following grounds:

1) When the order was passed due to malice or bias;

2) When there was violation of any statutory provisions;

3) When the order was passed by an authority which was not competent; and

4) In extreme case of hardship to life threatening disease effecting the service conditions.

“It is settled proposition of law that transfer is an incidence of service. No employee has a vested right to remain posted at a particular place of his choice. It is for the employer or the competent authority to decide as to where and how its employees are to be posted, considering the administrative exigencies, public interest and smooth functioning of the administration.”

While opining that no other ground could be valid for interfering in transfer orders, including personal inconveniences, hardship, long stay, etc., the Court held that no ground for interference was present in the present batch of petitions.

However, in order to balance equities, the Court granted liberty to the petitioners to file representations before competent authorities within 2 weeks, and directed the authorities to decide the same within further 2 weeks.

Accordingly, the transfer orders were stayed for 4 weeks.