Court No. - 34
Case :- WRIT - A No. - 10088 of 2021 Petitioner :- Jahid Mohammad Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 5 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Sanjay Kumar Pundir Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
Hon'ble Yashwant Varma,J.
Heard learned counsel for parties.
This petition challenges an order of transfer passed by the respondents in administrative exigencies. The petitioner who is an Urdu Translator assails that order on the ground that by virtue of the same his cadre is being changed. According to learned counsel, the post of Urdu Translators is created with reference to various departments of the State Government and therefore are district specific. Additionally, he contends that since the petitioners are appointed by a committee which is headed by the District Magistrate, the cadre of Urdu Translators is liable to be treated as a district cadre and consequently the impugned order is liable to be set aside. Additionally, the petitioner relies upon a Government Order dated 03 April 2006 which provided that ordinarily Urdu Translators would not be transferred. The petitioner lastly places reliance upon a decision rendered by a learned Judge in Jitendra Kumar Bajpai Vs. State of U.P. through Principal Secretary Revenue and Others [2010 (5) ADJ 24] to submit that in the case of Amins and Ahalmads of the district also, a similar view was expressed. He has placed reliance upon the following extract of the aforesaid decision:
"17. Under Rule 4, the State Government has been empowered to determine the strength of cadre by bifurcating various posts, namely Reader-cum-Ahalmad, Head Clerk, Reader-cum-English Clerk, Senor Clerk, Account Clerk etc. However, Rule 14 provides that vacancies shall be determined by appointing authority and notified to the Director the number of vacancies liable to be filled up in a year. The procedure for recruitment under Rule 15 of 1993 Rules has been borrowed from 1985 Rules (supra). Rule 5 of 1985 Rules provides that the strength of ministerial staff in particular department/office on each category of post shall be as determined by the government. Thus, according to 1985 Rules, the vacancies which are liable to be filled up may be bifurcated for the department as a whole or for office concerned. Under Rule 17 of 1985 Rules, appointing authority shall be the Chairman of the Selection Committee and according to Rule 30, seniority shall be from the date of substantive appointment. Thus, from the cumulative reading of 1993 and 1985 Rules, it appears that the vacancies shall be created at the behest of District Magistrate of the district concerned who is the appointing authority, though the strength of cadre for all posts is to be determined by the State Government. Meaning thereby though the State Government may determine the total number of posts for the department but such posts or vacancies shall be relegated to the District Magistrate of the district concerned who shall fill up the same at his end in accordance with 1985 Rules. The procedure prescribed for filling up the vacancies indicates that the vacancies shall be filled up at the district level. It means the post in question shall be district level post."
The question of whether the cadre of the petitioner can be treated or be recognized as being one which is confined to a particular district would necessarily have to be answered in light of the provisions made in the Uttar Pradesh Urdu Translators -cum- Junior Clerks Service Rules, 1994. As is manifest from a reading of those Rules, Urdu Translators are engaged to function in various departments and offices of the State other than the Secretariat, State Legislature, High Courts, Public Service Commission, Lokayukt and courts working under the supervision and control of the High Court. The expression, "appointing authority" has been defined to mean the authority empowered to make appointments to posts of Junior Clerks in a government department or office. The submission of learned counsel that since the selection committee is headed by the District Magistrate, the cadre should be recognized as being confined to a district is noticed only to be rejected. This since that fact cannot be determinative of the nature of the cadre. The government undisputedly discharges its functions through various departments and offices which are situate throughout the length and breath of the State. Having gone through the relevant provisions made in the 1994 Rules, the Court finds no provision which may indicate that once appointed to a particular department or in a particular district, an Urdu Translator cannot be transferred.
Suffice it to note that the reliance placed on the judgment rendered in Jitendra Kumar Bajpai is clearly misplaced since that decision was dealing with the appointment and posting of Amins and Ahalmads and not Urdu Translators. Amins and Ahalmads are appointed in a particular district to look after revenue related works of a particular District or Division. Consequently, the Court holds that an Urdu Translator cannot claim to be at par with Amins and Ahalmads. For the aforesaid reasons, the challenge to the impugned order fails.
The writ petition is consequently dismissed.
Order Date :- 13.8.2021 Arun K. Singh