Court No. - 74
Case :- WRIT - A No. - 6178 of 2021 Petitioner :- Prem Kumar Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 5 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Rajesh Kumar Dubey,Mohit Gautam Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
Hon'ble J.J. Munir,J.
By the impugned order dated 18.02.2021, the petitioner, who is a Block Project Manager, has been transferred from the Community Health Centre, Kasganj to the Primary Health Centre, Sidhpura. Both the Centres are located in the district of Kasganj. Admittedly, the petitioner is a contract employee. The petitioner challenges this order of transfer on ground that this order ought to be made with the sanction of the State Government and is contrary to the terms of the Government Order dated 03.05.2019.
Interestingly, the learned Standing Counsel and the learned Counsel for the petitioner, both rely on paragraph no.9 of the aforesaid Government Order. The transfer of a contract employee can be made from time to time in accordance with the policy and directions issued by the State Government. It is also said in the said paragraph that in case any contract employee is not interested to work at a particular place, he can be offered a new place of posting after sanction of the competent Authority. It is this part of paragraph no.9 of the Government Order, on which the learned Counsel for the petitioner relies.
It is well known that transfer is an exigency of service and to a contract employee, whose terms of engagement envisage transfer, the principle would be applicable more liberally. The employer is free to choose the place, where it wishes to take work from an employee. The learned Standing Counsel has brought to this Court's notice a memo dated 13.04.2021 issued by a Deputy Secretary to the Government of U.P. addressed to the Chief Medical Officer, Kasganj. The letter expresses displeasure of the Government about the petitioner not joining at the Primary Health Centre, Sidhpura, in accordance with the transfer order dated 18.02.2021. Learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that the intervention of a Deputy Secretary to the Government in the matter of posting of a contract employee in a Community Health Centre/ Primary Health Centre shows clear political interference, which cannot be ignored.
This Court does not think so. There is no basis to infer political influence in the matter. The origin of this communication by the Deputy Secretary is not known. It may have been issued for valid reasons, for instance, transfer orders in the district not being implemented or similar reasons. It is for the petitioner to bring on record the fact and evidence to show that the letter issued by the Deputy Secretary has been written on account of some mala fides, about which there is no plea in this writ petition. Nevertheless, it is pointed out that there is some choice to a transferred contract employee in the matter of not working at a particular place. The petitioner may represent his cause, after joining in terms of the impugned order at Sidhpura, to the competent Authority availing his remedy envisaged under the Government Order dated 03.05.2019, under which he has been retained in service. If the petitioner prefers such representation to the competent Authority, whoever that it might be, within 15 days of joining at Sidhpura, the petitioner's representation shall be considered and decided by that competent Authority within 15 days of its receipt.
No interference, in any case, is called for with the impugned order of transfer, subject to the directions made hereinabove.
This writ petition is disposed of in terms of the above orders.
Let this order be communicated to the Chief Medial Officer, Kasganj by the Joint Registrar (Compliance) within 72 hours, who will transmit this order to the competent Authority and intimate the petitioner about identity of that Authority.
Order Date :- 26.5.2021 Anoop Digitally signed by Jahangir Jamshed Munir Date: 2021.05.29 13:53:39 IST Reason: Document Owner Location: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad