Kriti Agrawal –
The Punjab and Haryana High Court clarified that the transfer policy did not apply to promotion postings. The Court has also stated that service rules enacted by a state government shall take precedence over recommendations established by the central government.
Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi issued his decision in response to a suit filed by Associate NCC Officer Satpal challenging an order in which he was freed from Government Senior Secondary School, Behlba, in Rohtak district in order to attend Government Girls Middle School, Manethi, in Rewari.
The question before the Court was whether the petitioner had any right to request a specific posting or was obligated to serve anywhere in the state of Haryana in light of the laws governing the service. Also, whether the current instance was one of promotion by posting, and whether the transfer policy would apply in the facts and circumstances.
According to the Bench, service rules would take precedence over the instructions provided. Once the service rules state that the petitioner can be posted anywhere in Haryana, the Education Department would be well within its rights to post the petitioner anywhere in the state, and the guidelines could not prevent the state from posting the petitioner even if there is no NCC unit if administrative exigencies demand it.
Justice Sethi explained considering the current situation that,
“It was not about a transfer but about a promotion posting. Not only the petitioner, but 1,100 employees were transferred to different stations after being promoted. The respondent-use schools of power were an administrative act. Because this was a case of posting upon promotion, the petitioner’s reliance on the transfer policy from June 29, 2016, was completely wrong and could not be accepted.”