SANJAY BADONI vs STATE OF UTTARAKHAND
- Court
- Uttarakhand High Court
UKHC010181552026
2026:UHC:9303-DB
HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL
THE HON’BLE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE MR. MANOJ KUMAR TIWARI
AND
THE HON’BLE JUSTICE MR. SUBHASH UPADHYAY
October 13, 2026
Writ Petition (S/B) No.666 of 2026
Sanjay Badoni ----Petitioner
Versus
State of Uttarakhand & Others ----Respondents
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Presence:-
Mr. Piyush Garg, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Mr. Raghav Singhal, learned
counsel for the petitioner
Mr. Sachin Mohan Singh Mehta, learned Standing Counsel for the State of
Uttarakhand/respondent nos.1 and 2
Ms. Seema Sah, learned counsel for respondent nos.3, 4 and 5 / Bank
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The Court made the following:
JUDGMENT: (per Hon’ble Justice Sri Manoj Kumar Tiwari, A.C.J.)
1. Petitioner is a Senior Branch Manager in Tehri
Garhwal, District Co-operative Bank Limited, New Tehri. He
was serving in the Head Office of the Bank since the year
2021. In the year 2024, he was attached in Gaza Branch of
the Bank. Vide order dated 23.07.2026, he was transferred
from Gaza Branch to Lambgaon Branch by Secretary/General
Manager of the Bank. Petitioner challenged said transfer order
by filing Writ Petition (S/B) No.502 of 2026. The transfer
order dated 23.07.2026 was set aside vide judgment dated
30.07.2026, however, liberty was reserved in favour of the
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Competent Authority to decide whether petitioner should
continue on attachment in Branch Gaza, keeping in mind the
Model Code of Conduct. The Secretary/General Manager
thereafter passed an order on 07.08.2026, whereby
petitioner’s attachment in Branch Gaza was cancelled and he
was brought back to the Head Office of the Bank. However,
on 25.09.2026, petitioner was again transferred from Head
Office to Branch Lambgaon, District Tehri Garhwal, which is
under challenge in this writ petition.
2. The transfer order dated 25.09.2026 is challenged
on the ground that it is contrary to the Transfer Policy
applicable in the Bank; according to the Policy, Branch
Managers/Senior Branch Managers can be transferred only
st
upto 31 May of a given year, while petitioner is transferred
in the last week of September, 2026; petitioner alone has
been targeted by transferring him to a distant place while
other Branch Managers/Senior Branch Managers are left
undisturbed.
3. Vide order dated 12.10.2026, we permitted learned
counsel appearing for the Bank to seek instructions in the
matter. On instructions, Ms. Seema Sah, learned counsel
appearing for the Bank submits that oral and written
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complaints were received against the petitioner.
Consequently, he has been transferred from Head Office to
Lambgaon Branch. She produced before us one such
complaint dated 05.08.2026 made by Secretary, Lava
Multipurpose Primary Agriculture Credit Co-operative Society
Limited, Vikaskhand, Narendra Nagar, Tehri Garhwal, which is
taken on record.
4. Perusal of the complaint reveals that Secretary of
the concerned Multipurpose Co-operative Society highlighted
the problem faced by the public due to non-availability of
computer in the office of the Society. There is no allegation
made against work, conduct or performance of the petitioner
as Senior Branch Manager in the Bank.
5. The manner, in which the petitioner has been
transferred within less than two months, from Head Office to
Lambgaon Branch, that too after close of transfer season,
indicates that there is something more to the impugned
transfer than what meets the eye.
6. The complaint produced before us by Ms. Seema
Sah, learned counsel, also indicates that there is no
compelling reason to transfer the petitioner again to
Lambgaon Branch.
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7. For the aforesaid reasons, we set aside the
impugned transfer order dated 25.09.2026 and also the
subsequent letter dated 29.09.2026, whereby petitioner was
given warning for not joining at the transferred place.
However, the Competent Authority shall be at liberty to
transfer the petitioner, as per applicable Policy, in the next
transfer year.
8. The writ petition is disposed of in aforesaid terms.
_______________________________
MANOJ KUMAR TIWARI, A.C.J.
____________________________
SUBHASH UPADHYAY, J.
Dt: 13.10.2025
Rajni
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