GHULAM MOHAMMAD TANTRAY vs SOCIAL WELFARE

O.A. No. 1207 of 2026
[1]
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
SRINAGAR BENCH, SRINAGAR
O.A. NO.: 1207 OF 2026
th
(Srinagar, 29 day of October 2026)

C O R A M
HON’BLE MR. M. S. LATIF, MEMBER (JUDL.)
............
1. Ghulam Mohammad Tantray, Age 59 years, S/o Mohd Akbar
Tantray, R/o Lariyar Tral Pulwama, PIN Code: 192123.
............ Applicant(s).
Digitally signed by ABHISHEK PUNIA
DN: C=IN, CN=ABHISHEK PUNIA, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Srinagar
Bench, OU=Department of Personnel And Training, ST=Jammu And Kashmir,
postalCode=190001, serialNumber=
ABHISHEK b99ea18e48351b523a3b7c01b885615e147010aed92ba1bd97898ad7f8b756eb, telephoneNumber=
e5d23c236ae6dc43f6c9de959f2d4e141d6a443be8b086303b992d640e7b25a2
Reason: I am the author of this document
Location: SRINAGAR BENCH
Date: 2026.10.30 16:27:19+05'30'
Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.3.0

By Advocate : - Mr. Shakir Rajab.

PUNIA
Versus


1. Union Territory of J&K through Commissioner/Secretary to
Welfare Government, Social Department Civil Secretariat,
Srinagar/Jammu. Pin Code 190001 Email:-
Comsecsocialwelfare.gov.in
2. Director Social welfare Department, Kashmir, Srinagar PIN-
190001. Email: [email protected]
........... Respondents.

By Advocate : - Mr. Furkan Yaqub Sofi, GA.


ORDER
(Oral)

Per Hon’ble Mr. M.S. Latif, Member (Judl.)
Through the medium of the instant O.A., the applicant seeks
the following reliefs:

O.A. No. 1207 of 2026
[2]

a. Issue an appropriate order or direction quashing and
setting aside Government Order No. 166-JK(SWD)of 2026
dated 28.10.2026, whereby the applicant has been
attached to the office of the Director, Social Welfare,
Jammu, with immediate effect and until further orders.
b. Issue an appropriate order or direction commanding the
respondents to permit the applicant to continue at his
existing place of posting at Srinagar for the remaining
period of his service until his superannuation on
31.12.2026.
Digitally signed by ABHISHEK PUNIA
DN: C=IN, CN=ABHISHEK PUNIA, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Srinagar
Bench, OU=Department of Personnel And Training, ST=Jammu And Kashmir,
postalCode=190001, serialNumber=
ABHISHEK b99ea18e48351b523a3b7c01b885615e147010aed92ba1bd97898ad7f8b756eb, telephoneNumber=
e5d23c236ae6dc43f6c9de959f2d4e141d6a443be8b086303b992d640e7b25a2
Reason: I am the author of this document
Location: SRINAGAR BENCH
Date: 2026.10.30 16:27:19+05'30'
Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.3.0
c. Issue an appropriate order or direction commanding the
PUNIA
respondents to ensure that the applicant's pension
papers, service records and other requisite documents are
duly prepared, verified and submitted to the competent
authority within the prescribed time, so that his
pensionary and other retiral benefits are not delayed or
prejudiced on account of the impugned order.
d. Direct the respondents to produce the relevant record,
including the complaint, if any, forming the basis of the
impugned order, and to disclose the reasons and
administrative circumstances which necessitated the
attachment of the applicant to Jammu when he is due to
retire on 31.12.2026.
e. Pass any other or further order or direction which this
Hon'ble Tribunal may deem just, proper and expedient in
the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case.


2. The brief facts of the case are that the applicant is presently
working as a Section Officer in the office of the Director, Social

O.A. No. 1207 of 2026
[3]
Welfare Department, Kashmir, Srinagar. He was appointed in
Government service in 1987 and, through career progression, rose
from the post of Class-IV employee to Section Officer with an
unblemished service record and is due to retire on superannuation
on 31.12.2026.
3. It is stated that respondent no. 1, vide Government Order
No. 166-JK(SWD) of 2026 dated 28.10.2026, attached the Applicant
Digitally signed by ABHISHEK PUNIA
DN: C=IN, CN=ABHISHEK PUNIA, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Srinagar
Bench, OU=Department of Personnel And Training, ST=Jammu And Kashmir,
postalCode=190001, serialNumber=
ABHISHEK b99ea18e48351b523a3b7c01b885615e147010aed92ba1bd97898ad7f8b756eb, telephoneNumber=
e5d23c236ae6dc43f6c9de959f2d4e141d6a443be8b086303b992d640e7b25a2
Reason: I am the author of this document
Location: SRINAGAR BENCH
Date: 2026.10.30 16:27:19+05'30'
Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.3.0
PUNIA
to the office of the Director, Social Welfare, Jammu, with
immediate effect and until further orders. The applicant challenges
the said order on the ground that, with barely 02 (two) months
remaining before his retirement, the attachment would cause
grave prejudice to the applicant, the timely processing and
settlement of his pension papers and other retiral benefits. It is
added that no apparent administrative necessity has been
disclosed to justify the abrupt attachment at the fag end of his
service career.
4. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the
impugned attachment is punitive in substance and is related to the
placement of certain officials against promotional posts of Tehsil

O.A. No. 1207 of 2026
[4]
Social Welfare Officer pursuant to an order dated 24.10.2026. He
submits that the applicant had no authority to grant promotions,
determine the eligibility of officials, or decide their postings, as
such matters fell within the domain of the competent authorities.
Being associated with the establishment section, his role, at most,
was limited to processing or submitting the relevant papers before
the competent authority. He further submits that the legality of
Digitally signed by ABHISHEK PUNIA
DN: C=IN, CN=ABHISHEK PUNIA, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Srinagar
Bench, OU=Department of Personnel And Training, ST=Jammu And Kashmir,
postalCode=190001, serialNumber=
ABHISHEK b99ea18e48351b523a3b7c01b885615e147010aed92ba1bd97898ad7f8b756eb, telephoneNumber=
e5d23c236ae6dc43f6c9de959f2d4e141d6a443be8b086303b992d640e7b25a2
Reason: I am the author of this document
Location: SRINAGAR BENCH
Date: 2026.10.30 16:27:19+05'30'
Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.3.0
PUNIA
the promotion and placement order, which is stated to be under
challenge before the competent judicial forum, cannot by itself
justify adverse action against him without establishing any specific
misconduct attributable to him.

5. It is further submitted that the respondents failed to
consider his long and unblemished service, his impending
retirement, and his limited role in the matters relating to the
promotions in question. It is added that the impugned order would
adversely affects his legitimate service interests and may impede
the timely settlement of his retiral benefits. The applicant has
approached this Tribunal seeking appropriate reliefs while relying
on the grounds as urged in the O.A.

O.A. No. 1207 of 2026
[5]

6. Admittedly, transfer is an exigency of service and the
competent authority is the best judge to post an employee in the
public and administrative interest, and an employee has no right
to seek a posting of his choice. It is always left to the domain of
the competent authority and Courts have a very limited power to
interfere in such matters. To this effect, I am fortified by a catena
of judgments:
Digitally signed by ABHISHEK PUNIA
DN: C=IN, CN=ABHISHEK PUNIA, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Srinagar
Bench, OU=Department of Personnel And Training, ST=Jammu And Kashmir,
postalCode=190001, serialNumber=
ABHISHEK b99ea18e48351b523a3b7c01b885615e147010aed92ba1bd97898ad7f8b756eb, telephoneNumber=
e5d23c236ae6dc43f6c9de959f2d4e141d6a443be8b086303b992d640e7b25a2
Reason: I am the author of this document
Location: SRINAGAR BENCH
Date: 2026.10.30 16:27:19+05'30'
Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.3.0
PUNIA
1. Union of India and others vs. S.L. Abbas, (1993) 4 SCC 357;
2. E.P. Royappa vs. State of Tamil Nadu, (1974) 4 SCC 3;
3. State of U.P. vs. Siya Ram, (2004) 7 SCC 405;
4. State of U.P. and others vs. Gobardhan Lal, (2004) 11 SCC 402;
5. Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan vs. Damodar Prasad Pandey and
others, (2004) 12 SCC 299;
6. Somesh Tiwari vs. Union of India and others, (2009) 2 SCC 592;
7. Union of India and others vs. Muralidhara Menon and another,
(2009) 9 SCC 304;
8. B. Varadha Rao vs. State of Karnataka, (1986) 4 SCC 131;
9. Union of India and others vs. H.N. Kirtania, (1989) 3 SCC 445;
10. Shilpi Bose (Mrs.) and others vs. State of Bihar and others, 1991
Supp (2) SCC 659;
11. National Hydroelectric Power Corporation v. Shri Bhagwan 2008
(8) SCC 574
12. Union of India v. Gh. Mohd. Sheikh 1998 SLJ JK 175
13. Chief General Manager (Telecom) N.E. Telecom Circle and another
vs. Rajendra CH. Bhattacharjee and others, (1995) 2 SCC 532;

O.A. No. 1207 of 2026
[6]

14. State of M.P. and another vs. S.S. Kourav and others, (1995) 3 SCC
270;

15. Union of India and others vs. Ganesh Dass Singh, 1995 Supp. (3)
SCC 214;

16. Abani Kanta Ray vs. State of Orissa and others, 1995 Supp. (4) SCC
169;
17. Public Services Tribunal Bar Association vs. State of U.P. and
another, (2003) 4 SCC 104;
18. Union of India and others vs. Janardhan Debanath and another,
(2004) 4 SCC 245;
Digitally signed by ABHISHEK PUNIA
DN: C=IN, CN=ABHISHEK PUNIA, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Srinagar
Bench, OU=Department of Personnel And Training, ST=Jammu And Kashmir,
postalCode=190001, serialNumber=
ABHISHEK b99ea18e48351b523a3b7c01b885615e147010aed92ba1bd97898ad7f8b756eb, telephoneNumber=
e5d23c236ae6dc43f6c9de959f2d4e141d6a443be8b086303b992d640e7b25a2
Reason: I am the author of this document
Location: SRINAGAR BENCH
Date: 2026.10.30 16:27:19+05'30'
Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.3.0
19. Rajendra Singh and others vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and others,
PUNIA
(2009) 15 SCC 178;
20. State of Haryana and others vs. Kashmir Singh and another, (2010)
13 SCC 306;
21. Anita Sharma vs. State of J&K 2019 Legal Eagle 489
22. Mohammad Yaqub v. State of J&K 1984 SLJ 167
23. Syed Hilal Ahmad & Ors. v. State 2015 (3) JKJ 398
24. Namrata Verma vs. State of U.P. & Ors., 2021 OnLine SC 3337
25. Ankit Yadu v. State of Chhatisgarh (WPS No. 6125/2026)
Chhattisgarh High Court at Bilaspur decided on 18.08.2026

7. Learned counsel for the applicant in order to buttress his
arguments submits that when an employee is nearing his
superannuation, the competent authority has to post him nearer
to his hometown, where he can easily process his pension papers.
In this regard, I am fortified by the judgment passed by Hon’ble
High Court of Rajasthan in the case titled as Bodu Singh v. State of

O.A. No. 1207 of 2026
[7]
Rajasthan (Civil Appeal No. 8153/2025 decided on 22.04.2025) as
also in the case titled as Ram Bhan Singh Bhadoriya v. State of
M.P. decided on 06.04.2022 in WPC No. 7901/2022 wherein in
both the cases, their lordships relied on a Division Bench judgment
and held that “the applicant having limited period left for
reaching his superannuation, it would have been appropriate to
post the applicant nearer to his hometown and the respondents
Digitally signed by ABHISHEK PUNIA
DN: C=IN, CN=ABHISHEK PUNIA, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Srinagar
Bench, OU=Department of Personnel And Training, ST=Jammu And Kashmir,
postalCode=190001, serialNumber=
ABHISHEK b99ea18e48351b523a3b7c01b885615e147010aed92ba1bd97898ad7f8b756eb, telephoneNumber=
e5d23c236ae6dc43f6c9de959f2d4e141d6a443be8b086303b992d640e7b25a2
Reason: I am the author of this document
Location: SRINAGAR BENCH
Date: 2026.10.30 16:27:19+05'30'
Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.3.0
PUNIA
should have taken note of this fact” .

8. This Tribunal would also like to remind the respondents as
regards the law laid down by the Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court in
the case titled as Smt. Rani Jain v. Secretary and Transport
Commissioner decided on 13.05.2019 wherein their lordships have
reaffirmed that “the competent authority can take note of the
date of superannuation of an employee before issuing an order of
transfer particularly when the employee is at the fag end of his
career”.
9. Even otherwise the applicant deserves humanitarian view in
light of the fact that he is superannuating within two months. To
this effect, I am also fortified by the judgments titled as:

O.A. No. 1207 of 2026
[8]

1. Home Secretary, U.T. of Chandigarh v. Darshjit Singh 1993 (4) SCC
25 &
2. Smt. Deepa Vashishtha v. State of U.P. and Anr. 1996 (73 FLR) 946
(All) (DB).

10. Heard.

11. At the request of learned counsel for the applicant, the O.A.
is taken up for its disposal.

12. Having regard to the submissions made coupled with the
perusal of the contents of the O.A., the respondents are directed
Digitally signed by ABHISHEK PUNIA
DN: C=IN, CN=ABHISHEK PUNIA, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Srinagar
Bench, OU=Department of Personnel And Training, ST=Jammu And Kashmir,
postalCode=190001, serialNumber=
ABHISHEK b99ea18e48351b523a3b7c01b885615e147010aed92ba1bd97898ad7f8b756eb, telephoneNumber=
e5d23c236ae6dc43f6c9de959f2d4e141d6a443be8b086303b992d640e7b25a2
Reason: I am the author of this document
Location: SRINAGAR BENCH
Date: 2026.10.30 16:27:19+05'30'
Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.3.0
PUNIA
to treat this O.A. as a representation, who shall consider and
decide the case of the applicant as regards his posting nearer to his
hometown Srinagar. The respondents, while deciding the case of
the applicant, shall keep in view the law cited above in various
judicial pronouncements, in light of the fact that the applicant is
due to superannuate within two months and he has to prepare his
pension papers. The respondents shall pass appropriate orders
strictly within a period of 02 (two) weeks from today positively.
Further, for two weeks, the Order impugned dated 28.10.2026, as
it relates to the applicant, shall not be given effect to. It is made
clear that the respondents shall decide the case of the applicant
expeditiously and any delay shall be attributable to the

O.A. No. 1207 of 2026
[9]
respondents.

13. Accordingly, O.A. No. 1207/2026 is disposed of along with all
connected M.A.s, if any.
14. No order as to costs.

(M. S. Latif)
Member (Judl.)

Abhishek Punia
Court Master
29.10.2026
Digitally signed by ABHISHEK PUNIA
DN: C=IN, CN=ABHISHEK PUNIA, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Srinagar
Bench, OU=Department of Personnel And Training, ST=Jammu And Kashmir,
postalCode=190001, serialNumber=
ABHISHEK b99ea18e48351b523a3b7c01b885615e147010aed92ba1bd97898ad7f8b756eb, telephoneNumber=
e5d23c236ae6dc43f6c9de959f2d4e141d6a443be8b086303b992d640e7b25a2
Reason: I am the author of this document
Location: SRINAGAR BENCH
Date: 2026.10.30 16:27:19+05'30'
Foxit PDF Reader Version: 2025.3.0
PUNIA