RAJESH BAKSHI vs ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA
- Court
- Central Administrative Tribunal
::1 :: O.A.
No. 1969/2025
C
Central Administrative Tribunal
Jammu Bench, Jammu
Hea
aring through video conferencing
Orig
ginal Application No. 1969/2025
Reserved on: 1
Pronounced on: 2
18.09.2026
22.10.2026
Hon’ble M
Hon’ble Mrs. Pra
Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, Judicial Member
agya Sahay Saksena, Administrative M
Member
1. Rajesh Bakshi
Plot No. 21, Re
, Age 50 years, S/o Sh. Jag Mohan Bak
esham Ghar Colony, Jammu-180001.
kshi, R/o
.
...Applicant
(Through Advo
ocate: Mr. K.S. Puri)
Versus
1. Union of India
India, New Del
2. Director Ge
Administration
New Delhi-110
3. Deputy Direc
India, Admini
Marg, New Del
4. Superintending
Archaeological
Gandhi Nagar,
a through the Secretary, Archaeologica
al Survey of
lhi-110001.
eneral, Archaeological Survey o
n-I Section, Dharohar Bhawan, 24 T
0001.
of India,
Tilak Marg,
tor (Administration), Archaeological
stration-I Section, Dharohar Bhawan
lhi-110001.
Survey of
n, 24 Tilak
g Archaeologist, (I/c), Srinaga
Survey of India, 141 A/D, Green
, Jammu-180004.
ar Circle,
Belt Park,
...Re
espondents
(Through Adv
vocate: Mr. Hanu Bhaskar, learned
d Standing
Counsel)
Digitally signed by POOJA SONI
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu
Bench, OU=Stenographer Grade C, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="
Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office
POOJA Jammu Jandk", Phone=
266538272f650366ef5403ac11b28247166a22053d12522
90ee29db0420fea64, SERIALNUMBER=
b484821bd69e6fedbae724392298a3ae452f84495a9c889
7421b302d01bb0f9b, [email protected], CN=
POOJA SONI
Location:
SONI
::2 :: O.A.
No. 1969/2025
O R D E R
(Per: Mrs. Pragya Sa
ahay Saksena, Administrative Membe
er)
An application
n under Section 19 of the Administrative
e Tribunals
Act, 1985 has been
filed by the applicant. The facts of th
he case, as
averred in the Origin
nal Application (O.A.), are that the app
plicant has
been working as p
photo officer in Archaeological Survey
y of India,
Srinagar Circle, havi
ing its office at 141 A/D, Green Belt Pa
ark, Gandhi
Nagar, Jammu sinc
ce July 2023. The respondent No. 3
passed an
th
order dated 28 N
ovember, 2025 transferring the appl
licant from
Srinagar Circle to A
Aurangabad Circle with immediate effe
ect and the
office of the applican
nt was directed to relieve him within
15 days of
issuing of the order
else the applicant will be deemed to
have been
relieved after comple
etion of the said period and drawal of
f his salary
will be ceased in the
present place of posting. Further, the
respondent
No. 4 issued an office
e order dated 01.12.2025 to enable him
m to join his
new place of posting
g. The order also instructs the applica
ant to hand
over the complete
charge to Shri Hilal Ahmad Mir,
Assistant
Archaeologist, ASI, S
Srinagar Circle within two months from
the date of
issue of the order a
and submit the charge report to the
office. The
relieving order was
issued without ensuring completion
n of charge
formalities, without
release of statutory Transfer Travelling
g Allowance
(TA) and without e
ensuring protection of salary, thereb
by creating
administrative and f
financial vacuum and subjecting the a
applicant to
financial hardship. T
There is also an internal contradiction i
n the order
as the second para
of the said order dated 01.12.2025 w
which make
Digitally signed by POOJA SONI
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu
Bench, OU=Stenographer Grade C, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="
Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office
POOJA Jammu Jandk", Phone=
266538272f650366ef5403ac11b28247166a22053d12522
90ee29db0420fea64, SERIALNUMBER=
b484821bd69e6fedbae724392298a3ae452f84495a9c889
7421b302d01bb0f9b, [email protected], CN=
POOJA SONI
Location:
SONI
::3 :: O.A.
No. 1969/2025
this administratively
y unworkable, as the applicant could
d not have
been relieved from hi
is duty and at the same time expected t
to continue
to discharge official r
responsibilities for a further period of tw
wo months.
The respondent No.
4 further directed the Pay Section to p
prepare the
Last Pay Certificate
(LPC) of the applicant upto 30.11.20
25, linking
the processing of sa
alary with submission of charge repo
ort, despite
granting a period of
two months for completion of charge
formalities,
while simultaneousl
ly relieving the applicant. This linka
age, in the
absence of any
disciplinary proceedings or suspe
ension, is
impermissible in s
ervice law and contrary to settled
principles
governing pay, tran
nsfers and relieving of Government
t servants.
Despite the two rep
presentations submitted by the applic
cant to the
respondents on 02.
12.2025 seeking correction of relievin
ng process,
release of statutory
TA advance and protection of salary
, the same
were not decided till
l the date of filing of the O.A. It was
mandatory
duty of the responde
ents to mention in the transfer and po
osting order
with regard to the
transfer allowance and other expense
es and the
absence of these fac
cts in the order will make this illegal an
nd liable to
be quashed, as was
decided by the Rajasthan High Court
in the case
of Vishwajeet Singh
v. State of Rajasthan reported as 201
17 (1) WLN
43. Further, the res
spondents issued and forwarded the
LPC of the
applicant to the Au
urangabad Circle and the concerned
d Pay and
Accounts Office befor
re joining of the applicant at Aurangaba
ad.
Digitally signed by POOJA SONI
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu
Bench, OU=Stenographer Grade C, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="
Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office
POOJA Jammu Jandk", Phone=
266538272f650366ef5403ac11b28247166a22053d12522
90ee29db0420fea64, SERIALNUMBER=
b484821bd69e6fedbae724392298a3ae452f84495a9c889
7421b302d01bb0f9b, [email protected], CN=
POOJA SONI
Location:
SONI
::4 :: O.A.
No. 1969/2025
1.1 Being aggrieve
ed by the aforesaid orders of the re
espondents
dated 28.11.2025 an
nd 01.12.2025 and inaction of the resp
ondents on
the representation d
dated 02.12.2025 of the applicant, the
e applicant
approached this Trib
bunal seeking the following reliefs:-
(a) allow the inst
(b) Quash the O
issued by responde
(c) Quash the O
43/330/RB/Adm-23
(d) Prayer for gra
be deemed approp
case in favour of th
tant original application;
Order No. 230/2025-Adm.I dated 2
28.11.2025
ent no. 3;
st
Order dated 1 December, 2025 be
ing F. No.
79;
ant of any other interim or final rel
priate in the facts and circumstan
ief as may
ces of the
he applicant.
2. The case was
listed on 10.12.2025 and this Tribu
unal, while
admitting the case,h
had stayed the implementation of th
he relieving
order dated 01.12.20
025 allowing the applicant to continue
working at
his present place of p
posting, ASI, Srinagar Circle.
3. In their written
n objections, the respondents have sub
mitted that
the issue of transfer
r and posting has been considered by t
the Hon’ble
Apex Court and has
s been settled in a catena of decision
ns. It is an
established fact that
t transfer is an essential condition of s
service and
the prerogative of th
he employer and an employee has no v
vested right
to get a particular
posting as per his choice. The tran
sfer orders
should be passed in
public interest or administrative exigen
ncy and not
for any extraneous
consideration or victimisation of the
employee.
Courts and tribuna
als will not interfere with routine tra
ansfer and
posting orders unles
ss there is a clear violation of statutory
rules, lack
of jurisdiction, or p
proven mala fides (malice in fact or
r law). The
Digitally signed by POOJA SONI
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu
Bench, OU=Stenographer Grade C, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="
Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office
POOJA Jammu Jandk", Phone=
266538272f650366ef5403ac11b28247166a22053d12522
90ee29db0420fea64, SERIALNUMBER=
b484821bd69e6fedbae724392298a3ae452f84495a9c889
7421b302d01bb0f9b, [email protected], CN=
POOJA SONI
Location:
SONI
::5 :: O.A.
No. 1969/2025
following cases wer
re cited in favour of their argumen
nts by the
respondents:-
(i) B. Varad
(SC).
(ii) K. Siva
Bank,19
(iii) Union of
(iv) Rajendra
(v) Jogendra
(vi) K.B. Shu
(vii) Union of
(viii) State of
dha Rao v. State of Karnataka, 1986
6(3) SLR60
nkutty Nair v. Managing Director,
984 (2) SLR 13 (Kant)
Syndicate
f India v. N.P. Thomas, 1993 Supp (1) S
a Singh v. State of UP (2009) 15 SCC 17
SCC 704
78
SLR 892
a Mohanty v. State of Orissa, 1979 (1) S
ukla v. Union of India, 1979 (2) SLR 58
(SC)
f India v. S.L. Abbas AIR 1993 SC 2444
UP and Others v. Goverdhan Lal: 20
)
ose (Mrs.) and Ors. V. State of Bihar an
004 (3) SLJ
244 (SC)
(ix) Shilpi Bo
(x) Jagdish
WLC (Ra
(xi) State of
nd Ors.
Chandra Ojha v. State of Rajasthan
aj.) 380
n: 1998 (3)
M.P. v. S.S. Kaurav (1995) 3 SCC 270
3.1 It was contend
ded by the respondents, that the app
plicant is a
Government Gazett
ted officer and covered under an
n all-India
transfer/posting liab
bility. It is also submitted that the app
plicant was
granted flexible time
to hand over the charge as early as po
ossible, but
not later than two
months. The issuance of the LPC is
s a routine
administrative proce
ess and not a tool to victimise the ap
pplicant or
deprive him of his liv
velihood by withholding of salary (which
h was never
done also) and the a
applicant could avail joining time as pe
r rules and
after joining, the s
alary could be disbursed at the new
w place of
posting. Further, abs
sence of a notified transfer policy does
not render
a transfer illegal. Tr
ransfers are guided by administrative
e discretion
and service exigenci
ies. The transfer of the applicant to A
Aurangabad
circle has been done
e to utilise his experience and services
in a better
way as Aurangabad
d Circle has important world heritage
sites. The
Digitally signed by POOJA SONI
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu
Bench, OU=Stenographer Grade C, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="
Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office
POOJA Jammu Jandk", Phone=
266538272f650366ef5403ac11b28247166a22053d12522
90ee29db0420fea64, SERIALNUMBER=
b484821bd69e6fedbae724392298a3ae452f84495a9c889
7421b302d01bb0f9b, [email protected], CN=
POOJA SONI
Location:
SONI
::6 :: O.A.
No. 1969/2025
personal and family
circumstances of the applicants cann
not override
administrative exigen
ncies and public interest. As regards e
entitlement
and admissibility o
of TA, grant of advance of TA is
subject to
availability of fund
ds, submission of request and obs
ervance of
financial procedure.
The applicant did not request to grant a
an advance
TA prior to issuance
e of the relieving order. Further, as o
on relevant
date, no funds wer
re available under the concerned bu
udget head.
However, the content
tion of the applicant that he was requir
red to travel
without any financ
cial support is incorrect as upon re
eporting at
Aurangabad Circle,
he would have received his salary an
nd other TA
allowance as due. Fu
urther, the reliance placed by the applic
cant on the
judgement in Vish
hwajit Singh case (Supra) is misp
placed and
distinguishable on fa
acts, as the judgement was delivered in
n a different
factual and statutor
ry context and does not lay down a
a universal
principle applicable t
to transfer of Central Government empl
loyees.
4. It is submitted in
n the rejoinder that the transfer orde
er does not
mention anywhere th
hat the order was issued in the interes
st of public
service. The applican
nt was transferred as a matter of puni
ishment on
the basis of a com
plaint and this fact can be ascertain
ned by the
Tribunal by summon
ning the office record for which the app
plicant has
filed an MA No. 264
4/2026. It is further stated that the o
office of the
applicant remained l
locked even after passing of the Interim
m Order by
the Tribunal and wa
as opened by the respondents only on
n filing the
contempt petition N
No. 719/2025 by the applicant. Furthe
er, another
order was passed b
by the respondents on 04.02.2026 di
recting the
Digitally signed by POOJA SONI
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu
Bench, OU=Stenographer Grade C, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="
Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office
POOJA Jammu Jandk", Phone=
266538272f650366ef5403ac11b28247166a22053d12522
90ee29db0420fea64, SERIALNUMBER=
b484821bd69e6fedbae724392298a3ae452f84495a9c889
7421b302d01bb0f9b, [email protected], CN=
POOJA SONI
Location:
SONI
::7 :: O.A.
No. 1969/2025
applicant to handove
er the charge of photo section to Mr. H
Hilal Ahmad
Mir, Assistant Archa
aeologist, ASI, Srinagar Circle, Jammu
u within 10
days from 28.11.202
25 read with order date 01.12.2025 fa
ailing which
disciplinary action u
nder law shall be initiated against him.
. This order
was passed in viol
lation of the interim directions pass
sed by the
Tribunal. This forced
d the applicant to file another contem
mpt petition
bearing CP 79/202
26, following which the respondent
s made a
statement that they
would withdraw the order dated 04.02
.2026. This
shows the malafides
of the respondents as they are keen to
implement
the illegal and malafi
ide order of transfer.
5. The responde
nts filed a response in reply to th
he MA No.
264/2026 stating tha
at although a complaint has been receiv
ved against
the applicant, howev
ver, no inquiry has been initiated in the
e matter. It
is averred that the t
transfer file was processed in the norm
mal course,
based on administra
ative exigencies and the approval of the
competent
authority was obtain
ned. The transfer does not impose an
ny penalty,
stigma or adverse co
onsequence and the applicant continu
ues to hold
the same post, rank
and pay. The present application by th
he applicant
is purely speculativ
ve and exploratory in nature and b
by his own
admission, the appl
icant is seeking to “ascertain” the na
ature of his
transfer. Therefore,
presentation of the entire record is no
ot essential
for adjudication of th
he matter, which pertain to legality of t
the transfer
order, an issue settle
ed in service jurisprudence.
6. During the co
urse of the arguments, it was submit
tted by the
learned counsel for
r the applicant that the production
of records
Digitally signed by POOJA SONI
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu
Bench, OU=Stenographer Grade C, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="
Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office
POOJA Jammu Jandk", Phone=
266538272f650366ef5403ac11b28247166a22053d12522
90ee29db0420fea64, SERIALNUMBER=
b484821bd69e6fedbae724392298a3ae452f84495a9c889
7421b302d01bb0f9b, [email protected], CN=
POOJA SONI
Location:
SONI
::8 :: O.A.
No. 1969/2025
relating to the trans
sfer of the applicant will determine if t
the transfer
order was based on t
the complaint against the applicant and
d was used
as an instrument of
f punishment. It is further averred, ba
ased on the
decision of the Hon’b
ble Supreme Court in the case of Somes
sh Tiwari v.
Union of India and
Ors., (2009) 2 SCC 592 that where a
transfer is
founded on the irrele
evant ground such as anonymous com
mplaint or is
passed by way of or
in lieu of punishment, it is liable to be
e set aside.
Therefore, examinati
ion of substance behind the impugne
ed order is
essential. The learne
ed counsel further averred that the re
espondents
systematically exclud
ded the applicant in performing his du
uties by not
involving him in off
ficial assignments and outsourcing ph
hotographic
and videographic se
ervices even when the applicant was
physically
present. Further, the
e office infrastructure was not maintain
ned despite
complaints from the
applicant to rectify the malfunctioning
g computer,
non-functioning E-G
Governance account ID and to replace
the printer
cartridge. The applic
ant should be permitted to discharge h
his duties in
a meaningful mann
ner and not be physically present bas
sed on the
interim order of thi
is Tribunal. The learned counsel has
submitted
specific case law to
argue that transfer made in malafide
manner or
hostile and discrimin
natory targeting of one employee out
of multiple
similarly situated ind
dividuals, irrelevant grounds and trans
sfer by way
of or in lieu of punish
hment are the recognised grounds for i
nterference
by the courts. The ca
ase law cited is as follows:-
(i) Somesh Tiwari
i v. Union of India and Ors., (2009) 2 SC
CC 592.
Digitally signed by POOJA SONI
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu
Bench, OU=Stenographer Grade C, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="
Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office
POOJA Jammu Jandk", Phone=
266538272f650366ef5403ac11b28247166a22053d12522
90ee29db0420fea64, SERIALNUMBER=
b484821bd69e6fedbae724392298a3ae452f84495a9c889
7421b302d01bb0f9b, [email protected], CN=
POOJA SONI
Location:
SONI
::9 :: O.A.
No. 1969/2025
(ii) Gujarat Electr
ricity Board and Anr. V. Atmaram
Sungomal
Poshani, (1989
9) 6 SCC 602.
(iii) The Manager,
Government Branch Press v. D.B.
Balliappa,
(1979) 1 SCC 4
477.
(iv) T. Selvaraj v.D
Director of School Education and Ors.
{2010Law
Finder (Madras
s) 2799}.
7. Rebutting the
arguments of the applicant, it was su
ubmitted by
the learned Standing
g Counsel for the respondents that the
transfer of
the applicant was do
one on the ground of administrative exig
gencies and
public interest and
not in lieu of punishment on the
basis of a
complaint. Hence, th
he application filed by the applicant des
serves to be
dismissed as there is
s no inherent right of the applicant to b
be posted at
a particular post.
8. Heard the lea
arned counsel for the applicant and t
the learned
Standing Counsel ap
ppearing on behalf of the respondents a
nd perused
the material placed o
on record and that available in public do
omain.
9. The central i
issue in the O.A. is the admissibil
lity of the
argument of the app
plicant that his transfer is flawed bein
ng done not
on administrative gro
ounds, but as a punishment posting an
nd in lieu of
punishment as a c
complaint has been received against
t him. The
constitutional jurispr
rudence of the service law on transfer a
and posting
has been enunciated
d by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in a
a catena of
judgments. Transfer
r and posting of government servants
are normal
incidents of service
governed by the fundamental legal
principles
Digitally signed by POOJA SONI
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu
Bench, OU=Stenographer Grade C, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="
Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office
POOJA Jammu Jandk", Phone=
266538272f650366ef5403ac11b28247166a22053d12522
90ee29db0420fea64, SERIALNUMBER=
b484821bd69e6fedbae724392298a3ae452f84495a9c889
7421b302d01bb0f9b, [email protected], CN=
POOJA SONI
Location:
SONI
::10 :: O.A.
No. 1969/2025
established by the S
Supreme Court of India. The judgeme
ents of the
Hon’ble Supreme Cou
urt and the principles laid down are as
follows.
Fundamental Legal
Principles
Incidence of
f Service: Transfer is an intrinsi
ic part of
government se
ervice, and employees holding transfer
rable posts
have no bestow
wed right to remain posted at a specific
location or
place of choice
e. { Union of India v. S.L. Abbas , 1993 (4)
) SCC 357};
{ Kendriya Vidy
ad Pandey ,
yalaya Sangathan v. Damodar Prasa
2004 (12) SCC
C 299}.
Duty to Join
n First: A government servant cann
not flout a
transfer order
or skip reporting to the new place of po
osting while
pursuing litiga
ation; they must first join and the
en make a
representation
n to the authorities { S.C. Saxena v. Unio
on of India ,
2006 (9) SCC 5
583}.
Limited Judi
icial Review: Courts and tribunals
s will not
interfere with r
routine transfer and posting orders unle
ess there is
a clear violatio
on of statutory rules, lack of jurisdiction
n, or proven
mala fides (ma
alice in fact or law) ( Shilpi Bose v. Sta
te of Bihar ,
1991 Supp (2)
SCC 659).
Guidelines vs
s. Enforceable Rights: Administrative
guidelines
or policies (su
uch as keeping spouses together) are
e meant to
guide executi
ive discretion and do not confer
a legally
enforceable rig
ght upon an employee ( Union of Ind
dia v. S.L.
Abbas ).
Digitally signed by POOJA SONI
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu
Bench, OU=Stenographer Grade C, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="
Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office
POOJA Jammu Jandk", Phone=
266538272f650366ef5403ac11b28247166a22053d12522
90ee29db0420fea64, SERIALNUMBER=
b484821bd69e6fedbae724392298a3ae452f84495a9c889
7421b302d01bb0f9b, [email protected], CN=
POOJA SONI
Location:
SONI
::11 :: O.A.
No. 1969/2025
MLA Recomm
mendations: A transfer order initiated o
on the basis
of an MLA's u
nofficial (UO) note is not per se illegal
l or vitiated
unless it is co
ontrary to the statutory rules or is pr
roven to be
mala fide ( Sri
adesh , Civil
Pubi Lombi v. State of Arunachal Pra
Appeal No. 412
29 of 2024).
Family Hards
ships and Inter-District Claims: Dis
splacement
from family or
r personal hardship is a universal issu
ue and does
not grant a leg
gal right to claim an inter-district transf
fer or cadre
change that d
disrupts public interest or school/adm
ministrative
staffing ( Pratap
p Singh Baghel v. Akanksha Shukla [C
Civil Appeal
SLP (C) No. 5678 of 2025] ).
arising out of S
10. The applicant
t has argued that his transfer is
in lieu of
punishment as a com
mplaint was received against him. Furth
her, he has
also given the groun
nd of family difficulty in shifting to Ma
aharashtra,
which is at a distan
nce of 1800 kms as his children are s
studying in
Jammu, particularly
y that his one child after passing the cla
th
ass 12 etc.
has to give competiti
ive examination etc.This is seen as a pu
unishment.
The applicant has a
also argued that there is no transfer
policy, but
routinely and as a m
matter of practice, an employee is trans
ferred after
three years, wherea
as he has completed only two years
of service.
Therefore, this tran
sfer is discriminatory. The manner, t
timing and
coercive implementa
ation of the transfer order shows that
it is legally
justiciable and warr
rants judicial protection. However, ba
sed on the
judgements and co
onstitutional jurisprudence on servi
ice law of
transfer and posting
g, it may be stated that the applicant h
has failed to
Digitally signed by POOJA SONI
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu
Bench, OU=Stenographer Grade C, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="
Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office
POOJA Jammu Jandk", Phone=
266538272f650366ef5403ac11b28247166a22053d12522
90ee29db0420fea64, SERIALNUMBER=
b484821bd69e6fedbae724392298a3ae452f84495a9c889
7421b302d01bb0f9b, [email protected], CN=
POOJA SONI
Location:
SONI
::12 :: O.A.
No. 1969/2025
show if the transfer
r order is against any statutory prov
vision or is
vitiated by malafides
s. Mere averment that the transfer orde
er is issued
in lieu of punishmen
nt for a complaint which has been receiv
ved against
him is also unprove
en. If there is any complaint received
d against a
Government employ
yee, there is a standard procedure
prescribed
under Central Civil
Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 and C
entral Civil
Services (Classificati
ion, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965 t
o deal with
that. However, since
no inquiry has been initiated and no d
disciplinary
proceedings contem
mplated against him under these Rul
les and no
show cause notice
issued to him, it clearly shows that
t this is a
speculative ground
and not proved. Further, trans
fer is an
administrative act
and is done on the basis of adm
ministrative
exigencies and in pu
ublic interest. This point has been m
made by the
respondents. This T
Tribunal can not question or substitu
ute its own
discretion to questi
ion this act of transfer unless some
e statutory
violation or malafid
des is demonstrated and proved. Fu
urther, the
applicant is posted
to the same post, scale and pay and
will not be
prejudiced by an a
act of transfer, so, this is not a pu
unishment.
Therefore, the O.A. c
can not succeed.
11. In view of the
above, the transfer order dated 28.1
1.2025 can
not be quashed, as
s it is not legally unsustainable or is
ssued in a
malafide manner. H
owever, the order dated 01.12.2025 is
s internally
inconsistent and unw
workable and deserves to be set aside,
as it allows
both immediate reli
ieving of the official, but permits re
etention of
records and handing
g over the same to the officer concerned
d during the
Digitally signed by POOJA SONI
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu
Bench, OU=Stenographer Grade C, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="
Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office
POOJA Jammu Jandk", Phone=
266538272f650366ef5403ac11b28247166a22053d12522
90ee29db0420fea64, SERIALNUMBER=
b484821bd69e6fedbae724392298a3ae452f84495a9c889
7421b302d01bb0f9b, [email protected], CN=
POOJA SONI
Location:
SONI
::13 :: O.A.
No. 1969/2025
next two months, im
mplying continuing control and respo
onsibility of
maintenance of reco
ords on the part of the applicant. It i
s well-nigh
impossible for an em
mployee to be relieved of his post, but c
continue to
maintain and protec
ct custody of record of the post which
h has been
vacated by him. W
What is the wherewithal and wha
at kind of
instrumentalities are
e available to an employee placed at a
distance of
1800 kms at Aura
angabad to have control and respon
nsibility of
maintenance of reco
ord at Jammu is anybody’s guess. It
t is simply
inconceivable and in
nherently unworkable and impractical.
However, it
has become otiose a
as it has not been implemented over th
he period as
mandated. Normally,
, handing over of old charge and taking
g over of the
new charge happens
s seamlessly either on the same day o
or the next
day, if both the post
ts are in the same place. However, in t
the present
case, since the two
o posts are quite distant from each
other, this
should be possible
after accounting for the travel or joi
ining time.
Therefore, the joinin
g at the new post should be effected in
n a manner
that relieving from th
he current post and joining at the new p
post should
happen seamlessly a
and not with such interruptions and u
nnecessary
travel and waste of
resources as allowed in the second p
para of the
order dated 01.12.20
025, which said that handing over of
record can
happen in the next
two months after relieving. This is im
mportant to
note that the respon
ndents have admitted in their objectio
ons {para 5
(xii)} that on the re
elevant date, no funds were available
under the
budget head for gran
nt of TA advance. Therefore, it is not r
right on the
part of the responden
nts, while defending the para 2 of the o
order dated
Digitally signed by POOJA SONI
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu
Bench, OU=Stenographer Grade C, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="
Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office
POOJA Jammu Jandk", Phone=
266538272f650366ef5403ac11b28247166a22053d12522
90ee29db0420fea64, SERIALNUMBER=
b484821bd69e6fedbae724392298a3ae452f84495a9c889
7421b302d01bb0f9b, [email protected], CN=
POOJA SONI
Location:
SONI
::14 :: O.A.
No. 1969/2025
01.12.2025, to state
that the applicant was given the liberty
y to avail of
the facility of official
l tour to come to Jammu to hand over
the charge
and this is just an a
afterthought and administratively expen
nsive when
funds were not availa
able to grant a TA advance to the appli
icant in the
first place to go on
transfer to Aurangabad. It is expecte
ed that the
respondents will tak
ke care of this deficiency in the revise
ed relieving
order.
12. Thus, this Trib
bunal does not find any reason to int
terfere with
the transfer order
dated 28.11.2025 and therefore tha
at order is
sustained. However,
partially allowing the O.A., the Governm
ment Order
dated 01.12.2025 is
quashed. The respondents are directe
ed to revise
this order so that th
he handing over of old charge and tak
king over of
new charge can happ
pen seamlessly and in an administrativ
ely efficient
and fair manner.
13. The Interim Or
rder of this Tribunal dated 10.12.2025 i
is vacated.
14. No order as to
costs.
(Pragya Sahay
Administrative
Saksena) (Sanjeev G
e Member Judicial M
Gupta)
Member
Poojasoni…
Digitally signed by POOJA SONI
DN: C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu
Bench, OU=Stenographer Grade C, PostalCode=180001,
L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="
Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office
POOJA Jammu Jandk", Phone=
266538272f650366ef5403ac11b28247166a22053d12522
90ee29db0420fea64, SERIALNUMBER=
b484821bd69e6fedbae724392298a3ae452f84495a9c889
7421b302d01bb0f9b, [email protected], CN=
POOJA SONI
Location:
SONI