Administrative exigencies must be balanced with employee welfare in spouse-ground transfer requests.

The applicant, a Track Maintainer-II (TM-II) in the Sambalpur Division of the East Coast Railway, joined service in 2012

On March 14, 2024, he applied for an Inter-Railway transfer to the Sonpur Division of the East Central Railway on spouse grounds, as his wife is a government school teacher in Bihar

He cited personal hardship, noting that his wife was under mental distress following the death of their first child at birth

Following an interim order from the Tribunal, the respondents rejected his request on June 25, 2025, citing an "acute shortage of Track Maintainers" in the Sambalpur Division

The applicant challenged this rejection, contending that the division had simultaneously surrendered several Group D posts after declaring them surplus

1. Whether the respondents were justified in rejecting the applicant’s transfer request on the grounds of acute staff shortage while allegedly surrendering similar posts as surplus

2. Whether the applicant is entitled to a transfer to the Sonpur Division under the prevailing RBE guidelines regarding spouse grounds and mental health exigencies

RBE No. 148/2023, which prescribes a specific timeline and biannual cycles (April and October) for deciding Inter-Railway own-request transfers

DO letter dated 06.09.2022, which addresses the management of transfer registers relative to sanctioned cadre strength

while public safety and organizational efficiency are paramount in essential services like the Railways, the administration must maintain a benevolent and sympathetic approach toward employees' mental health and family exigencies

The core controversy involved the respondents’ contradictory stance: claiming an "acute shortage" of Track Maintainers to deny the transfer while simultaneously declaring such posts surplus and surrendering them

The court noted that the respondents failed to provide specific evidence to rebut the applicant's claim regarding the surrender of posts

the department, as a government organization, must balance administrative needs with the "mental health and exigencies" of its employees

the Tribunal found that the applicant's request warranted positive consideration in the upcoming transfer cycle rather than a blanket rejection based on a contested shortage

The court held that the respondents must consider the applicant’s case "positively" in the next transfer cycle and pass a speaking order to that effect

No costs were awarded