Allahabad CAT Gives Postal Department 2 Months to Decide Near-Retirement Employee’s Plea Against Narwal Posting

The applicant, a Department of Posts employee due to retire on 29 February 2028, was transferred on 17 April 2026 from S.P.M., Napier Road S.O. to S.P.M., Narwal S.O. after completing his tenure.

He had earlier submitted three station preferences and, following the transfer, represented for posting at a nearby post office, citing his approaching retirement and the hardship of the commute. He filed the application seeking, among other reliefs, consideration of that representation; at the hearing, his counsel confined the prayer to a direction for a reasoned decision on it. The respondents did not oppose such a direction, without consideration of the merits.

The order cites no statute, departmental guideline, or precedent and does not determine any substantive rule governing transfer or near-retirement postings.

It applies the limited procedural approach agreed to by the parties: the competent authority should consider the employee’s pending representation and issue a reasoned and speaking order, leaving the merits to that authority.

The Tribunal noted that the application concerned the transfer order and that the applicant had submitted a representation seeking a nearby posting in view of his impending retirement.

Since the applicant pressed only for a decision on that representation and the respondents raised no objection to such relief, the Tribunal directed the competent authority to decide it, without adjudicating the merits of the transfer or the requested posting.

No order was made as to costs.