Manpower shortages cannot indefinitely delay approved inter-railway transfers; employees must be relieved within six months.

The applicants, Shunting Masters in the Palghat Division of Southern Railway, were originally appointed as Pointsman-B in 2015 and 2017 and sought one-way inter-Railway transfer to Malda Division, East Central Railway, on personal and socioeconomic grounds.

They submitted transfer applications through the Railway HRM Portal on 20 April 2023.

Their applications were forwarded after verification, and Malda Division issued no-objection certificates (NOCs) in January 2025, valid for one year.

Despite the NOCs, Southern Railway did not relieve them before the expiry of the NOCs.

The respondents stated that the applicants belonged to a safety-related operating cadre and that severe manpower shortages prevented their release.

They further relied on Railway Board Circular RBE No. 32/2025, contending that issuance of an NOC did not require the parent Railway to effect the transfer when cadre vacancies were below the prescribed threshold.

Whether the applicants, having obtained NOCs from the receiving Railway, were entitled to a direction for their release and one-way inter-Railway transfer despite the respondents’ plea of manpower shortage in the safety cadre?

Whether the applicants’ NOCs should remain valid until they joined the transferee division, notwithstanding the expiry of the original one-year validity period?

The Tribunal applied the Railway Board’s administrative instructions and transfer policy governing inter-Railway/inter-divisional transfers, including the communications dated 18 January 2019, 20 September 2019, 1 October 2020 and 23 June 2023, which emphasised timely processing of transfer requests and expeditious relieving after receipt of an NOC.

It also considered RBE No. 32/2025, which clarified that the parent Railway could regulate the timing of transfer having regard to cadre vacancies and operational requirements.

The Tribunal relied on its earlier decisions in O.A. Nos. 444/2014, 321/2014, 264/2014, 576/2017 and 277/2017, as well as the decision in O.A. Nos. 180/165/2024 and 180/465/2024, holding that operational and manpower constraints must be balanced against employees’ legitimate transfer interests and cannot indefinitely defeat a transfer supported by an NOC.

The Tribunal further applied the principle that an NOC already issued by the receiving Railway should remain effective until the employee joins the transferee division.

The Tribunal accepted that the applicants had secured NOCs and that their transfer applications had been processed in accordance with the applicable Railway procedure.

It recognised that the applicants were then holding higher posts and would lose their higher status, seniority and related service benefits by joining the separate Malda seniority unit at the bottom as Pointsman-B, demonstrating that their request was made primarily to serve nearer their native place.

Although the respondents established that Shunting Master/Pointsman was a safety-related cadre and that relieving the applicants could affect railway operations, the Tribunal held that such administrative concerns could not justify indefinite non-relieving.

Following its reasoning in the recent Assistant Loco Pilot cases, it considered the ongoing recruitment and the time required for new recruits to complete training, and adopted a time-bound solution that balanced operational requirements with the applicants’ transfer claims.

Accordingly, instead of ordering immediate release, it granted the respondents six months to arrange manpower and directed that the applicants be relieved within that period.

The Tribunal directed the respondents to relieve both applicants from their present posts and enable their one-way inter-Railway transfer to Malda Division within six months from the date of receipt of a copy of the order.

The NOCs issued in their favour were directed to remain valid until they joined the transferee division.

No order was made as to costs.