Residence or preference for posting within circuit districts does not confer territorial jurisdiction over employment transfer disputes.

The petitioner, an Assistant Teacher at a secondary school in Birbhum district, sought a transfer to a school in either Alipurduar or Cooch Behar on the grounds of being the sole caregiver for her minor child and the distance (>200 km) from her permanent residence in Jalpaiguri

She previously obtained a court order directing her school to consider her transfer request

On April 21, 2026, the Teacher-in-Charge of the school in Birbhum rejected the application, citing the school’s academic interests and the fact that she was the sole Physical Education teacher

The petitioner challenged this rejection before the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court

1. Whether the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench possesses the territorial jurisdiction to entertain a writ petition challenging an order passed by an authority situated in Birbhum, merely because the petitioner resides in and seeks transfer to districts within the Circuit's jurisdiction.

The court applied the Calcutta High Court (Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri) Rules, 2019, specifically Rules 2(c), 2(d), and 4, which mandate that cases "originating in the districts" (Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, and Alipurduar) shall be decided by the Circuit Bench

It further relied on Article 226(2) of the Constitution of India regarding the "cause of action"

Following precedents such as ONGC v. Utpal Kumar Basu (1994) and Alchemist Ltd. v. State Bank of Sikkim (2007), the court emphasized that only material, essential, and integral facts constitute a "cause of action," and mere residence or service of notice does not confer jurisdiction per State of Rajasthan v. M/s Swaika Properties (1985)

The court reasoned that the "cause of action" is determined by the facts having a direct nexus with the legal dispute (lis)

In this case, the petitioner is currently posted in Birbhum, and the impugned order of rejection was issued by an authority located in Birbhum

The court held that the mere fact that the petitioner is a permanent resident of Jalpaiguri, or that she desired a posting in Cooch Behar or Alipurduar, does not mean the case "originated" in those districts under the 2019 Rules

Since the rejection order originated outside the territorial limits of the Circuit Bench, the integral part of the cause of action arose in Birbhum, not in the districts served by the Jalpaiguri Bench

The petition was dismissed, though the court clarified that the petitioner is not precluded from approaching the appropriate forum (the Principal Bench at Calcutta) in accordance with the law