Transfer policy does not confer a vested right to particular posting or completion of an uncompleted tenure.

The applicant, an Inspector of Income Tax, had earlier served in the Investigation Establishment from September 2013 until November 2014, for approximately one year, and therefore did not complete the prescribed three-March tenure.

During the 2026 Annual General Transfer exercise, he opted for posting to PDIT Investigation-01/02 and disclosed his earlier tenure.

However, by Transfer and Posting Order dated 6 May 2026, he was transferred from HQRS PCIT-20 to International Taxation-01, where he joined on 5 June 2026.

A Revised Transfer and Posting Order dated 29 May 2026 permitted two other officials, Shri Sanjay Kumar Pathak and Shri Shrey Singh Meena, to complete their remaining tenure in the Investigation Establishment after accounting for their earlier service there.

Claiming similar treatment, the applicant submitted a representation dated 12 June 2026 and sought quashing of the transfer orders to the extent of his non-consideration, along with a direction for posting in the Investigation Establishment.

The respondents contended that the applicant had no vested right to claim a particular place of posting and that the transfer was made under the applicable policy and administrative requirements.

Whether the applicant had a legally enforceable or vested right under the Staff AGT-2026–27 Transfer and Posting Policy to be posted in the Investigation Establishment for completing his earlier uncompleted tenure.

Whether the applicant was entitled to the same consideration as the officials permitted to complete their remaining tenure in the Investigation Establishment under the Revised Transfer and Posting Order dated 29 May 2026.

Whether the transfer and posting orders warranted interference by the Tribunal on the ground that the applicant’s option and prior service had not been considered.

The Tribunal applied the Staff AGT-2026–27 Transfer and Posting Policy dated 2 March 2026.

Clause 1 establishes a March-based rotation mechanism between Field and Non-Field Charges, requiring consideration of officials who have completed three March in the relevant category for transfer to the other category, subject to the policy’s exceptions and restrictions.

Clause 4 imposes further restrictions on the manner in which officials due for rotation may be posted, while Clause 7 provides for reckoning the prescribed March on the basis of an official’s combined stay in the relevant cadres.

The governing principle applied was that a transfer policy prescribing eligibility and rotation criteria does not confer an absolute or vested right to claim a particular place of posting, nor does prior incomplete service create a right to return to that posting for completion of the balance tenure.

The Tribunal held that the policy regulated rotation between Field and Non-Field Charges but did not create an individual entitlement to posting in a specific Field Charge merely because the applicant had previously served there for a shorter period.

Although the applicant had served in the Investigation Establishment for approximately one year and had exercised an option for PDIT Investigation-01/02, neither fact conferred a vested right to be posted there or to complete the earlier unexpired tenure.

The Tribunal also found that the applicant’s subsequent representation did not alter the nature of his claim, particularly since he had already joined his transferred post on 5 June 2026.

As no infringement of a statutory or legally enforceable right was established, the Tribunal declined to interfere with the transfer orders.

It held that the Staff AGT-2026–27 Policy did not confer upon him a vested or enforceable right to posting in the Investigation Establishment or to completion of his earlier uncompleted tenure.

His grievance concerned non-selection for a particular posting and did not disclose a legally actionable cause warranting judicial interference.

Accordingly, the Original Application was dismissed at the admission stage, with no order as to costs.