The Himachal Pradesh High Court, while dealing with a petition, stated that the state authorities had an attitude of pick and choose while making transfers from areas that were geographically and topographically not easily accessible to "soft" areas and vice versa.
At times, some employees who had served at difficult places earlier were sent there again just so that others who managed their retention in preferred areas kept enjoying their posting, the court observed.
The court was hearing a petition challenging the order of the Education Department, whereby it had rejected the representation of a government teacher seeking her transfer from a "harsh" area to a "soft" area.
While quashing the rejection order, Justice Ranjan Sharma observed, "The action of the state authorities in prolonging the stay in 'tribal-hard' areas despite the completion of the normal tenure of two winters and three summers, as mandated by the transfer policy of the state, by neither seeking an option nor considering the employee for posting to a station in the soft area has already been deprecated by this court. The state authorities cannot ignore the mandate of the law."
The court stated, "This court cannot refrain itself from observing that Clauses 12 and 16 of the transfer policy issued by the state mandates the state authorities to consider the cases of employees for posting to any station in the 'tribal-hard areas' and from such areas to a 'soft area' by adopting a continuous process of change so that all employees, who have not served in such areas even once, should be posted to such areas."
It stated, "This discretion is to be fairly and objectively exercised by sending employees to such areas (tribal-hard areas) who have never served in such areas so as to achieve the object of the policy."
The court passed this order on a petition filed by a Trained Graduate Teacher (Arts) in the Elementary Education Department seeking her transfer from Government School, Kaffotta, Sirmaur (hard area) to a soft area in view of the provisions of the transfer policy. It was alleged that she had made a representation in this regard to the Director Elementary Education but the same was rejected in October on extraneous considerations. Quashing the rejection order, the court directed the state authorities to consider her case in terms of transfer policy.
Edu Dept order challenged by teacher
- The HC passed these remarks on a petition filed by a Trained Graduate Teacher (Arts) in the Elementary Education Department seeking her transfer from Government School, Kaffotta, Sirmaur (hard area) to a soft area in view of the provisions of the transfer policy.
- Her representation to the Director Elementary Education was rejected in October.
Post a Comment