Jharkhand High Court: Dr S.N. Pathak, J., dismissed a writ petition as he was of the view that the transfer of the petitioner was proper and no interference was necessary.
In the pertinent case, the petitioner moved to this Court challenging the order of transfer dated 24.05.2019, whereby he has been transferred from SBI, Singh More Branch, Ranchi to SBI, Tupudana, Branch as per extant instruction of 5 years transfer policy. It is a specific case of the petitioner that he is a disabled person.
Pawan Kumar Pathak, counsel for the petitioner, had submitted that a petitioner is a differently-abled person and as per the Circular F.No. 302/33/2/87 SCT (B) dated 05.03.1988, the physically handicapped employees of Bank in all cadres should normally be exempted from routine periodical transfer and as such, the petitioner has been transferred in complete violation of the statutory provisions. Rajesh Kumar, counsel of the opposite party submitted that the petitioner has been transferred as per the extant instruction of 5 years transfer policy and upon due consideration to his physical disability, the petitioner has been transferred to Tupudana Branch, which is nearby Branch from his place of stay and only 3.5 km away from Singhmore Branch and said Tupudana Branch is situated on the ground floor making it convenient for the petitioner and as such, order of transfer is fully justified.
The Court held that the order of transfer requires no interference since the order has been passed upon due consideration of the petitioner’s disability. The Court also observed that transfer is an incident of service; no right has accrued to an employee to stay at a particular place. Further, petitioner cannot be exempted from the transfer policy since, no statutory provisions have been violated and the petitioner has been transferred to Tupudana Branch after giving due consideration to his physical disability, which is just 3.5 km from the Singhmore Branch and it is running its business in the ground floor which makes it more convenient to the petitioner to work there with ease.[Satish Kumar Singh v. SBI, 2019 SCC OnLine Jhar 1359, decided on 12-09-2019]
