No worker has a guaranteed right to a certain workplace assignment: Himachal Pradesh High Court.
An employee’s transfer or repatriation is an incident of service, not a punishment, and is within the employer’s or authority’s jurisdiction to do so, is upheld by the High Court of Himachal Pradesh through the learned Judge JUSTICETARLOK SINGH CHAUHAN and JUSTICE JYOTSNA REWAL DUA, in the case of Puran Chand vs State Of Himachal Pradesh, (Civil Writ Petition No. 507 of 2016).
Brief facts of the case:
Petitioner argued that he should not have been transferred based on a political recommendation rather than a genuine need for a new position within the organisation, and a ruling was rendered in his favour on March 26, 2021.
The Petitioner also argued that his transfer is contrary to the regulations given by the Education Department because he had been doing an excellent job at the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), Nahan for the previous 18 years.
Petitioner was transferred back to the Higher Education department and assigned to fill a lecturer position at the Government Senior Secondary School in Dhamwari in the Shimla district (mathematics).
JUDGEMNET:
The court dismissed the case, explaining that the petitioner’s relocation was made out of administrative necessity and in the interest of the public at large.
The Court further found that the petitioner has no vested right to his posting at the same location just because he has worked there for 18 years.
For the facts and circumstances, it cannot be concluded that power by competent authority has been exerted discriminatorily, mala fide, unreasonable, or irrationally, rather it appears to have been exercised in public interest in the correct manner, the court said.
JUDGEMENT REVIEWED BY – HARILAKSHMI