Govt. Employee Has No ‘Vested Right’ To Seek Transfer/ Posting To A Particular Position Even If That Is Vacant: Orissa High Court
In the case of Suryakanta Parida v. Odisha Public Service Commission & Ors, Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi, a single judge of the Orissa High Court, ruled that a government employee has no “vested right” to request posting to a certain position, even if the desired position is open.
Brief Facts Of The Case: Through this writ petition, the petitioner asked the court to order the Dean and Principal of S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack—the opposing party no. 4—to keep an eye on him while he is working on a regular basis because he was hired for the position of Assistant Professor (Super Specialist) in the Gastroenterology Department in response to the advertisement published by the opposing party no. 1, the Odisha Public Service Commission (the “OPSC”). The petitioner’s counsel, Mr. Trilochan Panigrahi, contended that the OPSC advertising said that there were two open positions in the gastroenterology department of the S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack. With the necessary qualifications, the petitioner submitted an application. On February 14, 2021, he participated in the written exam among other applicants.
He was successful in obtaining the position of Assistant Professor in the field of gastroenterology (Super Specialist). Furthermore, according to Mr. Panigrahi, the petitioner was hired as an assistant professor at M.K.C.G. Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur and transferred on a temporary basis to work at S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. The petitioner’s major complaint was that, despite being a perfect candidate in the recruitment process for the position of Assistant Professor in the Gastroenterology Department at S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, he was not assigned to the abovementioned job. In order to continue working regularly as an Assistant Professor in the Gastroenterology Department of S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack rather than M.K.C.G. Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur, he appealed for a direction from the Court to the opposing parties.
Judgement: Following a review of the materials on file, the Court found that there was no reference of two open positions in the “Gastroenterology Department” of the S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, was featured in the aforementioned advertising. Further, it held that even if vacancies are there, the petitioner does not have any vested right to claim for such posts since it is under the absolute domain of the Government. He is not required to be appointed by the Health Department to the S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. The writ petition was dismissed.
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JUDGEMENT REVIEWED BY PRAKIRTI JENA