It is not for the employee to insist transfer or deny it at a particular place; SC holds transfer isn’t a right of employee but discretion of employer

Supreme Court: In a landmark case, the Division Bench of M.R. Shah and Aniruddha Bose, JJ., held that an employee has no

Supreme Court: In a landmark case, the Division Bench of M.R. Shah and Aniruddha Bose, JJ., held that an employee has no right to insist/deny his transfer at a particular place.

The Bench was addressing the case of a Lecturer (Psychology) at Rajkiya Mahavidyalaya, Gajraula, District Amroha; who had made representation for her transfer to Rajkiya Post Graduate College, Noida, Gautam Buddha Nagar. The said representation had been rejected by the Additional Chief Secretary Higher Education, Uttar Pradesh. The petitioner contended before the Court that she had been working at Amroha for the last 4 years and therefore, under the Government policy she was entitled to a transfer.

However, the impugned rejection order reflected that the petitioner had remained posted at Rajkiya Post Graduate College, Noida, Gautam Buddha Nagar from the date of her initial appointment 18-12-2000 to 11-08-2013 i.e. for about 13 years and therefore, her request for posting her again at the same institution was not justified.

Noticeably, the case of the petitioner was dismissed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad on the ground that she was not entitled to be posted at the place where she had already worked at a stretch for about 13 years. The High Court had held that in case the petitioner had completed requisite number of years at the place of her present posting, she may request for her transfer to some other place but not to the place where she had already worked for 13 years.

Upholding the decision of the High Court, the Bench held that it is not for the employee to insist to transfer him/her and/or not to transfer him/her at a particular place. It is for the employer to transfer an employee considering the requirement. Accordingly, the Special Leave Petition was dismissed. [Namrata Verma v. State of U.P., Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s). 36717 of 2017, decided on 06-09-2021]


Kamini Sharma, Editorial Assistant has reported this brief.


Appearance by:

For Petitioner(s): Mr Parvez Bashista, Adv. Dr Nirmal Chopra, AOR

For Respondent(s): Mr Sanjay Kumar Tyagi, AOR

One comment

  • Well, the employer has his business in the first place, and this is natural. It usually takes years to optimize the work of a business, and if all the wishes of employees are taken into account, the effectiveness of the business will remain a big question.

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