om:14-cl-2025-Jan — In respect of Transfer guidelines, the duty on the part of the Respondents is to identify the more eligible person with more weightage

In respect of Transfer guidelines, the duty on the part of the Respondents is to identify the more eligible person with more weightage — The chunk is about a judgment in a case where an applicant, serving as a PGT (Biology) in Navodaya Vidyalaya Biswanath Sonitpur Assam, challenged the transfer of a sixth respondent who had served for... — Facts:The issue involved in this case relates to transfer of the Applicant serving in the Navodaya Vidyalaya. The Applicant is functioning as a PGT (Biology) in the NVS Biswanath Sonitpur Assam, a hard station since 2020, where after two years of service, he could opt for transfer to any other station. Transfer Guidelines 2024 was published in November, 2023 and he has accordingly furnished his application for transfer to JNV Kaithal, Haryana, where vacancy in that faculty was available. Transfer list was published on 9-3-2024 wherein, the vacancy at Kaithal was sought to be filled up by transferring the sixth Respondent working as PGT Biology at JNV Lahaul and Spiti, Himachal Pradesh.

Aggrieved, the Applicant has filed this OA challenging the transfer of the sixth Respondent who had spent only five months in Spiti, whereas, the Applicant has put in more than 3 years of service. The Applicant's principal argument was based on the NVS Transfer Policy of 2021, which sets guidelines for the transfer of teachers within the organization. According to him, the policy mandates that teachers posted in hard or very hard stations should complete a minimum of two years before becoming eligible for a transfer. Since Sharma had only completed five months, the Applicant argued that she should not have been transferred to Kaithal, which he had applied for. Additionally, the Applicant pointed out that the transfer policy gives priority to teachers who have served longer in hard stations, and since he had completed almost four years in Sonitpur, he should have been given precedence. He also referred to an RTI response, which indicated that the Kaithal posting had been allocated based on hard station eligibility and central / state spouse eligibility, criteria he believed Sharma did not fully meet.

The Respondents, defended their decision by stating that Sharma had been declared surplus at her previous post due to the abolition of the PGT-Biology position at JNV Lahaul and Spiti. As per the transfer policy, surplus staff are allowed to participate in the Annual Transfer Drive and are transferred based on available vacancies. It is purely in tune with the transfer policy that the Respondents have transferred the sixth Respondent to Kaithal. The sixth Respondent submitted that her transfer was legitimate, as she had been allowed to participate in the ATD based on her surplus status. She emphasized that her transfer was conducted in accordance with the rules, and therefore, she should not be held at fault.