Dismissed

Sri. K Ranganath, Kas v. the State of Karnataka

Karnataka HC2 Aug 2022WP/4952/2022

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court of Karnataka dismissed a writ petition challenging the Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal's order upholding the petitioner's transfer. The bench held that transferring a Senior Scale Officer after restoring a post to Junior Scale compliance with Transfer guidelines, especially with the Chief Minister's approval.

What did the court decide?

Writ petition dismissed with no costs as there was no violation of Transfer guidelines.

Sri. K Ranganath, Kas Vs the State of… — Pension and Retirement Benefits | Karnataka HC (2022)

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W.P. No.4952/2022

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU

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DATED THIS THE 2^ND DAY OF AUGUST, 2022

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PRESENT

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THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE P.S. DINESH KUMAR

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AND

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THE HON’BLE MRS. JUSTICE M.G. UMA

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WRIT PETITION No.4952 OF 2022 (S-KSAT)

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BETWEEN :

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SRI. K. RANGANATH, KAS (SENIOR SCALE) S/O SRI. KENCHAPPA AGED ABOUT 49 YEARS WORKING AS ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER BENGALURU NORTH KANDAYA BHAVANA, K.G.ROAD BENGALURU-560 009 ... PETITIONER

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(BY SHRI. JAYAKUMAR S. PATIL, SENIOR ADVOCATE FOR SHRI. RAGHAVENDRA G. GAYATRI, ADVOCATE)

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AND :

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THE STATE OF KARNATAKA DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY VIDHANA SOUDHA BANGALORE-560 001.

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SRI. SHIVANNA M.G, KAS (JUNIOR SCALE) NOR UNDER ORDERS OF TRANSFER TO ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER BENGALURU NORTH DIVISION

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W.P. No.4952/2022

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KANDAYA BHAVANA, K.G.ROAD BENGALURU-560 009 … RESPONDENTS

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(BY SHRI. P.S. RAJAGOPAL, SENIOR ADVOCATE FOR SHRI. HEMANTH RAJ, ADVOCATE FOR R2; SHRI. JEEVAN J. NEERALGI, SENIOR ADVOCATE FOR R1)

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. . . .

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THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO ISSUE A WRIT OF CERTIORARI AND SET ASIDE THE ORDER DATED 22.02.2022 IN APPLICATION NO.382/2022 VIDE ANNEXURE - A PASSED BY THE HON'BLE KARNATAKA STATE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL AND ALLOW THE SAID CASE AND GRANT SUCH OTHER ORDER OR DIRECTION AS THIS HON'BLE COURT DEEMS FIT IN THE FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE.

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THIS WRIT PETITION, HAVING BEEN HEARD AND RESERVED FOR ORDERS ON 27.07.2022, COMING ON FOR PRONOUNCEMENT OF ORDERS THIS DAY, P.S.DINESH KUMAR J, PRONOUNCED THE FOLLOWING:-

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ORDER

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This writ petition is directed against dismissal of Application No.382/2022 vide order dated February 22, 2022 passed by the KSAT¹ .

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Brief facts of the case are, petitioner is a KAS² Officer. While he was working as Special Land Acquisition Officer, National Highways, Bengaluru,

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1 Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal

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2 Karnataka Administrative Service

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W.P. No.4952/2022

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he was promoted to the cadre of KAS (Senior Scale)

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vide Notification dated September 20, 2019. By Notification dated March 24, 2020, he was posted as Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru North in place of one Shri. Dayanand Bhandari. He took charge in that post on March 26, 2020. Subsequently, vide Notification dated November 11, 2020, he was posted as Faculty Member, Administrative Training Institute, Mysuru and further, vide Notification dated December 2, 2020

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as Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru North in place of Shri. Dayanand Bhandari and he took charge on December 4, 2020.

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Petitioner's case is, that within a span of eight months, State Government again issued another Notification dated July 23, 2021 transferring him as Additional Director-I, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Bengaluru and posted one Shri. C.L. Shivakumar as Assistant

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Commissioner, Bengaluru North. Petitioner challenged both orders in Application No.3570/2021. The KSAT vide order dated September 7, 2021 allowed the application and quashed the Notifications with a direction to Shri. C.L. Shivakumar to handover charge to the petitioner with immediate effect. Feeling aggrieved, Shri. C.L. Shivakumar approached this Court in W.Ps. No.16924/2021 a/w. 17010/2021. By common order dated September 21, 2021, the writ petitions have been dismissed.

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It is the further case of petitioner that by Notification dated January 28, 2022, the second respondent herein, Dr. M.G. Shivanna has been posted as Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru North

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Sub-Division and on the same day, by another order, petitioner has been transferred as General Manager, Karnataka Public Lands Corporation Ltd., Bengaluru. Feeling aggrieved, he challenged both

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W.P. No.4952/2022

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transfer in Application No.382/2022. By the impugned order, the KSAT has dismissed the said application. Hence, this writ petition.

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Shri. Jayakumar S. Patil, learned Senior

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Advocate for the petitioner submitted that:

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• in its earlier order, KSAT has held that the tenure starts from the date of posting and the tenure of applicant shall be counted from December 2, 2020 and in terms of the Transfer guidelines, it lasts for a period of two years, unless curtailed by resort to action under Para 9 of the Transfer guidelines. Thus, petitioner's transfer is a premature one;

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this Court, in the previous round of litigation has held in para 21³ that petitioner's transfer vide Notification dated July 23, 2021, as Additional Director-I, Commissionerate of

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3 In Order dated September 21, 2021 in W.Ps. No.16924/2021 a/w. 17010/2021

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W.P. No.4952/2022

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Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Bengaluru was a premature transfer;

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• it is recorded by the Chief Secretary, GoK⁴ , in the file that petitioner was not holding a post of his rank, but of a lower rank which has been upgraded for him. This noting is factually incorrect because, in the Transfer Order dated September 20, 2019, the post of Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru North has been upgraded whilst Shri. Dayanand Bhandari was holding the post.

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With the above main contentions, Shri. Jayakumar Patil argued that petitioner has

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been prematurely transferred contrary to Transfer Guidelines despite the order passed by KSAT in application No.3570/2021 and upheld by this Court; and prayed for allowing this writ petition.

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4 Government of Karnataka

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W.P. No.4952/2022

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Shri. Jeevan Neeralgi for the State and Shri. P.S. Rajagopal, learned Senior Advocate for the respondents argued opposing the writ petition.

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Shri. Jeevan Neeralgi has placed the original file for perusal of this Court.

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Shri. P.S. Rajagopal submitted that:

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• the post of Assistant Commissioner, North is one held by KAS (Junior Scale) Officer. By the order dated September 20, 2019, several Officers were promoted to Senior Scale and the posts held by the respective Officers were upgraded to Senior Scale. Shri. Dayanand Bhandari, who was also promoted to Senior Scale and working as the Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru North Sub-division was continued in the upgraded post;

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W.P. No.4952/2022

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subsequently, by order dated December 2, 2020, petitioner was transferred as Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru North Sub-division;

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currently, by the impugned order (AnnexureA11), second respondent, who is a Junior Scale Officer has been transferred as Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru North Sub-division by downgrading and restoring the said post to KAS Officer (Junior Scale);

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consequent upon restoring the post of Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru North to KAS (Junior Scale) Officer, petitioner who is admittedly, a Senior Scale Officer could not have been continued and therefore, he has been transferred to a post suitable to his grade;

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restoration of Assistant Commissioner's post to KAS (Junior Scale) Officer, and petitioner's

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W.P. No.4952/2022

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transfer have the approval of the Chief Minister;

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petitioner has worked as Assistant

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Commissioner, Bangalore North (Junior Scale) from 28.09.2015 to 04.08.2017; in the Senior Scale from 24.03.2020 to 26.06.2020 and again from 02.12.2020 to 23.07.2021 and from 07.09.2021 till the date of impugned order i.e., 28.01.2022; and

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• transfer is an incident of service and a Government Servant does not have a legal right for being posted at any particular post as held in Gujarat Electricity Board and another Vs. Atmaram Sungomal Poshani⁵ .

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He submitted that there is no legal

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infirmity in petitioner's Transfer order as has been rightly held by the KSAT and prayed for dismissal of this writ petition.

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5 (1989)2 SCC 602 (para 4)

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W.P. No.4952/2022

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We have carefully considered rival

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contentions and perused the records.

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At the outset, it is to be noted that while promoting the Junior Scale Officers to the Senior Scale, by their order dated September 20, 2019, the State Government had continued Shri. Dayanand Bhandari as the Assistant Commissioner in the upgraded post. Whilst the said post remained upgraded, petitioner was posted as Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru North Sub-division vide Notification dated December 2, 2020 and he continued there till he was transferred as Additional Director of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affiars, Bengaluru. He challenged that order before KSAT and the same was quashed. KSAT's order was upheld by this Court.

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By the impugned order, second respondent has been posted as Assistant

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Commissioner by downgrading the post to KAS (Junior Scale) Officers. Therefore, the question that arises for consideration is, whether consequent transfer of petitioner by the impugned order is in violation of Transfer guidelines?

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Clause 9 of the guidelines makes it clear that premature transfers can be effected with prior approval of the Chief Minister.

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We have perused the original file. The Chief Secretary, in his note dated 13.01.2022 has opined that petitioner was not holding the post of his rank and therefore, his transfer to a post of KAS (Senior Scale) is not a premature transfer.

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It is recorded in the order passed by the Chief Minister that (i) petitioner had worked for a full tenure as Assistant Commissioner, Bengaluru North in the Junior Scale; (ii) petitioner is not holding a post of his rank. He cannot claim that his

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W.P. No.4952/2022

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transfer to a post of his cadre from lower cadre post can be considered as premature transfer; and (iii) petitioner's transfer to a Senior Scale post from temporarily upgraded Junior Scale post, will not amount to premature transfer. The file notings disclose that after Chief Minister's approval, the same has been processed further.

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The KSAT in paras 6 to 8 of the impugned order has recorded that the post in question no longer remained for Senior Scale Officer.

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Admittedly, petitioner is a Senior Scale Officer and has been posted as General Manager, Karnataka Public Lands Corporation, Bengaluru, which is a KAS (Senior Scale) post, with due approval of the Chief Minister.

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In view of the above, in our considered view, there is no violation of Transfer guidelines.

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Hence, no interference is called for with the impugned order passed by the KSAT.

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Resultantly, this writ petition fails and it is accordingly dismissed .

No costs.

Sd/JUDGE

Sd/JUDGE

SPS

Sri. K Ranganath, Kas v. the State of Karnataka

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Sri. K Ranganath, Kas v. the State of Karnataka

Case brief

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What did the court decide?

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