Petitioner challenged his transfer from Uduma Textiles to Prabhuram Mills, alleging malafides and financial hardship. The Court held the transfer was intra-group, valid under appointment terms, and lacked malafides.
Writ petition dismissed; transfer order upheld.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE BASANT BALAJI
FRIDAY, THE 5TH DAY OF JULY 2024 / 14TH ASHADHA, 1946 WP(C) NO. 20189 OF 2024
PETITIONER:
T.V. SURESH AGED 55 YEARS POOLAKANDI HOUSE, PULPATTA, MANJERI, MALAPPURAM, PIN - 676504 BY ADVS. LIJU.V.STEPHEN INDU SUSAN JACOB ABHIJITH U.
RESPONDENTS:
1 KERALA STATE TEXTILE CORPORATION LIMITED. (A GOVERNMENT OF KERALA UNDERTAKING) HAVING ITS REGISTERED OFFICE AT PANKAJ, VELLAYAMBALAM, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM -695010 REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGING DIRECTOR, PIN - 695510
2 UDUMA TEXTILES MILLS MYLATTY, KASARAGOD. (A GOVERNMENT OF KERALA UNDERTAKING) REPRESENTED BY ITS UNIT IN CHARGE MR.RADHAKRISHNAN, PIN - 671121 BY ADV P.U.SHAILAJAN
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 05.07.2024, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
W.P(C) No. 20189 of 2024
2
BASANT BALAJI
............................................................
W.P(C) No. 20189 of 2024
Dated this the 5th day of July, 2024
JUDGMENT
The petitioner was appointed as a supervisor under the Special Recruitment Programme for Scheduled Caste persons in the Kottayam Textiles Mills, a Government of Kerala undertaking coming under the 1st respondent. On declaration of the probation, the petitioner was transferred from Kottayam Textiles Mills to the Malabar Spinning and Weaving Mills in Kozhikode. Due to the shortage of working capital, the Malabar Spinning and Weaving Mill was temporarily shut down, and the petitioner and other workers in the said mill worked there without any salary for a period of 6 months. From 12.02.2004, the petitioner was transferred from the Malabar Spinning and Weaving Mill, Kozhikode, to Edarikkode Textiles in Malappuram district. Later, in 2006, he was promoted as Junior Manager and in the year 2021
as Assistant Manager.
W.P(C) No. 20189 of 2024
3
W.P(C) No. 20189 of 2024
4
the discretion to transfer to any subsidiaries of KSTC or other units or Corporations in the KSTC group. The KSTC is facing an acute shortage of experienced professionals. Against the total sanctioned managerial and supervisory strength of 102, only 25 permanent members are on the roll now. Hence, inter-unit transfer is very crucial for the functioning of the mills. The petitioner worked in Edarikkode Textiles Mills in 2016, and the said textile mill has been under layoff since 18.12.2023. In the said situation, he was transferred from Edarikkode Textiles to Uduma Textiles Mills. It is specifically stated in the transfer order itself that it is on a temporary working arrangement basis. Later, when a technical person was required at the head office of KSTC, a Junior Manager (Spinning) who was working in Prabhuram Mills was transferred to the head office and the petitioner is transferred.
W.P(C) No. 20189 of 2024
5
Uduma Textiles Mills in Kasaragod. The transfer is not in any violation of the policy, and the transfer is effected to fulfil the requirement of the units and is within the power of the management. The petitioner has no statutory right to remain posted in a particular place. He was transferred to Uduma Textiles Mills at the time of lay off of the Edarikkode Textiles to protect the petitioner's interest and, therefore, prayed for dismissal of the writ petition.
place, the petitioner was transferred. It was only due to the hostile attitude of the unit in charge of Uduma Spinning Mills that he was transferred to Prabhuram Mills, Chengannur. He has been purposefully transferred to the unit which is on the verge of closure, and a Junior Manager has been transferred from Prabhuram Mills to the head office where there is no post of Junior Manager(Technical). Therefore, prayed that the petitioner may be granted the relief sought in the writ petition.
W.P(C) No. 20189 of 2024
6
“You are liable to be transferred on your services lent in part of whole, to any of the offices/branches/units/ subsidiaries of the Kerala State Textile Corporation Limited and also to other units or Corporations in the KSTC group at the discretion of the management”.
W.P(C) No. 20189 of 2024
7
Therefore, I see no malafides in the Ext.P5 transfer order. Thus, the writ petitioner is not entitled to any reliefs from this Court; consequently, the writ petition is dismissed.
Sd/BASANT BALAJI JUDGE
Anu
W.P(C) No. 20189 of 2024
8
APPENDIX OF WP(C) 20189/2024
PETITIONER EXHIBITS
| Exhibit P1 | A TRUE COPY OF THE APPOINT 03/09/1996 ISSUED BY THE 1ST PETITIONER |
MENT LETTER RESPONDENT |
DATED TO THE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibit P2 | A TRUE COPY OF THE TERMS AND APPOINTMENT OF THE PETITIONER |
CONDITIONS DATED 05/09 |
OF THE /1996 |
| Exhibit P3 | A TRUE COPY OF PETITIONER'S DATED 12/02/2004 FROM MALABAR EDARIKKODE |
RELIEVING SPINNING M |
ORDER ILLS TO |
| Exhibit P4 | A TRUE COPY OF THE TRANS 20/03/2024 ISSUED BY THE 1ST PETITIONER BEARING NO. P/227/5 |
FER ORDER RESPONDENT 6/1403 |
DATED TO THE |
| Exhibit P5 | A TRUE COPY OF THE TRANS 29/05/2024 ISSUED BY THE 1ST PETITIONER BEARING NO. P/227/5 |
FER ORDER RESPONDENT 6/204 |
DATED TO THE |
| Exhibit P6 | A TRUE COPY OF THE HISTOPATHO BY THE SAID HOSPITAL TO THE 10/01/2024 BEARING UHID NO. 00 |
LOGY REPORT PETITIONER 02164363 |
ISSUED DATED |
| Exhibit P7 | The notice dated 23. |
04.2024 |
bearing |
| No.KSTC/UTM/24-25/37 issued Textile Mills |
by the | Uduma | |
| Exhibit P8 | The said communication dated | 23.03.2024 | bearing |
| No.LICMO/23-24/1418 issued Respondent |
by the | 1st | |
| Exhibit P9 | The communication dated 13-6-2 | 024 |
3 issues framed by the court
Whether the High Court should interfere with the transfer of an employee on a temporary basis to a different unit within the same corporation.
Whether the petitioner's medical condition and allegations of malafides warrant quashing of the transfer order.
Whether the management has valid discretion to transfer employees across units under the terms of appointment.
1 provisions across 1 enactments
T.V. SURESH
KERALA STATE TEXTILE CORPORATION LIMITED
UDUMA TEXTILES MILLS MYLATTY
BASANT BALAJI
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
