Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 30: High court judge Dhiraj Singh Thakur has dismissed the petition filed against his transfer by ex-ZEPO (zonal education planning officer), Sunderbani, for concealing material facts from the court.
Ex-ZEPO, Sunderbani, Pritam Chand had questioned his July 20, 2016 transfer as Headmaster of High School, Mallah, on two grounds. One, he is retiring in March 2017 and second, he is a disabled person as his right arm is amputated.
After hearing Advocate Rohit Verma appearing for the petitioner, Advocate Arshad Majid Malik appearing for private respondent Sunit Kumar ZEPO Sunderbani and AAG Ravinder Gupta appearing for School Education Department,
After hearing his counsel, Justice Thakur said the mere fact the petitioner 'is on the verge of retirement is not by itself a ground on which the courts can interfere in the transfer orders which are issued in the interest of administration'.
The counsel for Sunit Kumar, who replaced Chand as ZEPO, Sunderbani, submitted that the petitioner earlier got his transfer stayed by suppressing material facts from the notice of the court and did not inform it that he had already been relieved from the post of ZEPO, Sunderbani, and Sunit had already assumed the charge and had even been paid the salary for July 2016.
Expressing displeasure over the conduct of the petitioner, the judge referred to various judgments of the Supreme Court and held that the scope of judicial review in transfer matters was no longer res-integra. "It is settled law that a transfer order, unless shown to be a malafide exercise of power, in violation of a statutory provision or passed by an incompetent authority, is not open to interference by the court," he observed.
With these observations, Justice Thakur dismissed Chand's petition and also vacated the August 16, 2016 interim direction. |
