Sambuddha Chakrabarti, J. - (1.) Heard the petitioner in person and Mr. Chanda, the learned Additional Solicitor General, for the respondents.
(2.) Mr. Chanda submits that he has appeared pursuant to the notice served upon him as his learned junior who was engaged in the matter declined to appear for reasons as disclosed to him. The petitioner is a DIG of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF, for short). On May 11, 2016 he has been transferred at Signal Range, CRPF, Kolkata. On April 11, 2018 the Director General, CRPF, i.e. the respondent no. 2 herein had issued a Summer Chain Transfer order of DIGs which included the name of the petitioner as serial no. 48. The petitioner has been directed to move from the Kolkata office to the office of the I.G., Odisha. This order of transfer so far as it affects the petitioner, is under challenge.
(3.) The petitioner relies on the Standing Order No. 7 of 2014 dated November 24, 2014 dealing with the transfer policy of Gazetted Officers (Executive) and Medical Officers. He has drawn my attention to Clause 2 (iii) of the said Standing Order which, inter alia provides that the normal tenure of posting for a DIG would be three years. No officer should be allowed to continue for more than a period of three years at a stretch except officers engaged in certain duties for whom the period of transfer may be stretched up to four years. The petitioner submits that since he is posted in Signals he may be retained in his present tenure of posting up to four years but should not be transferred before the completion of three years. He alleges that the order of transfer had been issued after completion of one year and eleven months in his present posting.;