- (1.) This judgment will dispose of Civil Writ Petition No. 6174 of 1993 and Civil Writ Petition No. 16191 of 1993.
(2.) The petitioner Mr. I.M. Sharma, who is Zonal Manager of UCO Bank which is wholly owned by the Government of India, was posted at Chandigarh after his transfee from Bangalore in June, 1991. Earlier he was transferred from Jaipur to Bangalore in May, 1990. As per policy circular issued by the respondent-Bank vide Circular No. CHO/POS/17/78 dated 30th May, 1988 governing the transfers of the officers, ordinarily no officer was to be transferred from his place of posting before the expiry of three years from the date of his posting except in difficult centres where the stay was not to be more than two years. After his transfer to Chandigarh the petitioner expected to complete the normal tenure of three years in terns of policy circular referred above, but he was again ordered to be transferred and sent on deputation to the Jaipur-Nagaur Aanchalik Gramin Bank, Jaipur (hereinafter referred to as the Gramin Bank) as Chairman of that bank without his consent vide order dated 11.5.1993 copy of which is Annexure P/1. Gramin Bank is a body corporate having perpetual succession and common seal and an independent entity having its own cadre. In terms of Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976, the sponsor banks were under obligation to provide managerial and financial assistance to the Gramin Bank for a period of five years from 1976. The petitioner alleged that obligation on the sponsor banks did not authorise the banks to send their officers to the Gramin Bank against their consent on deputation. He was neither senior most nor the junior most officer in his cadre and a pick and choose policy was adopted and no criteria was followed for sponsoring the officers on deputation. Since the transfer of the petitioner on deputation was against settled law that one could not be sent on deputation outside his cadre against his consent and this being his third transfer during the last three years and being violative of the policy guidelines the petitioner made representations on 20.5.1993 (Copy annexure P/2) and 25.5.1993 (copy annexure P/5). These were rejected vide orders Annexures P/3 and P/6 respectively. On these allegations the petitioner filed this writ petition for quashing the impugned orders dated 11.5.1993 Annexure P/l whereby he was sought to be sent on deputation as Chairman of the Gramin Bank, Jaipur, without his consent and also for quashing the orders Annexures P/3 and P/6 whereby his representations against the order Annexure P/l were rejected.
(3.) In the written statement reliance was placed on staff circular Annexure P/11 to show that even under the Deputation Rules consent for transfer/appointment was not required as his transfer who in pursuance to the statutory obligation cast on the respondents. Thereafter the petitioner moved an application for amendment of the writ petition which was allowed. By way of amended writ petition he assailed the circular Annexure P/11. It was averred that staff circular No. 16/82 dated 23.2.1982 Annexure P/11 was not sustainable in law. It was ultra vires of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, as it made provision for sending the officers on deputation outside their cadre without their consent. The petitioner also raised an additional plea that his transfer was malafide as prior to his joining as Zonal Manager at Chandigarh one Shri MS. Aulakh was the Zonal manager and his son-in-law Shri K.S. Tivana worked as Senior Manager of Sector 22-D branch of the Bank. He had detected a number of cases involving fraud and irregularities when Shri M.S. Aulakh was the head of Chandigarh Zone, regarding which he reported to his senior officers had suggested various remedial measures to safe-guard the interests of the bank. Shri K.S. Tiwana was the Vice-President of the UCO Bank Officers Association, Chandigarh. Respondent No. 2 adopted a pick and choose policy and without adopting any criteria, succumbed to the pressure of Shri Aulakh and Shri Tiwana through the General Secretary of the Central body of the Association who was one of the Directors on the Board of the Bank and, thus, he was transferred as Chairman of the Gramin Bank without his consent.;