- (1.) HEARD the parties.
(2.) THE petitioners have prayed for quashing office order No. PERS (SJ/94 -6135 dated 22 -7 -94 whereby they have been transferred from Vigilance Department to Security Department of the respondents Steel Authority of India Ltd. The grievance of the petitioner is that the action of the respondent transferring the petitioners from Vigilance Department to Security Department without adopting any policy decision or guidelines for such transfer is arbitrary, illegal and improper.
(3.) MR . A. R. Sarangi, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners assailed the impugned order mainly on the ground that transfer of the employees of an establishment from one cadre to another cadre in absence of any service condition and thereby changing the cadre is not permissible in law. It is further contended that the respondents have adopted a 'pick and choose ' method in transferring the petitioners from one cadre to another cadre. In this connection, learned counsel relied upon a decision of the Single Judge of the Patna High Court in the case of Ganesh Chandra Jha v. S. R. Prasad, 1992 (1) Pat LJR 165 : 1992 Lab IC 780 and a decision reported in 1993 (1) Pat LJR 89. Firstly I would like to discuss the ratio decided in the case of Ganesh Chandra Jha, 1992 Lab IC 780 (supra). In that case the petitioners who were working in the Instruction and Progress Department were directed to be transferred and posted to the Inspection Wing of Research and Control Regulatory Department and some of the petitioners were transferred from Inspection and Progress Department to Internal Audit Department. Learned Single Judge found that by virtue of the aforesaid transfer the petitioners not only would lose their lien but also lose their seniority and their chances of promotion in the executive grade. Learned Judge further found that the respondents without evolving a policy decision reserving the seniority and future promotion have acted arbitrarily by transferring the petitioners from one cadre to another cadre. In such a situation the learned Judge held that such transfers are not permissible in law.;