- (1.) HEARD counsel for the parties.
(2.) THE petitioner has approached this Court seeking quashing of an order contained in Memo No. 1722 (23) dated 19th August 2013 (Annexure-6) whereby the transfer order passed by the Regional Deputy Director, Health Services, North Chhotanagpur Division, Hazaribagh (Respondent No. 5) in respect of the petitioner vide Memo No. 529 dated 13th December 2012, has been cancelled, on the ground that the Regional Deputy Director does not have the power to transfer the petitioner who is a Clerk Grade employee. The petitioner while posted at Primary Health Centre, Ichak, Hazaribagh as a Clerk, had made a representation for his transfer before the Regional Deputy Director, Health Services, North Chhotanagpur Division, Hazaribagh (Respondent No. 5). His wife also made a representation before the Hon'ble Chief Minister of the State taking grounds that her father-in-law and mother-in-law being old aged, are suffering from some illness. As such, her husband be posted at Hazaribagh itself (Annexure-2). Upon such representation, vide letter dated 19th September 2012 issued by the Senior Private Secretary to the Hon'ble Chief Minister, Regional Deputy Director, Health Services, North Chhotanagpur Division, Hazaribagh (Respondent No. 5) was requested to take proper action in accordance with the rules, in respect of the petitioner's representation. The Regional Deputy Director, Health Services, North Chhotanagpur Division, Hazaribagh (Respondent No. 5) thereafter transferred the petitioner from the post of Clerk at Primary Health Centre, Ichak, Hazaribagh to the post of Head Clerk in the office of Regional Deputy Director, Health Services, North Chhotanagpur Division, Hazaribagh. The order of transfer (Annexure-3) dated 13th December 2012 also refers to the communication dated 19th September 2012 received from the Senior Private Secretary to the Hon'ble Chief Minister. In such circumstances, the petitioner is said to have joined at his transferred place on the post of Head Clerk on 28th December 2012. This order of transfer has been annulled by the impugned order dated 19th August 2013 passed by the Director-in-Chief, Health Services, Government of Jharkhand on the ground that the Regional Deputy Director, Health Services does not have the power and jurisdiction to effect transfer of the incumbents in the cadre of Clerk with a note of caution to the respondent no. 5.
(3.) THE petitioner has also relied upon Annexure-7 being a resolution dated 24th May 2006 of Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare department wherein respective powers and responsibilities of different authorities like Regional Deputy Director, Health Services, Civil Surgeon-cum-Chief Medical Officer, Additional Chief Medical Officer, Dy. Superintendent of Sadar / Divisional Hospitals, In-charge Medical Officer, Referal Hospital / Community Health Centre and In-charge Medical Officer, Primary Health Centres have been delineated. A perusal of the said resolution itself indicates that the Civil Surgeon -cum-Chief Medical Officer of the concerned district has the power to transfer the employees within the district belonging to class-III and Class-IV post. The petitioner belongs to the grade of Class-III employee working on the substantive post of Clerk. In such circumstances, since the petitioner was posted on the substantive post of Clerk at Primary Health Centre, Ichak within the district of Hazaribagh, the power to transfer such Class-III and Class- IV employees has been conferred upon the Civil Surgeon-cum-Chief Medical Officer of the concerned district. In such circumstances, reliance upon such resolution at Annexure-7 placed by the petitioner to defend the order of transfer issued by the respondent no. 5 - Regional Deputy Director, Health Services, North Chhotanagpur Division, Hazaribagh is misplaced. Learned counsel for the petitioner has relied upon the judgment rendered in the case of Ram Prasad Mahto & others vs. the State of Jharkhand & others [2003 (1) JLJR 427] in support of his contention that since the order of transfer has taken effect, the same cannot be annulled by subsequent order as issued by the Director-in-Chief, Health Services.;