Short-term internal assignment not a fresh posting, rules Uttarakhand HC

Dehradun: Uttarakhand high court, while hearing a service petition challenging a transfer order issued to a forest department employee, held that “a short-term internal assignment or local administrative arrangement within a division cannot be treated as a fresh posting”.

“The department is fully competent to transfer its employees in accordance with administrative exigencies and public interest,” the court observed while dismissing a petition filed by Santosh Kumar Pandey, a long-serving govt employee.Pandey had sought quashing of a June 4, 2026 transfer order shifting him from Tarai Purvi Van Prabhag, Haldwani, to Haldwani Van Prabhag. The petitioner argued that the transfer was “arbitrary and ignored his exemplary service record”.

His counsel contended that the order had been passed mechanically and failed to consider Pandey’s commitment to service and the fact that he had been posted at his home station only a few months earlier.The state, however, defended the transfer as a routine administrative decision taken under the annual transfer policy. It submitted that Pandey had served within the same division for more than 17 consecutive years, making him eligible for transfer.

The govt further argued that “temporary assignments or administrative arrangements during his tenure could not be counted as fresh postings to avoid transfer”.Justice Pankaj Purohit, in his June 17 order, underscored that “transfer is a common aspect of public service and that govt employees do not possess an inherent right to remain posted at a particular place indefinitely.” The court emphasised that its role in reviewing such decisions is limited and is warranted only in exceptional circumstances, such as cases involving mala fides or violations of statutory provisions.Finding no legal infirmity, mala fides, or violation of statutory provisions in the transfer order, the court dismissed the petition. It reiterated that “administrative decisions, when lawfully taken, are generally beyond the scope of judicial interference unless supported by substantial legal grounds”.