Karnataka High Court
Sri N Balakrishna vs The State Of Karnataka on 26 June, 2013
Bench: D.V.Shylendra Kumar, B.S.Indrakala
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BANGALORE
DATED THIS THE 26th DAY OF JUNE, 2013
PRESENT
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D. V. SHYLENDRA KUMAR
AND
THE HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE B.S. INDRAKALA
WRIT PETITION NO.27054/2013 (S-KAT)
BETWEEN:
Sri. N. Balakrishna,
S/o. Late Nagappa,
Aged about 59 years,
Municipal Commissioner,
KMAS (Selection Grade) Officer,
No.2217, 5th Main Road,
MCC A. Block, Davangere-577 001. ...PETITIONER
(By Sri. Nagarajappa, A. Advocate )
AND:
1. The State of Karnataka,
Represented by its Secretary,
Department of Urban Development,
K.G.S., M.S. Building,
Dr. Ambedkar Veedhi,
Bangalore-560 001.
2. Sri. H.N. Jayaprakash Narayan,
Age: Major,
Joint Director,
Commerce & Industries Department,
On deputation as
2
Project Director,
District Urban Development Cell,
Davanagere-577 001. ...RESPONDENTS
(By Smt. S. Susheela, AGA for R-1)
This Writ Petition is filed under Articles 226 and 227
of the Constitution of India praying to issue a writ of
certiorari quashing the impugned notification bearing No.
NaAaE 95 TME 2012 dated 30.05.2012 (Annexure-A3 in
Annexure-A) passed by the 1st Respondent in so far as the
petitioner and the 2nd respondent are concerned with a
further direction to the respondents to continue the
petitioner at Davangere as Municipal Commissioner,
Davangere-Harihar Development Authority with all
consequential benefits and the order passed by the
Tribunal in Application No. 2673/2012 C/w 5400/2013
dated 21.06.2013 vide Annexure-C.
This Writ Petition coming on for Preliminary Hearing
this day, Shylendra Kumar. J., made the following:
ORDER
Writ Petitioner who was before the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal questioning his order of transfer from the post of Municipal Commissioner, KMAS (Selection Grade) Officer, Davangere-Harihar Development Authority to the post of Project Director, District Urban Development Cell, Davangere by filing application No. 2673/2012 and the Tribunal declining to interfere with his transfer order 3 under the impugned order dated 21st June, 2013 is before this Court questioning this order.
2. Writ Petitioner had also filed application No. 5400/2012 before the Tribunal questioning the order dated 10.7.2012 upgrading the post to which the petitioner had been transferred to bring it on par with the post of Municipal Commissioner, Davangere-Harihar Development Authority etc. Writ Petitioner had questioned this order of upgradation also contending that the upgradation of the post is malafide; that it has been done only to ensure that the transfer order of the petitioner is not made in effective and it was only to ensure that the upgradation was made so that the petitioner's transfer order is made effective to accommodate the 2nd respondent, who was a non KMAS Officer and some how see that the writ petitioner was moved out of post of Municipal Commissioner, Davangere- Harihar Urban Development Authority, Davangere.
3. This order of upgradation had been made by the 1st respondent as per the directions contained in the 4 interim order passed in Application 2673/2012, to the effect that the petitioner should be given a posting equivalent to the post of a KMAS (Selection Grade) officer and that the transfer order is being stayed for a period of one month or till the post to which he was transferred was upgraded, whichever was earlier.
4. Though the post of Project Director to which the petitioner had been transferred was upgraded for a period of one year, petitioner did not report to duty, but instead challenged the order of upgradation as noticed above. The Tribunal noticing such developments and that the earlier interim order of stay of transfer passed in Application No.2673/2012 having come to an end after expiry of one month from the date of the order, further directed the petitioner to report to duty in the post of Project Director, District urban development cell, subject to the decision of the Tribunal in the main application. This interim order dated 05.11.2012 passed by the Tribunal in Application No.5400/2012, had been challenged by the petitioner by filing Writ Petition No. 50069/2012, before this court. 5
5. This Court finding no merit in this petition, dismissed this writ petition, noticing that as the 2nd respondent had already assumed charge as Municipal Commissioner Davanagere, it is not possible to put the petitioner back in this post, but observed that it is open to the petitioner to report or not to report in the upgraded post of Project Director, District Urban Development Cell, Davanagere.
6. It is thereafter the Tribunal had taken up both applications for disposal. The Tribunal declined to interfere with the transfer order dated 30.05.2012, after noticing that the petitioner was in the post ever since 03.12.2004, even by promoting him to the position of a KMAS (Selection Grade) Officer, when the post of Commissioner, Davanagere Urban Development Authority was upgraded to this position and retained in the same post and further a transfer order dated 01.10.2008, transferring him to Chitradurga Municipal Council as Commissioner, and the posting of one Hanumanthappa Joint Director of Co- operative Audit as Commissioner of Urban Development 6 Authority, Davanagere and a later transfer of petitioner as Project Director, Urban Development Cell, Chitradurga, had all been challenged by the petitioner by applications filed before the Tribunal and though all these applications came to be dismissed by the Tribunal, in the further writ petition before this Court in Writ Petition 15747/2011, and on a assurance given by the Government pleader on behalf of the State, that petitioner will be retained in Davanagere as Commissioner, Urban Development Authority the Writ Petition had been disposed of recording it and the petitioner retained in Davanagere. The Tribunal noticed that the Writ Petitioner cannot claim a vested interest in the post and that transfer is very much an incidence of service and a transfer order after more than 7 years in a place cannot be termed as an Illegal or bad order. In this view of the matter both applications came to dismissed as per the impugned common order dated. 21.06.2013. It is questioning this order the present writ petition.
7. Sri A. Nagarajappa, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submits that upgradation of the 7 post was as per the direction of the Tribunal which had no power or authority to do so and even otherwise, to the upgraded post some other official is working and therefore, the post is also not available.
8. It is also submitted that there are only few days left for the petitioner as he is due for retirement on 30th of June, 2013.
9. We notice that the petitioner had not been transferred out of Davangere District but was given another posting there itself. It is also not in dispute that the petitioner had worked for more than 6 years in the post of Municipal Commissioner, Davangere-Harihar Urban Development Authority, Davangere. In the circumstances, if the petitioner had been transferred, no exception can be taken and it is not necessary to go into all other aspects in a matter of this nature but it is only proper that on superannuation, the petitioner be secured with all his salary, if not paid earlier, and all other benefits are settled in a proper manner, if he is otherwise eligible and also paid 8 salary for the period when he had worked in the transferred posts by reporting to duty.
Writ Petition dismissed otherwise.
Sd/-
Judge Sd/-
Judge Nsu/-