Indian Kanoon - Search engine for Indian Law

3. According to the petitioner, his juniors and batch mates were promoted without WP(C).No.15274 OF 2020 considering the petitioner's seniority and eligibility. Ext.P2 order is causing great hardship and untold sufferings to the petitioner. The transfer order has been passed ignoring Ext.P8 order which states that Airports having Private-Public Participation (in short 'PPP') shall not make in and out transfer of its employees. The Trivandrum Airport being a PPP Airport, all employees working in the Airport will get an opportunity to join Private-Public Participation and work there. If Ext.P2 order is not set aside, it would affect the rights of the petitioner to carry on his profession. One employee was retained in the Thiruvananthapuram Airport, as per Ext.P9, citing that there was no replacement at PPP Airport. Therefore, there is discrimination in Ext.P2 order. The mother of the petitioner is a cancer patient and his father is a heart-patient. Hence, the transfer order may be recalled and the petitioner may be retained at Trivandrum Airport WP(C).No.15274 OF 2020 on compassionate grounds, as was conferred by Ext.P15 on another employee. The petitioner has also a grievance regarding his promotion and disciplinary proceedings.

5. Ext.R4(b) transfer policy categorises airports as 1 year/2 year/3 year station/general station based on the facilities available near to the airports. To avoid hardship faced by the employees in tenure stations, tenure seniority list was prepared, , to transfer the employees who have completed the above tenures to non-tenure stations. The Kalaburagi Airport in Karnataka State was operationalised only recently. As per the tenure seniority list, the petitioner is at Serial No.2 and has been transferred from Trivandrum Airport to Kalaburagi Airport. The petitioner had not submitted his option for transfer or to exempt him from transfer. Now the petitioner has represented to exempt him from the transfer, stating the medical grounds of his parents and that the Trivandrum Airport is a PPP Airport. The petitioner's representation was forwarded to the competent authority at the Regional Head WP(C).No.15274 OF 2020 Quarters for consideration.

6. The respondents have specifically contended that the Public Private Partnership of the Trivandrum Airport has nothing to do with the retention of an employee due forunder the category. As per Ex.P8, any employee due for tenure station can be transferred from Trivandrum Airport, provided with replacement to the station. Accordingly, one Shri.S.Sanjeev who has opted for transfer to Trivandrum Airport has been transferred from Calicut, as the petitioner's replacement. Similarly, many employees in the Fire Cadre were transferred in and out in six PPP Airports mentioned in Ext.P8, which is evident from Exts.P2 and P9 transfer orders. The petitioner has been relieved of his duties from Trivandrum Airport on 28.7.2020, as seen from Ext.R4(c). Hence, the writ petition may be dismissed.

12. The trump card of the petitioner's contention is that Ext.P2 transfer order has been passed in violation of clause (i) of Ext.P8 order which states that as far as possible, no transfer in and out of PPP Airports may be done in the Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Mangalore Airports for the cadres falling under Select Employees category. It is an undisputed fact that the respondents had WP(C).No.15274 OF 2020 invited options for transfer/exemption from employees for the year 2020 as per Ext.R4(a). The petitioner did not exercise his option or seek exemption from transfer. The petitioner has not challenged Ext.R4(b) transfer policy by which he is governed. On going through Ext.P2, it is seen that the petitioner has been transferred from Trivandrum Airport to Kalaburagi Airport along with other employees in replacement of employees at the respective Airports. Moreover, Ext.P2 is a general order of transfer, transferring ten fire officials under the Authority from different Airports to different Airports. The petitioner also does not dispute the fact that he has been working at Trivandrum Airport since 10.02.2006, as evidenced by Ext.R4(a) seniority list, i.e, for the last 14 years. The petitioner cannot aspire to continue to remain in Trivandrum Airport perpetually, in violation of the transfer norms of the respondents. WP(C).No.15274 OF 2020 It is also seen that the petitioner has been relieved from Thiruvananthapuram Airport on 28.7.2020 by Ext.R4(c).