In the absence of any administrative requirement or exigencies, any transfer order issued in such situation and terming the same as being issued on the ruse of administrative requirement, may have to ultimately pass the test of

[12/11, 17:02] Sekarreporter1: ☘️
[12/11, 17:02] Sekarreporter1: In the absence of any administrative requirement or exigencies, any transfer order issued in such situation and terming the same as being issued on the ruse of administrative requirement, may have to ultimately pass the test of judicial review. Merely because the transfer order is couched in such hackneyed, oft repeated and routine administrative terminology, unless the reason setforth in the transfer order when questioned, is established factually to the satisfaction of this Court, a ritualistic and cliched expression “administrative reasons” in the transfer order, cannot be taken at its face value and the relief refused to the affected individuals. In this case, though the petitioner failed in other fronts of attack, ultimately, this Court finds that the transfer of the petitioner is not based on administrative requirement, but, for an extraneous reason and therefore, the transfer order is liable to be set aside only on that ground. As stated above, this Court perused the relevant files and did not discover a modicum of material supporting the respondent’s plea of administrative requirement for transferring the petitioner to Tiruvannamalai. It is well within the power of the Court to pierce the veil of the fig leaf behind the transfer order and to hold that the impugned action of the respondent authority stemmed from a colourful exercise of power on his part and hence, liable to be interfered solely on the well established legal premise namely the transfer is hit by malice in law.

34. Having concluded as above, this Court has to see what relief the petitioner herein is entitled to. The petitioner herein has not chosen to implead the Officer who was appointed in her place in Chennai and therefore, this Court is not inclined to set aside the entire order, detrimental to the interest of the other Officer. In the above said circumstances, the transfer order dated 25.08.2020 in proceedings No.192/AO.1/2020 of the respondent is hereby set aside, insofar as the petitioner is concerned.

The respondent is directed to post the petitioner in any of the vacancies in Chennai and if not available, post her in and around Chennai, particularly, on consideration of the petitioner’s status as being a single woman having two grown up daughters studying in Chennai.