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Judgment
Deepak Gupta
The petitioner who is an Associate Professor (Botany), by means of this petition has challenged his transfer from Government College, Nalagarh, District Solan to Government College Nerwa, District Chopal. The petitioner has served at Nalagarh for many years. He was initially posted at Nalagarh in June, 1994 and served there till July, 2000. Thereafter, he was posted at Government College, Solan, where he served w.e.f. October, 2000 to May, 2003. Since then, he continued to work at Nalagarh. The main grievance of the petitioner is that he has been awarded Research Project by the University Grants Commission for the study of Orchid Diversity in Himachal Pradesh with a particular reference to Kasauli Hills, District Solan, H.P. His submission is that since this project has been granted to him and if he is transferred from Nalagarh to Nerwa, the Project will put in jeopardy and the huge amount spent on this project may go waste.
According to the reply filed by the State, this Project was not awarded to the petitioner on the recommendations of the State. If an employee chooses to get a Project which is specifically related to a particular area, this cannot mean that the employee should not be transferred from that area. In case this contention is accepted, any employee can submit applications for grant of a project, which is relatable to a particular area and once the project is granted, he can claim that he should be only posted in that particular area.
Transfer is an incidence of service. The employer is the best judge to decide where an employee should be posted. We are aware that since Nerwa is a remote area, no lecturer belonging to any other part of the State is willing to serve there. We have to balance, on the one hand, the needs of the petitioner and on the other hand, we are not unaware of the requirements of the students of Nerwa, who, if deprived of the services of a Botany teacher, will have to come to Shimla to study. The petitioner has served in Solan District for almost 18 years and he cannot claim as a matter of right that he should be permanently posted there. Therefore, we find no merit in this petition and the same is dismissed. We may, however, clarify that in case the petitioner after joining at Nerwa makes a representation to the employer keeping in view the project and points out places near Kasauli Hills, where the posts of Botany Professors are lying vacant, he may be adjusted, then the dismissal of the petition will not come in the way of the employer taking a pragmatic approach in this regard. No order as to costs.
Copy dasti.