Punitive transfer and mala fide action can invalidate an order when misconduct is used without disciplinary proceedings.

A transfer order may be struck down where it is shown to be punitive in substance and motivated by mala fides rather than genuine administrative exigency. Here, the employees were shifted before completing the prescribed tenure, after allegations of misconduct and intervention by a superior officer, yet no disciplinary or vigilance proceedings were initiated. The tribunal treated the transfer as a substitute for punishment, found it vulnerable on the record, and quashed the order. It also restored the employees to their original posting and directed that they be permitted to rejoin at the Bhopal Zone.

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Issues: Whether the transfer order was liable to be quashed as a punitive transfer made on mala fide considerations without disciplinary proceedings.

Analysis: The applicants were transferred before completion of the minimum tenure prescribed for the station. The material on record showed that the transfer was preceded by allegations of misconduct and by correspondence recommending transfer, but no departmental proceeding or vigilance inquiry was initiated. The record also indicated that the transfer followed direct intervention by a superior officer in a dispute involving installation of machinery, and the impugned order was passed in the guise of administrative exigency despite the allegations being treated as a basis for punitive action. An order of transfer ordinarily falls within administrative discretion, but it becomes vulnerable where it is shown to be mala fide or imposed in lieu of punishment.

Conclusion: The transfer order was held to be punitive and mala fide, and was quashed.

Final Conclusion: The applicants were entitled to continue at the original posting, and the respondents were directed to permit them to rejoin at Bhopal Zone.

Ratio Decidendi: A transfer order passed on allegations of misconduct, without instituting disciplinary or vigilance proceedings, and used as a substitute for punishment, is liable to be set aside if mala fides are established.

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