Fair transfer policy and voluntary resignation principles barred an arbitrary transfer, summary rejection, and coerced exit from service.

Transfer guidelines for judicial officers must be applied fairly and non-arbitrarily; here, a mid-term transfer made immediately after an unverified complaint, contrary to the normal policy sequence and unsupported by record, was illegal and vitiated by malice in law. The summary rejection of the officer's representations for retention or alternate posting ignored relevant material, including family circumstances, and was therefore illegal and arbitrary. In the same factual setting, the resignation could not be treated as voluntary because it was the product of the illegal transfer and abrupt rejection of relief, so the resignation was not a free relinquishment of service. The administrative action and acceptance of resignation were unsustainable, and reinstatement with continuity of service followed, without back wages.

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Issues: (i) whether the transfer order dated 8 July 2014 was legal; (ii) whether the rejection of the representations dated 9 July 2014 and 11 July 2014 was legal; (iii) whether the resignation dated 15 July 2014 was voluntary or was compelled by the surrounding circumstances.

Issue (i): whether the transfer order dated 8 July 2014 was legal

Analysis: The transfer policy framed by the High Court was held to govern the administrative exercise of transfer, and a judicial officer had a legitimate expectation that the policy would be applied fairly. The material on record showed that the petitioner was not due for mid-term transfer on the regular transfer list, that the transfer was moved immediately after an unverified complaint, and that the normal policy sequence for transfers between categories was not followed. The Court also found that the stated administrative justification was not supported by the record.

Conclusion: The transfer order was illegal and vitiated by malice in law and arbitrariness.

Issue (ii): whether the rejection of the representations dated 9 July 2014 and 11 July 2014 was legal

Analysis: The transfer policy required consideration of a representation for retention or alternate posting on specified grounds, and the petitioner had sought both continued posting for a short period and, alternatively, posting at other permissible places. The representations were rejected summarily without following the contemplated procedure and without considering the relevant material, including the educational situation of the petitioner's daughter and the options for alternate posting. The Court held that relevant factors were ignored and irrelevant considerations were relied upon.

Conclusion: The rejection of both representations was illegal and arbitrary.

Issue (iii): whether the resignation dated 15 July 2014 was voluntary or was compelled by the surrounding circumstances

Analysis: The resignation had to be assessed in the background of the illegal transfer, the abrupt rejection of the representations, the petitioner's family circumstances, and the immediate sequence of events leading to acceptance of the resignation. The Court held that the resignation could not be viewed in isolation and that the language of the resignation reflected exasperation and a sense of having no practical alternative. On the facts found, the resignation was not a truly free and voluntary relinquishment of service.

Conclusion: The resignation was not voluntary.

Final Conclusion: The impugned administrative action and the acceptance of resignation could not be sustained, and the petitioner was entitled to reinstatement with continuity of service, though without back wages.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a public authority framed transfer guidelines for internal administration, those guidelines had to be applied fairly and non-arbitrarily; if a transfer, the rejection of representations, and the consequent resignation were all shown on the facts to arise from unfair and irrational administrative action, the resignation could not be treated as a voluntary severance of service.

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