TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2020 (4) TMI 771
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....rking as Superintendent of Customs, posted under jurisdiction of the North Eastern Region Customs Preventive Commissionerate in the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Shillong Division at Shillong. The North Eastern Region of Customs and CGST is headed by the Chief Commissioner, Guwahati comprising of eight Commissionerates including one at Itanagar and Shillong. The Chief Commissioner has the power and authority to transfer the subordinate officers including thereof cadre of Group B gazetted officers, from one Commissionerate to another, following the transparent transfer policy, formulated and practiced over the years in the official web page of the Department. The said policy is contained in the New Transfer Policy dated 05.03.2015 and the Old Transfer Policy dated 18.12.2007. The Transfer Policy dated 05.03.2015 in para 4 provides for exercise transfer to be completed by 31st October every year and issuing posting order by the 15th December every year. It was contended that transfer of 94 Superintendents could have been issued only in the beginning of the year as per the Transfer Policy and not in the middle of the year. Unlike any other Zone in India, due to pecu....
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...., also directed the Department to accommodate the respondent by adjusting him either in Shillong or in any place nearer to his home town, subject to availability of vacancy. 6. We have heard Dr. N. Mozika, learned Senior counsel appearing for the petitioners and Mr. N. Dasgupta, learned counsel appearing for the respondent. 7. Dr. N. Mozika, learned Senior counsel submitted that the order of transfer dated 14.08.2019 has been issued by the Department is an Annual General Transfer order, which was overdue for quite some time. The exercise could not be undertaken earlier due to pendency of WP(C) No. 58 of 2019 before this Court wherein the notification No. 13/2017 Central Excise (N.T.) dated 09.06.2017 and the Circular No. C No. II (39)04/ET/CCO/SH/2019 dated 20.02.2019, shifting the office of the Chief Commissioner from Shillong to Guwahati, were challenged. The shifting of the office could be completed only after dismissal of the above writ petition by this Court in the month of July 2019. The Annual General Transfers were long overdue as many officers had already retired. The respondent has been enjoying home posting in Shillong or nearby Shillong areas for about 30 years fo....
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....9. Relying on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Assistant Commissioner, Income Tax, Rajkot v. Saurashtra Kutch Stock Exchange Ltd.: (2008) 14 SCC 171, learned counsel argued that a writ of certiorari can be issued for correcting only errors of jurisdiction committed by the inferior tribunals. The Supreme Court in Shri Ambica Mills Co. Ltd. v. S.B. Bhatt and Ors. : AIR 1961 SC 970 and many other judgments held that the error that can be corrected by a writ of certiorari, must be self-evident and not need an elaborated examination of record. It is further argued that the Tribunal is a creature of a Statute under Article 323-A of the Constitution of India and therefore, would have the same jurisdiction which a civil court possesses. Learned counsel relying on the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Radhey Shyam & Anr. vs. Chhabi Nath & Ors in Civil Appeal No. 2548 of 2009, Laws (SC) - 2015-2-87, argued that judicial orders of civil court are not amenable to writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Therefore, the present writ petition is not maintainable. 10. Learned counsel invited attention of the Court towards 18 other officers listed in para ....
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....ft with 2 years or less service should normally be considered for being given a choice posting, would therefore not be attracted to the case of the respondent. 13. It may be significant to note here that the exercise of transfer in the present matter was undertaken with somewhat delay due to pendency of WP(C) No. 58 of 2019 before this Court in which the notification dated 09.06.2017 and circular dated 20.02.2019, shifting the office of the Chief Commissioner from Shillong to Guwahati, was under challenge. That matter was decided by this Court in the month of July 2019. The transfer was made in the administrative exigency of service is evident from that fact that transfer order was not passed in respect of the respondent alone but as many as 94 officers were transferred by this common order. 14. In view of the law enunciated by the Supreme Court by catena of judicial pronouncements, the power of judicial review even in the matter of transfer, can be exercised by the High Court or the Tribunal within the defined parameters. We may in this connection cite the decided case law of the Supreme Court as to what are the limitations on the scope of interference of the Supreme Court i....
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....s also an employee of the Central Government and posted in Shillong, and that as per the guidelines issued by the Government of India, husband and wife should be kept both in the same place. Repelling the argument, the Supreme Court in para 6 to 8 of the said judgment is held as under:- "6. An order of transfer is an incident of Government service. Fundamental Rule 11 says that "the whole time of a Government servant is at the disposal of the Government which pays him and he may be employed in any manner required by proper authority". Fundamental Rule 15 says that "the President may transfer a Government servant from one post to another." That the respondent is liable to transfer anywhere in India is not in dispute. It is not the case of the respondent that the order of his transfer is vitiated by mala fides on the part of the authority making the order, - though the Tribunal does say so merely because certain guidelines issued by the Central Government are not followed, with which finding we shall deal later. The respondent attributed "mischief" to his immediate superior who had nothing to do with his transfer. All he says is that he should not be transferred because h....