Brief Facts
In the case of Reena Sohphoh v. Union of India, a civil writ suit against her transfer order was submitted by a Military Engineer Services employee on the basis that she had two small children. In the current case, the petitioner, a member of the Military Engineer Services, resisted being transferred because she is a parent to two young children, ages roughly 6 and 4. The petitioner argued that because her husband frequently travelled for work, she should be allowed to appeal her transfer order. She also claimed that once her children reached the ages of 8 and 6, two years later, she would feel more comfortable leaving them behind and accepting any posting that might be provided as part of her transfer to the military.
Analysis of Court order
The case was denied by the Division Judge bench of the Meghalaya High Court Justices Sanjib Banerjee and W. Diengdoh, who ruled that the petition lacked substance and that there were no convincing reasons to challenge the transfer decision.
According to the Court, it did not appear from the policies controlling the petitioner’s employment that an employee had any discretion to object to a transfer on the grounds that she was the mother of young children. Further, the Court noted that in the contested order dated 12-05-2023, the Central Administrative Tribunal had taken into account pertinent factors and had cited several Supreme Court decisions that state that courts should not interfere with routine transfers that are required for administrative purposes. The Court further stated that it is quite unusual for it to consider a request to stop or obstruct a transfer unless there is clear evidence of malice in fact and grave prejudice. The Court concluded that the petition had no validity since the petitioner had presented no convincing arguments to contest the transfer order and had known the entire time that her position was transferrable. Consequently, the petition was rejected by the court.
CASE NAME – Reena Sohphoh v. Union of India, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 193/2023