IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.11414 of 2010 1. RAM CHANDRA MISHRA @ R.C.MISHRA S/O LATE HARI NANDAN MISHRA POSTED AS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, BHAGALPUR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, BHAGALPUR, R/O QUARTER NO. O/2, BHAGALPUR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING CAMPUS, P.O.+P.S.- SABOUR, DISTT.- BHAGALPUR 2. DHIRENDRA PRASAD KUMAR @ D.P.KUMAR S/O LATE BASUDEO KUMAR ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, BHAGALPUR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, BHAGALPUR, R/O QUARTER NO. 1, BHAGALPUR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING CAMPUS, P.O.+P.S.- SABOUR, DISTT.- BHAGALPUR Versus 1. THE STATE OF BIHAR 2. THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, GOVT. OF BIHAR, PATNA 3. THE DEPUTY SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, GOVT. OF BIHAR, PATNA 4. THE DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, GOVT. OF BIHAR, PATNA 5. THE PRINCIPAL, BHAGALPUR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, BHAGALPUR ----------- 03. 09.09.2010 Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned counsel for the State. The two petitioners are aggrieved by the order dated 30.6.2010. It transfers their services from the Bhagalpur College of Engineering at Bhagalpur to the Magadh College of Engineering at Gaya (also note as Gaya Engineering College, Gaya). The petitioners hold the post of Assistant Professor at the Bhagalpur Engineering College in their 2 respective departments. Learned counsel for the petitioners sought to persuade this Court that there was no justification for their transfer which would deplete the strength at Bhagalpur, when the strength at Bhagalpur in the Department itself was not fully in accordance with sanction strength. Learned counsel for the State submitted that the Gaya Engineering college has been started afresh and in absence of any personnel there in the present discipline it will be impossible to run the college. Transfer and posting inclusive of deployment of percentage of personnel at two places to keep the system working is the prerogative of the administrator which this Court declines to interfere. These pertain to policy matters. The next submission of the petitioners is that, if they joined the Gaya College of Engineering, they shall be required to work under persons junior to them designated as O.S.D. Counter affidavit has been filed by the Deputy Director (Planning), Department of Science & Technology, Bihat at Patna. Learned counsel for the State, from paragraph-12 submits that no sooner that the petitioners joined their place of posting, the senior 3 most Lecturers will be considered for the post of O.S.D. That virtually tantamount to admitting the claim of the petitioners that they are being transferred to work under juniors. This is further fortified by the fact that the specific assertion of the petitioners to that effect in paragraph-14 of the writ application has not been denied in the counter affidavit. The fact therefore stands admitted. Transferring a person and posting him under juniors is per se evidence of arbitrariness. It affects the morale of the persons so asked to work under his junior. It may be demeaning and humiliating which would ultimately affect his performance. The inevitable result would be a useless and meaningless transfer, as the transferee would either refuse to work or work in a manner with no output at all. This Court, therefore, finds it difficult to sustain the orders of transfer dated 30.6.2010 in their present form. This Court has not interfered with the transfer of the petitioners on merits. That is for the administrator to decide, but while exercising that power the administrator cannot act arbitrarily. If the seniority of the petitioners at the Gaya College of Engineering is restored, the order dated 30.6.2010 4 may require no interference. The writ application is allowed in part. P.K. ( Navin Sinha, J.)