wp4622.11.odt 1/4 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR. WRIT PETN. NO.4622/2011 Suresh Laxmanrao Sonkusre -vs- Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran Nagpur and another ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Office notes, Office Memoranda of Coram, appearances, Court's orders Court's or Judge's Orders. or directions and Registrar's orders. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shri V.P.Marpakwar, counsel for the petitioner. Shri Kakani, counsel for the respondent No.1. CORAM : SMT. VASANTI A. NAIK, J. DATE : 22.12.2011. By this petition, the petitioner impugns an order passed by the Industrial Court, Nagpur on 16/07/2011 rejecting an application filed by the petitioner for grant of interim relief under Section 30 (2) of the Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions & Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971 for staying his transfer from Wardha to Gondia. The petitioner, a Sectional Engineer, was posted by the respondent at Wardha. It is the case of the petitioner that one Shri Dhok was at the relevant time posted at Nagpur. The petitioner as also Shri Dhok made a joint request so that the petitioner may be transferred from Wardha to Nagpur and Shri Dhok may be transferred from Nagpur to Wardha. It is the case of the petitioner that the joint request of the petitioner and Shri Dhok, dated 20/04/2011 was partly accepted by the respondent No.1 and Shri Dhok was transferred from Nagpur to Wardha. wp4622.11.odt 2/4 However, according to the petitioner, the respondent No.1 with a view to accommodate the respondent No.2, who was desirous of getting transferred from Gondia to Nagpur transferred respondent No.2 to Nagpur and instead the petitioner was transferred from Wardha to Gondia. The petitioner pleaded that the transfer of the petitioner from Wardha to Gondia was made only with a view to accommodate the respondent No.2. It was also the case of the petitioner that when the petitioner and Shri Dhok had made a joint request, the joint request ought to have been completely accepted and not accepted in part, thereby transferring only Shri Dhok from Nagpur to Wardha. The respondent No.1 raised several objections before the Industrial Court and sought for the rejection of the application for grant of interim relief. The Industrial Court, by the impugned order dated 16/07/2011 rejected the application filed by the petitioner. It is canvassed before this Court by the learned counsel for the petitioner that apart from the aforesaid submissions, which were raised before the Industrial Court, it is pertinent to note that there are various vacancies in the posts of Sectional Engineers at Nagpur and the respondent should accommodate the petitioner on one of those posts. Shri Kakani, the learned counsel for the respondent No.1, however, disputes this position and states on the basis of the written instructions received by him that there is no post of sectional engineer vacant at Nagpur. wp4622.11.odt 3/4 However, it is submitted on behalf of the petitioner that the respondent No.1 has taken instructions in regard to the vacancy only in respect of the Urban and Rural Construction Division and has not considered the vacancies in the Water Management Division and the Project Management Consultant Division. It is the case of the petitioner that there is one post vacant in Sub-Division No.3 of the Water Management Division and two posts vacant in the Sub-Division No.4 of the Water Management Department. It is submitted on behalf of the petitioner that there is vacancy in the Project Management Consultant Division also. The petitioner has not made out a case for grant of stay to the impugned transfer order dated 31/05/2011 as it is brought to the notice of this Court by the learned counsel for the respondent No.1 that the respondent No.2 was working in the Naxalite Division of Gondia for a long time and the respondent No.2 was due for transfer. In this background, the request of the respondent No.2 for being transferred to Nagpur was accepted by the respondent No.1. In such circumstances, it cannot be said that the transfer of the respondent No.2 to Nagpur or the transfer of the petitioner from Wardha to Gondia was mala fide. The Industrial Court has rightly rejected the application filed by the petitioner for staying the impugned transfer order dated 31/05/2011. However, considering the fact that the petitioner's mother is bedridden and the wife of the petitioner is presently wp4622.11.odt 4/4 transferred to Nagpur, the respondent No.1 should sympathetically consider the request of the petitioner for being transferred to Nagpur in case there are vacancies in Sub- Division Nos.3 and 4 of the Water Management Division or if there is other vacancy in the Project Management Consultant Division. With these observations, the writ petition is disposed of with no order as to costs. JUDGE KHUNTE