IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.N.RAVINDRAN FRIDAY, THE 30TH APRIL 2010 / 10TH VAISAKHA 1932 WP(C).No. 14023 of 2010(C) -------------------------- PETITIONER: -------------- P.K.SHAMLA BEEVI(SHALU BAIJU), W/O.S.BAIJU,AGED 34 YEARS,HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHER(MATHS),GOVERNMENT HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL, PALLICKAL (VIA), KILIMANOOR,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. BY ADV. SRI.V.A.MUHAMMED SRI.K.E.HAMZA SRI.M.SAJJAD RESPONDENTS: ----------------- 1. THE STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT,GENERAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. 2. THE DIRECTOR OF HIGHER SECONDARY EDUCATION, HOUSING BOARD BUILDINGS,SANTHI NAGAR, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. BY GOVT. PLEADER, SRI. ANTONY MUKKATH THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 30/04/2010, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: P.N. RAVINDRAN, J. - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - W.P.(C) No. 14023 OF 2010 - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dated this the 30th day of April, 2010 JUDGMENT The petitioner who is presently working as Higher Secondary School Teacher(Mathematics) in Government Higher Secondary School, Pallickal, Thiruvananthapuram has filed this writ petition seeking a direction to the Director of Higher Secondary Education to transfer and post her in any one of the stations of her choice. She has also prayed for a direction to the Director of Higher Secondary Education to consider and pass appropriate orders on Ext.P3 application for transfer after affording her an opportunity of being heard. 2. The pleadings disclose that seeking transfer during the general transfer for the current year, the petitioner has filed Ext.P3 application for transfer and that the said application was forwarded by the Principal of the Higher Secondary School where she is working, to the Director of Higher Secondary along with the transfer applications of two other teachers. The guidelines governing transfer and posting of Government employees do not W.P.C.No. 14023 OF 2010 -:2:- confer on the petitioner or any other government servant the right to be heard in person before orders are passed on applications for transfer. It is for the transferring authority to decide whether the application of the petitioner should be granted or not, having regard to the exigencies of service and the claims of other applicants. This Court cannot even before the transferring authority takes a decision in the matter issue a direction to that authority to post the petitioner to a station of her choice. The transferring authority is the best judge of the situation and this Court exercising jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India cannot assess the niceties of the situation and the administrative exigencies and substitute its decision in the place of the decision of the transferring authority. The transferring authority has to take into the account the claims of others who are also entitled to have their applications for transfer considered. In a given case, the competing claims for posting in a particular station will have to be considered by the transferring authority. This Court cannot therefore interfere at this stage and issue an order directing the 2nd respondent to post W.P.C.No. 14023 OF 2010 -:3:- the petitioner to any one of the stations mentioned in Ext.P3 application. The remedy of the petitioner if she is aggrieved by the order of transfer or denial of her request for transfer is to challenge the same in other appropriate proceedings, with proper persons on the party array. This writ petition is, in my opinion, an abuse of the process of this Court. Such attempts to unnecessarily invoke the jurisdiction of this Court, should in my opinion be discouraged. I accordingly hold that there is no merit in the writ petition. The writ petition fails and is dismissed with costs Rs.1,000/- (Rupees one thousand only) which the Director of Higher Secondary Education shall recover from the salary of the petitioner and remit with the Kerala High Court Legal Services Committee within one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment. The registry is directed to communicate a copy of this judgment to the second respondent. P.N. RAVINDRAN, JUDGE. ttb W.P.C.No. 14023 OF 2010 -:4:-