Uttarakhand High CourtWPSS/1787/2022 on 14 March, 2023Author:Manoj Kumar TiwariBench:Manoj Kumar TiwariOffice Notes,\n             reports, orders or\nSL.           proceedings or\n      Date                                           COURT'S OR JUDGES'S ORDERS\nNo             directions and\n             Registrar's order\n              with Signatures\n                                  WPSS No. 1787 of 2022\n                                  Hon'ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.No representation for the petitioner.\n                                           Mr. Atul Bahuguna, learned Brief Holder for the\n                                  State/respondents.Petitioner is serving as Assistant Teacher (L.T.)\n                                  Grade in a Government School. She was transferred\n                                  from one school to another. Challenging her transfer,\n                                  she filed Writ Petition No. (SS) 1341 of 2022, which\n                                  was disposed of by permitting her to make a\n                                  representation to the Additional Director and the\n                                  Additional Director was directed to take decision on the\n                                  representation          within   four   weeks.   Petitioner's\n                                  representation has now been rejected by Additional\n                                  Director vide order dated 16.08.2022. Thus, feeling\n                                  aggrieved, petitioner approached this Court challenging\n                                  the order dated 16.08.2022.Perusal of the impugned order reveals that\n                                  petitioner claimed exemption from compulsory transfer\n                                  on the ground that she is a divorcee. Additional\n                                  Director declined to accede to petitioner's request for\n                                  exemption from compulsory transfer on the ground that\n                                  her name is within 15 percent of teachers, who come\n                                  within zone of compulsory transfer as she has served\n                                  for more than 19 years at sugam places.This Court does not find any reason to interfere\n                                  with the impugned order dated 16.08.2022. A\n                                  government servant, who has served at sugam places\n                                  for long period of time, cannot claim exemption from\n                                  compulsory transfer merely because she is a divorcee.\n Even otherwise also, it is an admitted petition that\npetitioner filed petitionu/s 13(B)of Hindu Marriage\nAct with her husband, which was decreed, therefore,\nshe was also interested in severing the relationship with\nher husband.Although,Section 13(6)of the Uttarakhand\nPublic Servant Annual Transfer Act, 2017, enables a\nwidow or divorcee to make request for transfer to a\nplace of her choice, however,Section 17(1)(b)(iv)lays\ndown the order of preference in which such request has\nto be considered. As per scheme ofSection 17(1)(b),\nseriously ill/disabled employees have the first right of\nmaking request for transfer, followed by parents of\nmentally retarded and helpless children. Thereafter\ncomes the right of parents of disabled children and then\ncomes the right of government servants, whose spouse\nis also serving under the State. Divorcee's claim comes\nafter the aforesaid category.Thus, there is no indefeasible right of transfer to\na place of his/her choice created in favour of divorcee\nunder theTransfer Act. The reason assigned for\nrejecting petitioner's representation, therefore, do not\nsuffer from any manifest error, which may warrant\ninterference underArticle 226of the Constitution of\nIndia.Accordingly, the writ petition fails and is\ndismissed.(Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.)\n                                     14.03.2023\nPR/PN