IAS officer's transfer, suspension orders quashed
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, January 03 2025: In a landmark ruling, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Guwahati Bench, quashed the transfer and suspension orders of IAS officer Ng Roben Singh.

The orders, issued by the government of Manipur, were deemed to violate statutory provisions governing the IAS cadre rules.

The tribunal, comprising judicial member Rajnish Kumar Rai and administrative member ML Srivastava, heard two applications.

Roben, aggrieved by an order dated August 2, 2023 transferring him from the "present place of posting" as Joint Secretary (Co-operation/ RD & PR), to deputy commissioner, Jiribam, and subsequent suspension order dated August 22, 2023, challenged the decisions, alleging frequent transfers and procedural irregularities.

During the hearing, Roben highlighted that he had been transferred 30 times in his 17-year career, including eight times after promotion to IAS in 2019 .

He argued that these frequent relocations violated Rule 7 of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Amendment Rules, 2014, which stipulate minimum tenure of two years for cadre officers, barring specific exceptions.

The tribunal found that the Manipur government failed to secure the mandatory recommendation from the Civil Services Board before issuing the transfer order.

It observed that Roben's average tenure at postings had been seven months, contrary to the Supreme Court's directives in the TSR Subramanian vs.

Union of India, which emphasised the importance of fixed tenure for effective governance.

On the suspension issue, the tribunal noted procedural lapses.

Although the suspension had been extended with the government of India's concurrence, it was unclear whether the Central Ministry's Review Committee's recommendations, as required under the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, had been obtained.

The tribunal ruled both the transfer and suspension orders "ultra vires" and quashed them, underscoring that arbitrary transfers and frequent disruptions hinder public administration and contravene the principles of good governance.

In its ruling, the bench further reaffirmed the need for adherence to statutory rules and judicial directives to ensure fairness and transparency in civil service management.

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