Indore, The Madhya Pradesh High Court’s Indore bench has dismissed a state government employee’s petition alleging he was transferred because of political malice and being a Muslim, noting that accepting unsubstantiated allegations would lead to the failure of state machinery.
Observing that the employee’s desperate attempt to stall his transfer by alleging religious bias was “highly deprecated”, Justice Subodh Abhyankar said such practice has to be discouraged at the threshold.
The bench noted that if such unsubstantiated allegations are entertained at their face value, it would lead to a serious breach in executing administrative orders.
The petitioner, Naseem Uddin who was posted as Incharge Assistant Controller was transferred to Chhindwara from Ratlam on March 13.
He challenged the order alleging that it was passed because of “political motivation and out of malice that he is a Muslim. The petitioner contended that he was transferred at the instance of a local leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The petitioner cited a purported document of “recommendation” for transferring him and four others to other places from Ratlam because they are Muslims.
The state government rejected these allegations before the high court.
The government counsel submitted that the petitioner had mala fide intention of taking undue benefit of his religion and that a normal transfer order is being given a communal colour.
Merely transferring four persons belonging to one community from one place to another cannot be deemed to be a transfer with mala fide intention, the government counsel stated.
Justice Abhyankar dismissed Naseem Uddin’s petition on March 28 after weighing arguments and facts.
“However, testing the facts and circumstances of the case on the anvil of the aforesaid decisions, this court finds that the petitioner has not been able to demonstrate any such mala fide intentions on the part of the respondents.
“On the contrary, his continuation at Ratlam for more than 9 to 10 years and his unwillingness to move out of the said place by any means, even by alleging communal bias, only demonstrates his desperate attempt to stall his transfer, which is highly deprecated,” the high court bench stated.
The HC noted that entertaining such unsubstantiated allegations at their face value would lead to a serious breach in the execution of administrative orders.
“If they are accepted, tomorrow any senior officer of the Muslim community passing an order of transfer of his subordinates, who belong to a non-Muslim community, may also be susceptible to such criticism of communal bias, leading to a total failure of state machinery and resultant disorder. Thus, such practice has to be discouraged at the threshold only.”
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