After the Calcutta High Court, the Supreme Court too rejected the plea challenging the transfer of IAS and IPS officers in West Bengal by the Election Commission of India (ECI) following the announcement of elections in the state.
A three-judge bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi heard the matter and rejected the plea against transfer. The apex court, however, has kept the question of law regarding the absence of consultation by the ECI with the state government open for hearing.
Before it, the Calcutta High Court had refused to interfere with transfer orders of Bengal bureaucrats on March 31, saying the mere transfer of a large number of officers does not, by itself, render the action arbitrary, capricious, or mala fide. The High Court, however, had added that the judgment would not come in the way of the individual aggrieved officers challenging their transfer orders. The High Court had also observed that a similar or greater number of transfers/postings of officers had taken place nationwide.
The case emanated from a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Arka Kumar Nag seeking the quashing of transfer orders issued after the announcement of elections on March 15 last month.
The petitioner argued that the large-scale transfer of officers, including the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, DGP, and several District Magistrates, was arbitrary.
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