CM's signature not enough to appoint lower cadre officer to higher post without reasoning: K'taka HC
Bengaluru (PTI): The High Court of Karnataka has said that a transfer order bearing the signature of the Chief Minister does not become licit, till there is a reasoning recorded to post a lower cadre officer to a higher post.
"We are constrained to opine that, even though such transfer orders bear the chief ministers signature on it, but such orders cannot be said to be a licit order as we find absence of reasons to enlighten the Chief Minister as to non-availability of eligible persons to be posted to said post and as to why a person of a lower cadre is posted to the said encadred place," it said.
A bench of Justices K Somashekar and Rajesh Rai K said this in their recent judgement on a petition filed by Karnataka Administrative Service (Senior Scale) officer Dr Prajna Ammembala.
Ammembala had challenged a Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal order of August 2, 2023, allowing an application filed by Patharaju V, Additional Director of Department of Food and Civil Supplies and set aside the transfer notification dated July 6, 2023, by which Ammembala was transferred to that post.
Patharaju had contended that Ammembala was not eligible for the post.
Ammembala was appointed as a tahsildar through direct appointment in 2006 and promoted to KAS (Junior Scale) in 2015 and KAS (Senior Scale) in January 2021. Ammembala was transferred as Additional Director, Department of Food and Civil Supplies in July 2023.
Patharaju was already in this post and challenged Ammembala's transfer in the Tribunal stating that Ammembala was transferred to the post without the prior approval of the Chief Minister.
The State contended that the prior approval of the CM was taken.
The Tribunal held that Ammembala was ineligible to hold the post and set aside the transfer order. Ammembala then approached the High Court.
On the question of the eligibility of Ammembala for the post, the high court said that the law was in her favour.
"If considered initial posting of the respondent No.3 (Patharaju), then the petitioner (Ammembala) who is also in the same cadre of KAS (Senior Scale), is very much eligible to hold the post on the deputation if the same benefit of upgradation is awarded to her," the HC said. It therefore upheld the transfer order issued by the government.
The HC also directed the government to issue necessary guidelines when transferring lower cadre officers to higher cadre posts.
"We also direct the state government to issue necessary guidelines i.e, as to the circumstances under which a lower cadre person can be posted to higher cadre post, and also to make it mandatory to assign proper reasons when a lower cadre person is posted to a post designated for higher cadre before getting chief minister's approval," the HC said disposing of the petition.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
