Madras HC quashes Annamalai University associate professor's transfer
The Higher Education department issued an order notifying that 92 posts in the Annamalai University were surplus. To reduce the financial burden, it was recommended that the surplus staff be redeployed to various departments.
Madras High Court
CHENNAI: Since the government has issued an order to consider the desirability of husband and wife being in the same place while making transfers, the Madras High Court quashed the order of redeployment of an associate professor fromAnnamalai University to maize research station in Dindigul.
Referred to a government order which restricted that while transfer, either spouse is in service other than State government or local body service, the desirability of husband and wife being in the same place should, to the possible extent, taken into account, wrote Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan while allowing a petition seeking to quash the redeployment order.
In this case, the petitioner, V Prabudoss, works as an associate professor at Annamalai University in Cuddalore, and his wife is employed at Tangedco in the same district.
However, on December 2023, the Higher Education department issued an order notifying that 92 posts in the Annamalai University were surplus. To reduce the financial burden, it was recommended that the surplus staff be redeployed to various departments.
The petitioner, working as an associate professor in the agricultural microbiology department, was also notified as a surplus post and issued an order to redeploy in the maize research station at Dindigul. Aggrieved by this, Prabudoss moved a petition to quash the redeployment order.
Since the Annamalai University comes under the purview of the State government, the rule of reservation must be strictly adhered to. In contrast, in this case, the judge wrote that the 19 per cent reservation had not been followed despite the petitioner belonging to Scheduled Caste, which is a gross violation of Article 16 of the Constitution of India.
Further, the post in which the petitioner was posted is also not equivalent to the post of associate professor, wrote the judge and quashed the order redeploying the petitioner to the maize research station Vagarai, Dindigul.
Advocate V Srimathi represented the petitioner and submitted that despite the petitioner being a nodal officer of the UGC SC/ST cell of Annamalai University, the redeployment order was issued. Due to the redeployment, there is a huge shortage of SC/ST in Annamalai University, added the advocate and sought to quash the impugned order.
