Dismisses Abdul Qayoom’s two petitions challenging his detachment, transfer order
In a setback to trade unions and various teachers, who have been resisting transfers, the state High Court today dismissed two writ petitions of trade union leaders and Teachers Forum chairman Abdul Qayoom, wherein he had challenged his detachment as well as transfer orders.
Coming hard on unionism, which has paralysed several government departments in the state, the High Court observed that the “union leaders will also have to go to schools to teach students” as “they are really being paid their salaries from public money only for that purpose”.
Earlier on February 4, a single Bench of the J&K High Court had directed the government not to act upon its order whereby trade union leader Abdul Qayoom Wani was detached from the SSA posting in Srinagar and transferred to a school in Tangmarg of north Kashmir.
The petitioner while challenging the February 2 government order (No. 26-Edu of 2016) on several grounds had claimed that it “had been issued completely on the basis of malafides”.
“Saying that union leaders will also have to go to schools to teach students would not in any way come within the definition of malafides. They are really being paid their salaries from public money only for that purpose,” a single Bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey observed in his multi-page judgment today while rejecting both petitions of Wani.
“If a government servant feels aggrieved of his transfer on legally recognised grounds, the law has provided a remedy; he has a right to approach the court of law,” Magrey added.
“It is true that the right to form associations is constitutionally guaranteed, but this right carries with it certain limitations as well,” the Bench said.
“The right to form an association or union does not reserve or create a right in any union office-bearer to seek posting of his choice or to refuse to obey a transfer and posting ordered in the interests of administration,” it said, adding that, “The right to form an association or a union does not mean right to achieve every object, nor does it confer a privilege or grant a licence to any leader of an association or union to obliterate the hedges of discipline and abandon or shirk his official duty for which he is being paid his salary.”
Citing several Supreme Court judgments to the facts attendant to the instant writ petitions, the High Court said neither any malafides against the respondents, more so against respondent no. 2, that is Director Education, Kashmir Shah Faesal are made out. “These writ petitions, consequently, deserve to be dismissed, being without any merit and unnecessary,” the High Court said.
“Thus the government order dated 02.02.2016 (detachments order) stood implemented and its follow-up action (transfer of Wani) also stood completed,” the court said, while also vacating its own interim stay order which was granted to the petitioner on February 4.
