Barely six months before the assembly polls, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Uttar Pradesh government to formulate a transfer policy for senior IAS and IPS officers serving in the state cadre providing for a minimum tenure at one place. The direction was given by a bench comprising Justice M B Shah and Justice B N Agrawal on a petition filed by an engineer of state Jal Nigam alleging transfer due to political considerations.
However, the bench observed that though the transfer policy would be formulated now, it would be applicable from the next financial year. Though the transfer had taken place last year, the bench, during the earlier hearings, had sought the transfer policy of the state government regarding higher officers including district magistrates.
The chief secretary of the state had filed an affidavit denying transfer of senior officers at the behest of political parties but on the administrative exigencies. The bench directed that in such cases if a person was transferred before completion of the minimum tenure, the reason of the transfer should be clearly noted in his transfer order.
Bureau Report