AP High Court Quashes Senior Teacher's Transfer Under Pretext Of Adjusting Surplus Staff, Says Junior Teachers Should Have Been Transferred First

Justice Challa Gunaranjan in his order said, 

“Plain reading of aforesaid clause goes to show that either on one's willingness to accept transfer or if it is a compulsory transfer, the same has to commence from junior most in the category of the post. Apparently, in the present case, there are three Secondary Grade Teachers working, of which petitioner is senior most amongst them. In terms of aforesaid guidelines, person who is junior most has to be first deputed on transfer and only thereafter, petitioner could have been transferred. The impugned order to the extent of transferring petitioner who is senior most without exhausting the transfers of juniors is clearly in contravention of the aforesaid clause.”

Background

The High Court was dealing with a writ petition filed by one KS Vijay Anand (petitioner), challenging an action of The District Educational Officer, Kurnool (Respondent 2) wherein the petitioner was posted on deputation at SRKGV Aided High School, Mahanandi (impugned proceedings).

The petitioner, who had completed 33 years of service, received his appointment as a Secondary Grade Teacher at The Management of St Mary Fathima High School Nandyal (Respondent 7 school) in 2000. Two further appointments of teachers were made in 2000 and 2012, both of whom were junior to the petitioner. However, vide the impugned proceedings, the petitioner was posted on deputation at SRKGV Aided High School under the guise of working administration of surplus aided teachers into the needy aided schools in Nandyal District. Aggrieved by the said posting, the petitioner approached the High Court.

It was his case that G.O.Ms.No.59, School Education (PS) Department, dated 22.06.2023, which enacts the norms and guidelines to be followed while filling up vacant teacher posts, provides under clause 8(vii) that in the rationalization of upper primary and high schools, transfer of surplus teachers shall first be by seeking willingness from teachers in the affected school, and failing that, by transferring the junior most in the category. As the petitioner did not give willingness and juniors were available, his transfer without exhausting the juniors under him was unjustified.

Justifying the deputation, the State argued that since the petitioner was found to be in surplus at Respondent 7 school, he was proposed to be deputed to the SRKGV Aided High School.

The Court examined Clause 8(vii) of the G.O.Ms.No.59, which reads as,

“8. The following guidelines shall be adopted for rationalization of the services working against Grant-in-aid posts in private aided schools:-

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vii. Whenever a transfer of surplus teacher in a school is called for as per the rationalization exercise under these guidelines, the same shall be done in the first instance by obtaining options of the willing teachers in the affected school, failing which such transfer shall be done starting from the junior most in the category of post concerned in that school. If a category of post covers 2 or more subjects as in each of SA(Sci) or SA(Maths/Science) or SA (Humanities), etc., the junior most in that subject is to be identified as surplus.”

In light of this, the Single Judge noted that the impugned proceedings, by which the petitioner— who was the senior most teacher— was transferred without exhausting the transfers of juniors, were in contravention to Clause 8(vii) of the G.O.Ms.No.59. Accordingly, the writ petition was allowed and set aside the impugned proceedings.

Case Details:

Case Number: WP 7886/2025

Case Title: K S VIJAY ANAND v. THE GOVERNMENT OF AP

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