1 2026:CGHC:5496 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPS No. 622 of 2023 1 - Smt. Shweta Thakur W/o Shri Khileshwar Singh Thakur Aged About 39 Years Working On The Post Of Head Master At Govt. Prayogik Primary School Khairagarh District Khairagarh Chhuikhadan Gandai Chhattisgarh. ... Petitioner(s) versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary, Department Of School Education, Mantralaya Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar, New Raipur District Raipur Chhattisgarh. 2 - Director, Public Instruction, Indrawati Bhawan, Atal Nagar New Raipur District Raipur Chhattisgarh. 3 - Collector Khairagarh Chhuikhadan Gandai District Khairagarh Chhuikhadan Gandai Chhattisgarh. 4 - District Education Officer Rajnandgaon District Rajnandgaon Chhattisgarh. 5 - District Education Officer Chhuikhadan Gandai District Khairagarh Chhuikhadan Gandai Chhattisgarh. 6 - Block Education Officer Khairagarh District Khairagarh Chhuikhadan Gandai Chhattisgarh. ... Respondent(s) For Petitioner(s) : Mr. F.S. Khare, Advocate. For Respondent(s)/State : Mr. Arpit Agrawal, Panel Lawyer. RAGHVENDRA JAT Digitally signed by RAGHVENDRA JAT 2 Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad Order on Board 31/01/2026 1. By way of this petition, the petitioner has prayed for following reliefs:- “10.1 That, the Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to quash/set-aside the impugned order dated 07.11.2022 (P/1) passed by respondent no. 4. 10.2 That, the Hon'ble court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondent authorities to allow the petitioner on the post of Head Master at Government Prayogik Primary School Khairagarh District Khairagarh Chhuikhadan Gandai (C.G.) in compliance of circular dated 07.02.022 (P/4). 10.3 This Hon'ble court may kindly be call for the records for its kind perusal which relates to petitioner's matter. 10.4 Any other relief, which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper, may also be passed in favour of the petitioner.” 2. Brief facts of the case, is that, the petitioner was initially appointed to the post of Shiksha Karmi Grade-III vide order dated 06.10.2005 and was posted at Government Primary School, Fingeshwar, District Raipur, now District Gariyaband (C.G.). 3 Thereafter, vide order dated 15.07.2010, her services were transferred on administrative grounds from Fingeshwar, District Raipur, now District Gariyaband (C.G.), to Khairagarh, District Rajnandgaon, now District Khairagarh–Chhuikhadan–Gandai (C.G.). Subsequently, her services were absorbed in the School Education Department and her post was changed to Assistant Teacher (L.B.) vide order dated 10.08.2018. Further, vide order dated 03.10.2022, the petitioner was promoted from the post of Assistant Teacher (L.B.) to the post of Head Master and was posted in the same school, i.e., Government Prayogik Primary School, Khairagarh, District Khairagarh–Chhuikhadan–Gandai (C.G.). In compliance with the said promotion order, respondent No. 6 relieved the petitioner from her previous post and directed her to join on the promotional post of Head Master in the same school, pursuant to which she joined her duties as Head Master on 13.10.2022. It is further submitted that the salary of the post of Head Master was paid to the petitioner till December 2022. However, suddenly, vide impugned order dated 07.11.2022 (Annexure P/1), respondent No. 4 cancelled the petitioner’s promotion order dated 03.10.2022 on the ground that her seniority date is 08.03.2010 and that the respondents were promoting candidates through counselling. The petitioner submits that the impugned order dated 07.11.2022 was served upon her on 07.01.2023. Hence, this petition. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the impugned 4 order dated 07.11.2022 is illegal, arbitrary, and contrary to the circular of the State Government dated 07.02.2022, as the petitioner was duly promoted from the post of Assistant Teacher (L.B.) to the post of Head Master vide order dated 03.10.2022 and was posted in the same school, namely, Government Prayogik Primary School, Khairagarh, District Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan- Gandai (C.G.), in accordance with the said circular, which specifically permits posting in the same school where a promotional vacancy exists, however, the said lawful promotion was subsequently cancelled vide impugned order dated 07.11.2022 in order to accommodate another candidate through counselling, which is wholly illegal and unsustainable. It is further submitted that respondent No. 4 had no jurisdiction to cancel the promotion order, as the competent authority is respondent No. 5, the District Education Officer, Khairagarh, and therefore the impugned action is without authority of law. The petitioner’s name stands recorded at Serial No. 397 in the seniority list, with seniority counted from 13.10.2005, and the same could not have been altered merely on account of an administrative transfer, making the contrary finding of the respondents that her seniority dates from 03.08.2010 patently erroneous and arbitrary. The impugned order has been passed without proper application of mind, in violation of the principles of natural justice and the relevant government circular, and is further vitiated by being given retrospective effect, as is evident from the pay slips for the period 5 from October 2022 to December 2022. Hence, the impugned order is liable to be quashed and set aside in the interest of justice. He further place reliance on the judgment passed by Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of Dwijen Sarkar vs. Union Of India reported in (1999) 2 SCC 119. 4. Learned counsel for the State submits that the Government of Chhattisgarh, Department of Panchayat and Rural Development, Raipur, has issued a Circular dated 25.06.2013 regarding fixation of seniority of Teachers (Panchayat) for the purpose of promotion, wherein it is clearly provided that seniority shall be maintained at the district level and, in case of transfer to another district, the concerned teacher’s name shall be placed at the bottom of the seniority list of the transferee district. In accordance with the said circular, and as evident from the order dated 03.08.2023 passed by the Director, Public Instructions, Raipur. The petitioner, whose services were transferred to Khairagarh vide order dated 08.03.2010, is entitled to have her seniority counted only from the date of such transfer. Consequently, her seniority stands reckoned from 08.03.2010, and therefore, the impugned order dated 07.11.2022 cancelling her promotion has been rightly and legally passed. It is further submitted that the contents of paragraph 3 of the petition merely narrate the impugned order and the subject matter in brief and do not call for specific comments, and to the extent any adverse allegations are made, the same are denied. The remaining averments shall be dealt with separately, and in 6 view of the binding circular and applicable rules, the petitioner is not entitled to any relief. The gradation list has rightly been prepared which is not required to be interfered with. Accordingly, the present petition deserves to be dismissed. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties, considered their rival submissions put forth before me and have also gone through the documents appended to the writ petitions. 6. The grievance of the petitioner is projected by her seems that she is raising dispute stating that by transfer, the respondent authorities is placing her in the gradation list below to their juniors. The petitioner was serving in the erstwhile District of Gariyaband, however, subsequently she transferred on administrative ground to Khairagarh District Rajnandgaon now District Khairagarh Chhuikhadan Gandai and as such, she cannot be placed in the gradation list below to their juniors. So far as the law for gradation list is concerned, the gradation list are being prepared on the basis of initial service and thereafter to be considered according to their merits. The gradation list according to the service rules of the petitioner would be considered on the basis of merit cum seniority. There is no dispute at all that on merits, the petitioner is not objecting to their juniors. The only thing against the petitioner is that she has been transferred to Khairagarh from Gariyaband. Earlier, a common gradation list was prepared in which the petitioner was above their juniors and they have been placed on their right place, however, due to creation of new District 7 Khairagarh Chhuikhadan Gandai, thereafter, their gradation list was prepared in which she has been placed below to their juniors. 7. Considering the arguments advanced by the parties, considering the laws laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, it is revealed that there is no difference between Inter-District transfer on self request and administrative basis, therefore, the seniority of the petitioner has to be reckoned from her respective date of appointment on the post of Primary School Head Master and not from the date of joining at transferred district. The respondents are considering the fact that the seniority will not be changed upon going on transferred place and it will remain one and same. If a person has joined in place A and thereafter subsequently, for any reason, he got transferred to place B, then in both the places, his/her dated of joining would be same and one for all the purposes of his/her service. It cannot be held and declare that he/she become junior upon joining new place of posting. Even if any circular to this effect has been passed, it would be violative of Articles 14 & 16 of the Constitution of India. One cannot be declared junior by virtue of his/her transfer to another District. The judgment which is cited stating that when the government servant is transferred on his own request, then the transferred employee will have to forego his/her seniority till the date of transfer, and will be placed at the bottom below the juniormost employee in the category in the new cadre or department. This is because a government servant getting transferred to another unit or 8 department for his/her personal consideration, cannot be permitted to disturb the seniority of the employees in the department to which he/she is transferred, by claiming that his service in the department from which he has been transferred, should be taken into account. 8. In light of the aforesaid discussion, it is apparent on the face of record that the gradation list prepared by the authorities are erroneous and the same is required to be rectified while amending the same and while placing the petitioner in her right place on the basis of her initial joining of service. The mere getting transferred on own request would not render the petitioner to be placed under their juniors. 9. In the result, the relief claimed by the petitioner is required to be granted to her and accordingly the writ petition is allowed while directing the respondent authorities to rectify the impugned gradation list and to prepare a fresh gradation list in accordance with law by placing the petitioner in her proper gradation list. The petitioner is also entitled to get her seniority on the post of Headmaster with effect from 3.10.2022 i.e. the date of joining on the post of Headmaster, Primary School with all consequential benefits. 10. Accordingly, the writ petition is allowed. Sd/- (Amitendra Kishore Prasad ) Judge Raghu Jat