IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA CWP No.15513 of 2026 Decided on: 8th September, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suresh Kumar …..Petitioner Versus State of H.P. and others .....Respondents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coram Ms. Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua Whether approved for reporting?1 For the Petitioner: Mr. P.S. Chandel, Advocate. For the Respondents: Mr. Rajat Choudhry, Assistant Advocate General. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jyotsna Rewal Dua, Judge Notice has not been issued to respondent No.4 as according to the petitioner, no relief has been claimed against this respondent. 2. Following order passed in this case on 07.09.2026 noticed the gist of petitioner’s grievance:- “Notice at this stage confined to respondents No.1 to 3, which is waived by Mr. Rajat Choudhry, learned Assistant Advocate General. Heard. Petitioner’s case is that it was under office order dated 08.05.2026 that he was transferred from Government ITI Dargi, District Shimla to Government ITI Ghumwarwin, District Bilaspur, where he joined on 11.05.2026. Petitioner’s grievance is to the 1Whether reporters of print and electronic media may be allowed to see the order? Yes. 2 office order dated 03.09.2026, in terms of which, he allegedly having been declared surplus staff and merged with State of Art (SOA) Government ITI Ghumarwin, District Bilaspur, has been transferred to Government ITI, Shimla. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner was never merged with SOA Government ITI, Ghumarwin. Petitioner was serving at Government ITI Ghumarwin. The respondents have mistakenly on incorrect facts, have ordered petitioner’s transfer to Government ITI, Shimla. Let learned Assistant Advocate General to have instructions in the matter. List on 08.09.2026.” 3. Pursuant to above, learned Assistant Advocate General has placed on record office instructions dated 07.09.2026 from the Director, Technical Education Vocational & Industrial Training, Himachal Pradesh. In terms of the office instructions, petitioner was transferred from Government ITI Dargi, District Shimla to State of Art (SOA), Government ITI Ghumarwin, District Bilaspur against the post held by one Sh. Manoj Kumar. This transfer of the petitioner was effected vide order dated 08.05.2026. The aforesaid order is available at Annexure P-2. In terms of the order, petitioner was transferred from Government ITI Dargi, District Shimla not to SOA Government ITI Ghumarwin, but to Government ITI Ghumarwin, District Bilaspur. 3 4. Further, though the respondents in their office instructions assert that it was by way of sheer inadvertence that name of the institute in the order dated 08.05.2026 was mentioned as Government ITI Ghumarwin instead of SOA Government ITI Ghumarwin, however, according to the aforesaid instructions, subsequent to order dated 08.05.2026, the government had issued a notification, inter alia, merging 07 SOA Government ITIs including SOA Government ITI Ghumarwin with their respective main ITIs. The above assertions in the office instructions also appear to be incorrect as merger of SOA Government ITI Ghumarwin with Government ITI Ghumarwin was under notification dated 28.05.2025. The said notification was not issued ‘subsequent’ to petitioner’s transfer to Government ITI Ghumarwin under order dated 08.05.2026. Quite evidently, the notification dated 28.05.2025 was issued much prior in time to petitioner’s transfer from Government ITI Dargi, District Shimla to Government ITI Ghumarwin, District Bilaspur under order dated 08.05.2026. Petitioner has been transferred under office order dated 03.09.2026 (Annexure P-5) from SOA Government ITI Ghumarwin to Government ITI Shimla as a surplus. Prima facie, it appears that the petitioner was never transferred to SOA 4 Government ITI Ghumarwin to begin with. Under order dated 08.05.2026, petitioner was transferred from Government ITI Dargi, District Shimla to Government ITI Ghumarwin, District Bilaspur. Therefore, the petitioner cannot be said to have been rendered surplus on account of his assumed posting at SOA Government ITI Ghumarwin. Be that as it may. This is a matter, which is required to be reconsidered by respondent No.2/competent authority in accordance with law after verifying the factual position. Accordingly, this writ petition is disposed of with a direction to respondent No.2/competent authority to reconsider the impugned office order dated 03.09.2026 (Annexure P-5) qua petitioner’s transfer to Government ITI, Shimla, which has been effected on the assumption of his being posted at SOA Government ITI Ghumarwin, though according to the petitioner, he was posted at Government ITI Ghumarwin and not at SOA Government ITI Ghumarwin. This exercise be now undertaken within a period of one week from today. The decision so arrived at shall also be communicated to the petitioner. 5 The writ petition stands disposed of in the above terms, so also the pending miscellaneous application(s), if any. Jyotsna Rewal Dua September 08, 2026 Judge Mukesh