1 CGHC010267102026 2026:CGHC:37091 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPS No. 5381 of 2026 Smt. Kiran Sahu W/o Shail Kumar Sahu Aged About 59 Years R/o -G-13, Abhinandan Galaxy, Rajnandgaon, District- Rajnandgaon, C.G. ... Petitioner versus 1 - State of Chhattisgarh Through - The Secretary, Cooperation (Sahakarita) Department Mahanadi Bhawan, New Raipur, District- Raipur, C.G. 2 - Chief Executive Officer Jila Sahakari Kendri Bank, Maryadit, Durg, District- Durg, C.G. 3 - Sub-Registrar Co Operative Society, Station Road, Durg, District- Durg, C.G. 4 - Hemlal Gajendra Incharge, Branch Manager, Jila Sahakari Kendri Bank Durg, District- Balod, C.G. ... Respondents For Petitioner : Mr. T.K. Tiwari, Advocate For State/Respondent No.1 : Mr. Anadi Sharma, Advocate For Respondent No.2 : Mr. Manish Upadhyay, Advocate (Hon’ble Shri Justice Bibhu Datta Guru) Order on Board 19/08/2026 1. At the outset learned counsel for Respondent No.2, by placing a copy of the order dated 04.08.2026, would submit that after the interim order ASHUTOSH MISHRA Digitally signed by ASHUTOSH MISHRA Date: 2026.08.20 10:35:14 +0530 2 passed by this Court, Respondent No.4 has been transferred from Sanjari to Dudhali, therefore, he is not the effected party in the present case. Copy of the said order is taken on record. 2. Though the notice has been issued to Respondent No.4, however, in view of the submission made by learned counsel for Respondent No.2, this Court proceeds to hear the matter finally in absence of any representation on behalf of Respondent No.4. 3. By way of the instant petition, the petitioner has challenged the legality and validity of the order dated 25/06/2026 (Annexure P-1) passed by Respondent No.2 whereby the petitioner has been transferred from Zila Sahakari Bank Sanjari to Zila Sahakari Bank, Balod. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that the petitioner is at the fag end of her career as she is about to retire within 08 months. He would next submit that at this stage it would be very troublesome to the petitioner to shift from Sanjari to District Balod. He would next submit that even the petitioner has not completed 05 years at the present place of posting and transferring her before the completion of said period it would be contrary to the provisions of the extant Rules governing the posting and transfer of the petitioner. He would lastly submit that the transfer order has been passed by Respondent No.2 who is not competent to pass such order as the said decision should have been taken by the selection committee as per the extant Rules. 5. Per contra, learned counsel for the Respondents oppose the submissions made by learned counsel for the petitioner and they would support the 3 transfer order and would submit that the petitioner is not entitled for any relief and the transfer order does warrant any interference by this Court. 6. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the documents. 7. It is true that transfer is ordinarily an incident of service and that the Court should be slow in interfering with an administrative order of transfer. The impugned order also indicates that it is a general administrative order whereby several Branch Managers/Assistant Branch Managers have been transferred from one branch to another. Therefore, this Court does not find it appropriate to examine the comparative suitability of the petitioner or to substitute its own view for that of the employer in the matter of administrative arrangement. 8. However, the case of the petitioner stands on a distinct footing having regard to the undisputed circumstance that she has already attained the age of about 59 years and has only about 08 months of service remaining before her superannuation. The fact that an employee is at the fag end of her service does not, by itself, create an absolute right to remain at a particular place of posting. Nevertheless, it is a relevant and material circumstance which ought to be taken into consideration while exercising the power of transfer. When only a short period of service remains before superannuation, shifting an employee from her existing place of posting to another place necessarily entails relocation and attendant hardship for a very limited period. Such a circumstance assumes significance where the employee is already nearing the end of her service tenure. 4 9. In the present case, nothing has been placed before this Court to demonstrate that the aforesaid circumstance of the petitioner having only about 08 months of service remaining before retirement was taken into consideration while passing the impugned order. The respondents have also not pointed out any specific or compelling administrative circumstance which necessitated the petitioner's transfer notwithstanding her imminent retirement. 10. The Court is conscious that administrative exigency is primarily for the employer to determine and that a transfer order cannot ordinarily be interfered with merely on the ground of personal inconvenience. At the same time, the power of transfer has to be exercised fairly and after taking into account relevant circumstances. The impending superannuation of the petitioner, coupled with the very short period of service remaining, is such a relevant circumstance. 11. Thus, this Court is not laying down any general proposition that an employee nearing retirement cannot be transferred. The interference in the present case is confined to the peculiar facts and circumstances, particularly the petitioner's age, the fact that only about 08 months of service remain before her retirement, and the absence of any material demonstrating that these circumstances were duly considered while effecting her transfer. 12. In view of the aforesaid, the impugned order dated 25.06.2026, insofar as it transfers the petitioner from Jila Sahakari Bank, Sanjari to Jila Sahakari Bank, Balod, cannot be sustained and is hereby quashed and set 5 aside. The petitioner shall be permitted to continue to discharge her duties at her original place of posting, i.e. Jila Sahakari Bank, Sanjari. 13. The writ petition is accordingly allowed. SD/- SD/- (Bibhu Datta Guru) JUDGE ashu