1 ORDER SHEET WBCHCA0482562026 Item No.9 Ct. No. 1 RP IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION APPELLATE SIDE WPCT/214/2026 THE PRINCIPAL CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF CGST & CX, KOLKTA ZONE Versus NILANJAN ADHIKARY & ORS. Appearance: Mr. Shiv Shankar Banerjee, Sr. Standing Counsel Mr. Abhradip Maity, Jr. Standing Counsel ...Advocate for Petitioner Mr. Chiradip Sinha Mr. Siddhartha Sankar Mandal Ms. Sharmistha Dhar ...Advocate for Respondent CORAM: RAVINDRA VITHALRAO GHUGE, CHIEF JUSTICE & OM NARAYAN RAI J. Date :21.09.2026 Order (Per Court) 1. The Petitioner is the Principal Chief Commissioner of CGST & CX, Kolkata Zone, who seeks to assail the Interlocutory Order passed by the 2 Tribunal on 13.08.2026, by which, the Tribunal has held that the Respondent Department would not give effect to the order of transfer dated 07.08.2026, qua the Applicants before the Tribunal. The matter is now listed on 29.09.2026 under the heading ‘For Order’. 2. We are normally not inclined to interfere with an Interlocutory Order. The Original Applicants before the Tribunal, vide order dated 11.05.2017, were transferred to Central Excise Cadre Controlling Zone, Kolkata, as Inspectors on Inter-Commissionerate Transfer from Central Excise, Chennai Zone. On such transfers, all the Applicants were moved to Kolkata-II Central Excise Commissionerate. By such transfers by consent, they agreed to give up their seniority. They were liable to serve in any part of the State of West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Sikkim or in any part of the country, that may be included in the Central Excise Cadre Controlling Zone, Kolkata. 3. On relieving from Central Excise, Chennai Zone, they were reported to the Commissioner, Kolkata-II Central Excise Commissionerate. On transfer, they were disconnected from their previous zone, holding them ineligible for promotion in their previous zone. However, by the impugned order, challenged before the Tribunal, all of them have now been transferred 3 to various places in their parent zones from where they were already disconnected and transferred to Kolkata-II Central Excise Commissionerate, almost 9 years ago. 4. The Applicants approached the Tribunal, which passed the impugned order on 13.08.2026, staying their transfer. However, the Tribunal has lost sight of the fact that the Original Applicants were relieved vide order dated 07.08.2026. When this was brought to the notice of the Tribunal, it passed the order dated 04.09.2026 on MA 783 of 2026, and directed that status quo ante should be maintained and the Applicants should be allowed to join their previous stations until the next date of hearing. 5. We have perused the verdict delivered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court dated 10.03.2022, in Civil Appeal No.1243 of 2022 (Sk. Nausad Rahaman & Ors. vs. Union of India & Ors.) a batch of various Civil Appeals. The Circular dated 20.09.2018 was sustained. It is canvassed before us on behalf of the Department that it is by virtue of the said Circular dated 20.09.2018, that the Original Applicants have now been repatriated to their parent Commissionerate. 4 6. The learned Tribunal has scheduled the matter for hearing on 29.09.2026, which is just eight days from today. The Petitioner/Department before us, submits that Affidavit-in-Reply/Response to the Original Applicants filed by the Applicants would be tendered to the Tribunal on 29.09.2026 and copies would be supplied to the Applicants. 7. What we find today is that, by virtue of the transfer order, the Original Applicants have been relieved from service. On the other hand, they are yet to join their parent Commissionerate scattered in various States from where they traveled to the State of West Bengal/Commissionerate Zone, about 9 years ago by sacrificing their seniority and by being relegated to the lowest seniority post in the State of West Bengal. They are now sought to be repatriated to their parent Commissionerate. 8. In such a situation, since the final hearing is scheduled before the learned Tribunal, we are balancing equities by permitting the Chief Commissioner at Kolkata, to either allow the Applicants to work and extract work from them until the Tribunal decides the Original Applications, or, if they do not wish to extract work from them, status quo as existing today may be maintained and their salaries be paid to them. We keep these two options open to the Petitioner Department. The learned Advocate for the Original 5 Applicants submits that they are agreeable to abide by any of these two options. 9. We direct that the Petitioner Department would file its Affidavit- in-Reply/Written Statement to the Original Applications before the Tribunal, on or before 25.09.2026 and copies would be served on the learned Advocate for the Original Applicants. In the event, the Original Applicants desire to file a Counter/Rejoinder Affidavit, let such Counter be filed on or before 29.09.2026. The parties are agreeable to tender their Written Notes of arguments, with case law, index and pagination, and advance oral submissions before the Tribunal and conclude such oral final submissions by 30.09.2026. We make it clear that all the contentions of all the parties are kept open in order to be considered by the Tribunal while delivering final orders in the Oas. 10. In view of the above, this Petition is disposed off by consent. 10. Parties are at liberty to act upon the order uploaded on the official website of the Calcutta High Court. (OM NARAYAN RAI , J.) (RAVINDRA V. GHUGE) Chief Justice