The Bombay High Court has quashed an order by the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) that had ruled transfers of police officers, directed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) last year, were temporary and would lapse after the Lok Sabha elections.
A bench of Justices AS Chandurkar and Rajesh Patil ruled that the tribunal was not justified in limiting the transfers to the election period. “The Tribunal was not justified in holding that the transfer orders issued to the concerned police personnel were to remain effective only till the time the elections were held. The orders of transfer do not indicate that they were to remain in effect only till such time the elections were to conclude. Hence the orders of transfer have to be treated as orders of mid-term transfer not limited for any particular period,” the court said.
The ruling favoured the Maharashtra government’s petition, affirming that the transfers under Section 22-N(2) of the Maharashtra Police Act were lawful and not tied to the election period. The court stated that the transfers were made for administrative reasons and in public interest.
The matter involved 73 police officers, including inspectors, assistant inspectors, and sub-inspectors, who were transferred in February 2024 after an ECI directive required officers serving in their home districts or completing three years in a district to be reassigned before June 30, 2024. The officers challenged the decision before the MAT, which ruled in their favour, stating the transfers were temporary and should end after the elections.
The Maharashtra government contested the ruling, arguing that the tribunal had incorrectly classified the transfers as temporary deputation rather than permanent reassignments. Advocate General Dr Birendra Saraf, representing the state, argued that similar transfer orders had been upheld in earlier cases.
Senior Advocate Prashant Katneshwarkar, appearing for the officers, argued that the transfers lacked justification and did not comply with Section 22-N of the Maharashtra Police Act. The court rejected this argument, holding that the government had acted in accordance with ECI directives, which are binding.
The court allowed the state to proceed with the transfers but directed the Home Department to consider any pending requests from officers for placement in available vacancies.