Principles Of Natural Justice To Be Followed For Issue Of Transfer Orders Attaching Stigma To The Conduct Of The Employee: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court in W.A.No. 2001/2023 upheld quashing of a transfer order issued to a teacher referring to the provisions of the Kerala Education Rules which provided for transfer due to unsuitability, allegations of corruption, misuse of official position, disciplinary action, incompetency, etc. It was observed that the transfer order failed to mention the reason for transfer and was issued without following the principles of natural justice of initiating enquiry and opportunity of hearing to the teacher. The court noted that the transfer under extant rules involved civil consequences and thus, the principles of natural justice have to be complied with for preventing bias or prejudice against the transferred teacher.