The Karnataka High Court has ruled that a transfer order signed by the Chief Minister lacks legitimacy unless accompanied by recorded reasoning justifying the placement of a lower cadre officer into a higher-ranking position.

"We are compelled to state that while these transfer orders may carry the signature of the Chief Minister, they cannot be deemed lawful as we observe a lack of reasoning to inform the Chief Minister about the unavailability of eligible candidates for the mentioned position. Additionally, there's a failure to clarify why an individual of a lower cadre is being appointed to the said designated place," the court remarked.

A bench comprising Justices K Somashekar and Rajesh Rai K made this statement in their recent judgment on a petition filed by Karnataka Administrative Service (Senior Scale) officer Dr. Prajna Ammembala.

Ms. Ammembala had contested an order from the Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal issued on August 2, 2023. The tribunal had approved an application submitted by Patharaju V, the Additional Director of the Department of Food and Civil Supplies, thereby nullifying the transfer notification dated July 6, 2023. This notification had initially reassigned Ammembala to the aforementioned position.

Mr. Patharaju contended that Ms. Ammembala did not meet the eligibility criteria for the post. Ms. Ammembala initially assumed the role of a tahsildar through direct appointment in 2006. She was subsequently promoted to the Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) in the Junior Scale in 2015, followed by a further promotion to KAS in the Senior Scale in January 2021.

In July 2023, Ms. Ammembala received a transfer to assume the role of Additional Director in the Department of Food and Civil Supplies. Mr. Patharaju, who was already occupying this position, challenged Ms. Ammembala's transfer in the Tribunal, asserting that she had been transferred to the post without the prior approval of the Chief Minister.

The State authorities argued that the necessary prior approval from the Chief Minister had indeed been obtained. The Tribunal concluded that Ms. Ammembala was ineligible to hold the post and subsequently revoked the transfer order. In response, Ammembala appealed this decision to the high court.

On the question of the eligibility of Ammembala for the post, the high court said that the law was in her favour.

The high court additionally instructed the government to formulate and issue essential guidelines concerning the transfer of lower cadre officers to higher cadre positions.

"We also direct the state government to issue necessary guidelines i.e, as to the circumstances under which a lower cadre person can be posted to higher cadre post, and also to make it mandatory to assign proper reasons when a lower cadre person is posted to a post designated for higher cadre before getting chief minister's approval," the high court said disposing of the petition.