Central Administrative Tribunal Rules in Favor of Employee in Railway Transfer Dispute

Jabalpur, India | 2025 – In a significant decision addressing administrative justice within the Indian Railways, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Jabalpur Bench, has directed the Southeast Central Railway (SECR) to honor an inter-railway transfer request that was approved nearly a decade ago but had not been implemented due to changes in internal policy. The ruling clarifies the prospective nature of administrative instructions and upholds the applicant’s right to transfer based on earlier approvals.

Background of the Case

The applicant, an Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP), was appointed to the SECR on 23 December 2013 and submitted a request for inter-railway transfer (IRRT) less than a year later, in September 2014, seeking relocation to the North Central Railway (NCR), Jhansi Division. His application was approved in August 2015, and his name appeared on the NCR’s approved list at serial number 16. A No Objection Certificate (NOC) was also issued by SECR, completing the procedural requirements for the transfer.

However, despite full procedural compliance and clear approval, the applicant was not relieved by SECR, which cited a revised policy issued by the Railway Board on 31 August 2015. This policy stipulated that non-gazetted employees must complete five years of service to be eligible for IRRT. Importantly, the policy explicitly applied only to new transfer requests filed after the date of issuance.

Later, in 2022, another policy revision (RBE No. 28/2022) increased the minimum service requirement for IRRT to ten years. Citing this new rule, SECR issued a communication on 23 March 2022 cancelling all pending IRRT requests of employees with less than ten years of service, including the applicant’s—even though his transfer had been approved back in 2015.

Applicant’s Arguments and Tribunal’s Observations

The applicant challenged this retrospective application of policy, arguing that his transfer was already processed and approved long before either of the revised policies were introduced. He also pointed out that both the 2015 and 2022 policies were administrative in nature and clearly specified their prospective applicability. His repeated representations to SECR in April 2022 failed to result in any corrective action, prompting him to file an application before the Tribunal.

The Tribunal bench, comprising Judicial Member Akhil Kumar Srivastava and Administrative Member Mallika Arya, agreed with the applicant’s arguments. They emphasized that the Railway Board’s policy dated 31 August 2015 (Clause xvii) clearly stated it was applicable only to fresh transfer cases. Moreover, the 2022 directive under Estt. Rule 92/2022, Para 6, specifically excluded from its scope any IRRT applications already approved or where consent had been provided.

The Tribunal found the actions of SECR in cancelling an already approved transfer based on subsequent administrative instructions to be legally unsustainable. It held that administrative policies cannot be applied retrospectively to vitiate completed administrative acts, especially where all formalities had been complied with and approvals had been granted.

Tribunal’s Verdict

The Tribunal allowed the application, directing SECR to restore the applicant’s IRRT request to its original approved status. Furthermore, SECR was instructed to relieve the applicant for transfer to NCR, Jhansi, within 15 days of receiving the order. The Tribunal criticized SECR’s failure to act in accordance with the law and observed that such delays caused unnecessary hardship to employees.

Conclusion

This judgment underscores a key principle of administrative law: policies and executive instructions must be applied prospectively, particularly when they affect vested rights. The ruling serves as a reminder to public sector employers, including government departments, to ensure administrative fairness and procedural integrity.

For railway employees and others in the public sector, this decision reinforces that legitimate and approved applications should not be invalidated retroactively due to internal changes in policy, especially when the language of such policies confirms prospective operation.

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