Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court has quashed an inter-district transfer of a constable made for an unlimited period without giving any ground of administrative exigency. The court also ordered the authority to re-transfer him to his original place of posting.The case involved police constable Kameshkumar Makwana, who was posted in Morbi district. The director general of police (DGP) passed an order in Nov 2024, and later the Morbi SP did so in Feb 2025, transferring Makwana to Kutch (East). Makwana’s representation against his transfer without citing any ground for his shifting was also rejected.Makwana approached HC through advocate Prashant Chavda, who cited a couple of previous cases in which HC had reversed the orders transferring the members of the police constabulary on various grounds, including pending criminal cases. He argued that Section 28 of the Bombay Police Act, if read with Rules 152 and 153 of the Bombay Police Rules, provides for inter-district transfer only in cases of public interest and emergent exigency prevailing at the place of transfer.Considering the position of law, Justice Niral Mehta said, “I am of the view that the petitioner could not have been transferred to Kutch District from his parent district without there being any emergent administrative exigency, as not recorded by respondent No. 2 (DGP) when passed the impugned order dated Nov 30, 2024. Assuming for the time being that the transfer of the petitioner was effected in public interest, as per the ratio of the aforesaid decision, it would not be for unlimited period.”HC also said that the 2006 guideline issued by DGP saying that police personnel can be transferred in a case of corruption also runs “contrary” to the provisions of law. It ordered, “The concerned respondent is hereby directed to pass an order of re-transfer of the petitioner from Kutch (E) to Morbi.”
