Plea in HC against frequent transfers of IAS officials

A petition was today filed in the Madras High Court seeking to restrain the Union Home Ministry from effecting frequent transfers of senior IAS officers without completion of their two-year tenure.
The petition was filed by former MLA Deivanayagam seeking to restrain the Ministry from shifting out incumbent Chief Secretary of Puducherry who has completed only nine months in the post.
Deivanayagam said in the petition that since 2014, a total of 14 IAS and IPS officers were transferred from their respective postings before they could complete two-year tenure.
Because of the frequent transfers, development work was adversely affected in the union territory, he said.

"The Union Home Secretary has been taking speedy steps to transfer the incumbent Chief Secretary though he has hardly served for nine months in the post. The previous Chief Secretary too was transferred before she could complete a period of two years," Deivanayagam submitted.
There was no Civil Services Board in the Union Territory to deal with the transfers of civil servants, the petitioner contended, and sought a direction from the Court to the Union Government to constitute a board to deal with recommendations for transfers of officials falling under All India Service.
The First Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sathish K Agnihotri and Justice M M Sunderesh adjourned the petition for further hearing to March 13.