Govt must revisit issue of maximum tenure, says HC in Rama Raman case

The Allahabad high court on Monday disposed of a petition relating to transfer of senior IAS officer Rama Raman from the Noida Authority.

The court said since he has already been transferred, no order was required to be passed in this connection.

However, the court observed, “The faith and trust of the common man in the system and in the person/officer at the helm of affairs is equally important, which the Government should bear in mind, while continuing the same officer at one place for years together, and giving scope to generate doubt about the system. No person is indispensable. The Government should have not come before the court with the stand that the services of Rama Raman are indispensable and that there is no other IAS officer who can work for the authorities. The very concept of transfer would thereby stand defeated.”

Regarding the transfer policy, the court asked the government to revisit the issue of maximum tenure, observing: “The mere fact that the 1955 Regulations do not envisage a maximum tenure does not necessarily mean that a person may be permitted to continue on three particular post for years together. It would in fact be in the fitness of things and perhaps to overcome the leveling of allegations, such as the present against Rama Raman, that the Government consider the shifting of officers periodically.”

The decision was delivered by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale and Justice Yashwant Varma on a PIL filed by Akhil Bhartiya Samaj Utthan Kalyan Samiti.

The high court had on July 1 barred Rama Raman from functioning as Chairman of Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway Authority.

In the same order, the court had also directed the (Establishment) Board headed by the Chief secretary to take a decision with regard to transfer of Rama Raman within two weeks.

Subsequently, the state government announced that Rama Raman had been transferred from Noida. After this announcement, the PIL was being heard on several other issues relating to transfer policy of the Government.