IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NO.7705 OF 2002

State of Uttar Pradesh        ...Appellant(s)

Versus

Z.R. Siddiqui       ...Respondent(s)

O  R  D  E  R

Heard learned counsel for the parties.

This appeal has been filed against the impugned judgement of the Division

Bench of the Allahabad High Court dated 22nd February, 2002.

The respondent was the General Manager of Jal Sansthan, Jhansi, at the

relevant  time and the short  question involved in this  case is  whether he could  be

transferred to another Jal  Sansthan in some other city in Uttar  Pradesh.   In this

connection, it is stated that the Uttar Pradesh Water Supply and Sewerage Act, 1975,

has  been  amended  and  Section  27-A  has  been  inserted  therein  which  envisages

creation  of  centralised  services.   Accordingly,  the  Government  of  Uttar  Pradesh

created a centralise service by making the Uttar Pradesh Palika and Jal  Sansthan

Waterworks Engineering (Centralised) Service Rules, 1996 [for short, “the Rules”].

Hence, a person, who is in the centralised service, can be transferred.  Rule 3 of the

Rules states that a General Manager of the Jal Sansthan is in the centralised service.

Hence,  in  our  opinion,  the  respondent,  being  the  General  Manager,  could  be

transferred in view of Rule 27, which states:-

“The State Government can transfer any officer of the Centralized service from one Palika or Jal Sansthan to another Palika or Jal Sansthan.”

...2/-

- 2 -  

Accordingly, the civil appeal is allowed, impugned judgement of the High

Court is set aside and the writ petition filed in the High Court is dismissed.

No order as to costs.

......................J.       [MARKANDEY KATJU]

......................J.       [G.S. SINGHVI]

New Delhi, February 17, 2009.