K.Ramathal v. The Secretary to Government

J U D G M E N T (Judgment of the Court was delivered by S.M.Subramaniam J.) Under assail is the Writ Order dated 05.07.2023 passed in W.P.No.19818 of 2023. Writ Petitioner is the appellant before this Court.

¶2An order of administrative transfer was issued by the Director of Municipal Administration vide proceedings dated 19.06.2023, transferring about 56 employees from one Corporation to another Corporation. Appellant, holding the post of Junior Assistant, was transferred from Coimbatore Corporation to Tiruppur Corporation, which is not far away. The distance between Coimbatore and Tiruppur is 40 kms.

¶3Learned counsel for the appellant would mainly question the jurisdiction of Director of Municipal Administration to issue transfer order, transferring an employee from one Corporation to another Corporation. Writ Court considered jurisdiction aspect in this regard and by relying Rule 214 of Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023, dismissed Writ Petition. For the sake of convenience, Rule 214 (2) of Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023 is extracted hereunder: Page3 of 4 "(2) The Director of Municipal Administration shall be the authority competent for effecting transfer and posting for all the posts among the Municipal Corporations, based on the recommendation of CSC."

¶4From the above, it is clear that as per Sub-Rule (2) to Rule 214 of Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023, Director of Municipal Administration shall be the authority competent for effecting transfer and posting for all the posts among the Municipal Corporations. Therefore order of transfer issued by Director of Municipal Administration is well within his powers and Writ Court also considered jurisdiction point and rejected the same.

¶5Transfer is an incidental to service, more so, conditions of service. When Director of Municipal Administration is vested with powers to transfer an employee from one Corporation to another Corporation and present transfer order has been issued by Director of Municipal Administration, who is the Competent Authority, writ order dismissing the Writ Petition is in consonance with Sub-Rule (2) Rule 214 of Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023. Page4 of 4 S.M.SUBRAMANIAM,J. AND N.SENTHILKUMAR,J. AR

¶6Thus, Writ Appeal, being devoid of merits, stands dismissed. No costs. (S.M.S.,J.) (N.S.,J.) 08-07-2026 Index: Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order AR To:

¶1The Secretary to Government, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, Secretariat, Chennai-600 009.

¶2The Director of Municipal Administration, No.75, Santhome High Road, MRC Nagar, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai - 600 028.

¶3The Commissioner, Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation, Coimbatore - 641 001.

¶4The Commissioner, Tiruppur City Municipal Corporation, Tiruppur.

Page1 of 4 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 08-07-2026 CORAM THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE S.M.SUBRAMANIAM AND THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE N.SENTHILKUMAR K.Ramathal … Appellant -vs- 1. The Secretary to Government, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, Secretariat, Chennai- 600 009. 2. The Director of Municipal Administration, No.75, Santhome High Road, MRC Nagar, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai - 600 028. 3. The Commissioner, Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation, Coimbatore - 641 001. 4. The Commissioner, Tiruppur City Municipal Corporation, Tiruppur. … Respondents Prayer: To set aside the final orders passed in W.P.No.19818 of 2023 dated 05.07.2023 on the file of this Hon'ble Court. For Appellant: Mr.T.Ranganathan For Respondents: Mr.R.Sankar, Govt. Counsel for R1 & R2 Mr.KMD.Muhilan for R3, Mr.Abishek Murthy for R4 ***** Page2 of 4