Gujarat high court has ruled that police personnel of the rank of head constable and constable cannot be permanently transferred from one district to another.

The judgement was passed by a division bench of justice S J Mukhopadhaya and justice J B Pardiwala on Thursday while hearing a petition by an unarmed head constable Haroon Kadiwala, challenging his transfer from his hometown Surat to Sabarkantha.

Interpreting the provisions of section 28(1) of the Bombay Police Act, the division bench held that in cases of emergency situation and administrative exigency, a police personnel of rank of head constables and constables can be sent on deputation from one district to another so as to meet with such emergency or administrative exigency.

But when such emergency or administrative exigency is over, they are to be sent back to their original place of posting in the parent district and they should retain lien and seniority in the parent district, the court observed.

Police personnel of rank of head constable and constable cannot be permanently transferred from one district to another, it added.

Appearing for the Kadiwala, his counsel Mukul Sinha had submitted before the court that inter-district transfer of his client was being used as a weapon to punish him for his trade union activities.

The order of transfer was malafide exercise of power conferred by section 28(1) of the Bombay Police Act, Sinha added.

Kadiwala, who was working at Khatodara police station of Surat district, was transferred on March 23, 2010 to Himmatnagar in Sabarkantha district.

He had approached the high court challenging the transfer order. But his petition was rejected by a single judge in August last year.

Kadiwala then appealed against the single judge order before a division bench, which ruled in his favour.