GUWAHATI, Feb 26 - A Division Bench of the Gauhati High Court comprising Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice Manojit Bhuyan, in a judgement passed today in Writ Appeal No.399 of 2015 and Writ Appeal No. 26 of 2016, held that the transfer of Dr Ghanashyam Nath, principal, KC Das Commerce College, to Gauhati Commerce College by an order on October 9, 2015 issued by the Director of Higher Education, Assam, is non-est (illegal) in the eye of the law. Earlier, Dr Homeswar Kalita, principal, Gauhati Commerce College, filed a Writ Petition (C) No.6492/2015, challenging the transfer order of October 9, 2015 whereby he was transferred from Gauhati Commerce College to KC Das Commerce College and Dr Ghanashyan Nath was transferred from KC Das Commerce College to Gauhati Commerce College. Writ Petition No.6492 of 2015 was allowed by the single judge by a judgment and the order passed on May 10, 2015, setting aside and quashing the transfer order dated October 9, 2015. The appellate court, while considering the legality and validity of the transfer order, has gone to the root of its causes. The court held that the service of the principals of provincialised colleges being transferable in view of Section 3(c) of the Assam College Employees (Provincialisation) Act, 2005 and further under Section 6 of the said Act, the power to transfer only lies within the domain of the Director of Higher Education. After examining the record, the court held that the transfer order of October 9, 2015 was engineered by the Education Minister without any application of mind on the part of the Director of Higher Education, Assam, and further observed that the transfer order in question was actually put in motion by an authority not competent to do so, and the Director of Higher Education had only subscribed to it by following the directions of the Government in the Higher Education Department who, in turn, had been directed by the Departmental Minister to effect the transfer and accordingly, the Division Bench of the High Court set aside the transfer order of October 9, 2015, holding it as non-est.
