*Dismisses SP’s plea
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 25: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Jammu Bench, has dismissed an application filed by Bharat Bhushan Sharma, SP, challenging his deputation from JKAP–7th Battalion (Security) to the J&K Prisons Department, holding that prior consent of the employee is not mandatory for deputation within the same Union Territory and under the same administrative set-up.
The order was passed by a Bench comprising Member (Judicial) Rajinder Singh Dogra and Member (Administrative) Ram Mohan Johri. The applicant was represented by Advocate Deepika Pushkar Nath, while the respondents were represented by AAG Rajesh Thappa.
Sharma had assailed Government Order No. 200-Home of 2025 dated 15.04.2025 deputing him to the Prisons Department and Government Order No. 553-Home of 2025 dated 20.11.2025 rejecting his representation, insisting that deputation cannot be enforced without explicit consent.
The Tribunal, however, noted that there was no reduction in rank, salary, allowances or seniority, and that the deputation was within the UT of J&K, where both the Police Department and Prisons Department function under the Home Department distinguishing it from cases involving deputation outside the UT.
The CAT further recorded that the matter had been examined by the competent authorities and that the governing framework—Article 52-C of the J&K Civil Services Regulations, 1956 read with Schedule XVIII—does not prescribe any requirement of obtaining the employee’s prior consent for deputation, and the applicant could not point to any contrary rule.
Rejecting reliance on the Srinagar Bench decision in Khurshid Ahmad Khan’s case, the Tribunal held the comparison was misplaced because that deputation was to the UT of Ladakh and involved guidelines for deputation outside J&K, whereas Sharma’s deputation was within J&K.
On the facts, the Tribunal also found that the deputation stemmed from administrative need—an officer in the Prisons Department sought repatriation after completing deputation, Police Headquarters nominated Sharma as substitute, and the order followed due process and approval—thereby ruling out arbitrariness.
Holding that transfer/deputation is an incident of service and that interference is warranted only on proof of mala fides or statutory violation, neither of which was established, the CAT upheld both Government orders and dismissed the Original Application, passing no order as to costs.
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