The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Allahabad Bench, has dismissed a railway employee’s challenge to his transfer from Prayagraj to Fatehpur, holding that a WhatsApp response saying “OK” was not sufficient to establish that his request for additional leave had been formally sanctioned by the competent authority.
The applicant challenged the transfer order dated July 25, 2025, alleging that it was punitive and linked to a leave-related dispute and subsequent disciplinary proceedings. He contended that his superior’s WhatsApp response had approved his request for two additional days of leave on July 17 and 18, 2025.
The Railways, however, submitted that leave had to be formally sanctioned by the competent authority through the Human Resource Management System (HRMS). It also submitted that the transfer was necessitated by administrative requirements, including the need for staff at the Fatehpur booking office, and had been approved following a Placement Committee recommendation.
The Tribunal noted that the charge-sheet against the employee was issued on July 31, 2025, after the transfer order had already been passed. It found no cogent evidence to establish that the transfer was motivated by mala fides or was a disguised punishment.
Dismissing the original application, the CAT vacated its interim order dated August 19, 2025, and directed that there would be no order as to costs.
