STATE OF KERALA & ORS v. BIJI.P.M & ORS

Introduction

This judgment of the Kerala High Court concerns the implementation of the general transfer policy in the State GST Department. The dispute arose after the Kerala Administrative Tribunal stayed the annual general transfers on the ground that the Government had not implemented the online transfer system and electronic database as mandated by the Government Order governing transfers.

The High Court held that although the objective of introducing an online transfer system is laudable and promotes transparency, the Tribunal cannot compel the Government to implement such policy within a fixed timeframe. Accepting the State’s undertaking to operationalize the online software within six months, the Court permitted the department to carry out the current year’s transfers through the existing offline mechanism while directing that all future general transfers shall be conducted online in accordance with the Government guidelines.