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X vs Registrar General, High Court of Madhya Pradesh and Anr.

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2022 INSC 171Decided 10 Feb 2022
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1137 of 2018

Background

The petitioner, a former Additional District and Sessions Judge in Madhya Pradesh, had been transferred mid-term from Gwalior to Sidhi shortly after a complaint was made against her. Her two representations seeking to stay in Gwalior (so her daughter could finish her Class 12 exams) were rejected within days, after which she resigned; the resignation was accepted the very next day. A later Judges Inquiry Committee (constituted in connection with separate sexual harassment allegations she had raised, which she was not pressing in this petition) found her transfer was irregular and recommended reinstatement, but the High Court's Full Court twice rejected her plea to be reinstated.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined only the narrow question of whether the transfer and resulting resignation were voluntary, expressly leaving aside the harassment allegations and refraining from naming anyone involved. It found the sequence of events: an unsubstantiated complaint, an unusually rapid mid-term transfer inconsistent with the High Court's own transfer policy, and back-to-back rejections of her representations within days: showed the resignation was born out of frustration and could not be treated as truly voluntary. Exercising its writ jurisdiction, the Court quashed the order accepting her resignation and directed her reinstatement with continuity of service and all consequential benefits (though without back wages), while also urging High Courts generally to counsel valued judicial officers before accepting hasty resignations.

Lesson Learnt

A resignation extracted through unfair or coercive administrative pressure, even without an explicit threat, can be treated by courts as involuntary and set aside, particularly where the employee acts quickly afterward to challenge it.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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