Guidlines for transfers in department of Posts part 1

                            Guidelines for Transfers

1. Applicability: -

These guidelines shall be applicable to the following: -

i. Group 'C' officials

ii. Group 'B' (non-gazetted) officials

iii. Assistant Superintendent of Posts (Group 'B' Gazetted)

2. Transfer under Rule 37 of Posta-l Manual Volume lV: -

Notwithstanding anything contained in these guidelines an official is liable to be transferred to any part of India unless it is expressly ordered otherwise for any particular class or classes of officials.

         Provided that Postmen, Village Postman and MTS should not, except for very special reasons to be recorded in writing, be transferred from one Division to another.

3. Transfer at one's own request under Rule 38 of Postal Manual Volume lV: -

A. General Conditions: -

(i) As a general rule, an official shall not be transferred from one unit to another, either within the same Circle, or to another Circle unless he has completed probation period satisfactorily.

(ii) Transfer of an official when requested for own convenience, shall not be discouraged if they can be made without injury to the rights of others.

(iii) As it is not possible to accommodate an official borne on one gradation list into another gradation list without injury to the other members in that gradation list, such transfers shall not ordinarily be allowed except by way of mutual exchange. Transfers by way of mutual exchange, if in themselves inherently unobjectionable, shall be allowed. But in order to safeguard the rights of employees borne in the gradation lists of both the offices, the official brought in shall take the place, in the new gradation list; that would have been assigned to him had he been originally recruited in that unit or the place vacated by the official with whom he exchanges appointment, whichever is the lower.

(iv) When an official is transferred at his own request but without arranging for mutual exchange, he shall rank junior in the gradation list of the new unit to all officials of that unit on the date on which the official joins the new unit.

(v) If the old and the new unit form parts of a wider unit for the purpose of promotion to a higher cadre, the transferee (whether by mutual exchange or otherwise) will retain his original seniority in the gradation list of the wider unit.

(vi) An official transferred from one unit to another will be allowed to seek retransfer to his/her old unit. However, such cases shall be considered as a fresh transfer case under rule 38 subject to all other provisions of these guidelines.

(vii) To remove any doubt, it is clarified that an official on re-transfer to a unit from where he/she was transferred earlier shall not be entitled to the seniority or any other special privilege to which the official would have been entitled by virtue of his/her position in the gradation list of the old unit before such initial transfer. Seniority of such official will be determined in the manner provided in para 3(A)(iii), 3(A)(iv) & 3A(v) here in above. However, if an official who had appeared in a Departmental Examination before transfer under this rule, he/she will not forfeit the right of being considered for promotion in the old unit on the basis of such Examination, but, will not have any such right in the new unit. 

         If an official qualifies in the Departmental Examination which he/she appeared in old unit, such official shall directly join the promoted post in the old unit and such appointment in the old unit shall not be treated as transfer under this rule.

(viii) Transfer under Rule 38 shall be permitted only against similar type/categories vacancy i.e. Direct Recruit shall be transferred against Direct Recruitment vacancy and promote against a promotion vacancy. Further Unreserved (UR) candidate shall be transferred against UR vacancy, OBC candidate against OBC vacancy, SC candidate against SC vacancy and ST candidate against ST vacancy.

         [Explanation: SC/ST/OBC candidate recruited against UR vacancy shall be considered as SC/ST/OBC for transfer under Rule 38.]

(ix) Under Rule 38, inter Circle and intra-Circle transfer from one distinct cadre to another viz. Post Offices to Circle Office, Regional Office, SBCO, Postal Assistant to Sorting Assistant etc. or vice versa shall not be allowed.

(X) Only such official who have completed probation or put in minimum service of 2 years in the grade where there is no probation period shall be eligible for transfer under Rule 38:

         Provided that the condition of 2 years or probation period shall not be applicable for Persons with Disabilities (PwD):

        Provided further that the condition of 2 years or probation period shall not be applicable if employee/his or her spouse/fully dependent children are suffering from Terminal illness. 

            Transfer case of such officials shall be referred to Directorate with due recommendation of CPMsG concerned supported by relevant documents. It shall be open to the Directorate to seek second medical opinion of the appropriate authority.

                                                                                                     

Provided further that an official who has been transferred to a unit shall not be eligible for transfer under this rule before completion of 2 years of service in new unit.

(xi) Under Rule 38, an official will be eligible for two Inter-Circle transfer and two Intra Circle transfer during entire service.

(xii) One additional chance for transfer in both the categories, viz. Inter Circle and Intra Circle, will be allowed to Persons with Disabilities (PwD). 

           Employee with disability who has been appointed without availing relaxed standard of merit for PH candidates or an employee who suffered disability after initial employment, shall be allowed transfer as of a PwD candidate, subject to submission of appropriate certificate as per Government of India's instructions in support of claim of being disabled.

(xiii) An Assistant superintendent of Posts shall not be transferred under rule 38 to a circle where all his senior borne originally in the grade of Inspector posts of that circle are not promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Posts, excluding those who have not been promoted due to disciplinary action or who have denied promotion.

Explanation: For the purpose of this clause 'senior borne originally in the grade of Inspector posts of that circle' means those Inspector Posts who were appointed first time as Inspector Posts in that Circle and shall not include such Inspector Posts who is transferred from other Circle thereby becoming junior to all Inspector Posts on the date of joining the Circle.

Illustration: An official 'X' in the grade of IP on transfer from Circle 'A to Circle' B, under Rule 38, become junior to all of6cials in the grade of IP in Circle-B on the date of joining irrespective of the fact that many such officials may have been appointed as IP on the basis of examination held later than the examination in which 'X' qualified. When another official 'Y in Circle (including Circle A), alter being promoted as ASP, seeks transfer under RuIe'38 to Circle B, his transfer shall be allowed if all officials originally borne in the grade of IP in

Circle B and senior to 'Y have been promoted as ASP. Further, transfer of Y shall not be denied on the ground that 'Y was originally junior to 'X' who is yet to be promoted as ASP by virtue of being junior to all of6cials in the grade of IP in Circle-B on the date of joining.