'Employees cannot claim seniority in new place'

If a teacher applied for voluntary transfer from one college to another, such a transfer could be made by placing the tranferee teacher at the bottom of the seniority list of the teachers serving on the same cadre and category in the transferee institution, the apex court said, allowing an appeal filed by Surendra Singh Beniwal challenging the judgements passed by the Uttarkhand High Court.

A single judge and later a division bench of the high court had taken the view that a lecturer, even if he was transferred on his own request, would continue to maintain his seniority from the date of the appointment to his/her original college.

The apex court said it was clear if a teacher sought voluntary transfer from one institution to another, the transferee teacher shall be placed at the bottom of the seniority list.