Calling Bengaluru’s cosmopolitan life “very alluring”, the Supreme Court refused to examine a petition by government doctors against their transfers out of Karnataka’s capital city.
A bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and K Vinod Chandran observed there was no prejudice if the doctors were transferred out of Bengaluru.
“The cosmopolitan life of Bangalore is very alluring, (but) other areas of Karnataka are also developed. You are a privileged class of society. If you oppose transfer what will happen to others? We are not inclined to entertain the appeal,” the bench said.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by a group of doctors challenging the Karnataka State Civil Services (Regulation of Transfer of Medical Officers and other Staff) Rules, 2025, which regulates the transfer of medical officers and other staff within the state’s health and family welfare department.
The 2025 rule governs the transfer of government doctors and medical staff within the state’s Health and Family Welfare Department.
The Karnataka High Court had previously refused to stay the rules, saying the 2025 rules were enacted in exercise of state’s power under Section 12 of Karnataka State Civil Services (Regulation of Transfer of Medical Officers and other Staff) 2011 Act. According to the High Court, the Act does not specify any minimum time period that must elapse between the publication of draft rules and their finalisation.
The petitioners questioned the rules, citing only a week’s time to file objections to the draft rules. Their primary contention was that they were given just a week to file objections to the draft rules. They argued that this was an inadequate amount of time for a thorough review and to submit meaningful objections, effectively denying them a reasonable opportunity to participate in the rulemaking process.
They also submitted the draft rules had no concept of Greater Bengaluru and incorporation of Greater Bengaluru in the final notification was impermissible. They argued that the incorporation of ‘Greater Bengaluru’ in the final notification was not allowed because it was not part of the initial draft that was open for public feedback.
The Supreme Court has now also effectively declined to entertain the doctors’ plea against their transfers from Bengaluru.
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