M. KATJU, J. This petition furnishes a typical instance of a highly pernicious virus which has crept into the governance of this State, namely, the blatant and persistent abuse of the power of the transfer and post ing of government servants on political, caste, monetary or other extraneous con siderations instead of an administrative ground and in the public interest. 2. I have heard Sri. VK. Singh who was appointed as amicus curiae by the order of this Court dated 23-3- 97 to assist the petitioner, Sri Devendra Pratap who has appeared for respondent No. 4 and learned standing counsel. 3. The petitioner has challenged the impugned order dated 13-8- 96, Annexure 8 to the writ petition by which the petitioners transfer from Gopiganj to Bhadohi was can celled. The petitioner was working as Attendant-Nurse-cum-Midwife in Community Health Centre, Gopiganj and she was trans ferred to Bhadohi by order dated 24-6-96, Annexure 1 to the petition. The petitioner joined at Bhadohi on 6-7-97 as stated in para 8 of the writ petition and she has also been paid salary at Community Health Centre, Bhadohi. She has alleged that her son who is a student of Class X is taking coaching class at Bhadohi. In para 11 of the writ petition it is stated that respondent No. 4 approached Smt. Phoolan Devi, Member of Parliament who got the transfer order dated 24-6-96 cancelled by the impugned order dated 13-8-96. A perusal of the order dated 13-8-96 shows that it has been mentioned there that the said order had been passed on the direction of Smt. Phoolan Devi, Mem ber of Parliament. The order states: Thus it is evident from the impugned order dated 13-8-96 itself that this orderwas passed on the direction of Smt. Phoolan Devi, Member of Parliament. 4. In my opinion the impugned order is wholly arbitrary as it has been passed solely on the dictates of a politician (as the order expressly states) and not on any administra tive exigency. It is settled law that transfer orders have to be passed on administrative grounds and not on the dictates of a politician [vide Pawan Kumar Srivastava v. U. P State Electricity Board, 1995 (1) U. P. L. B. E. C. 414]. 5. It is settled law that transfer orders have to be passed on administrative grounds and not on the dictates of a politician [vide Pawan Kumar Srivastava v. U. P State Electricity Board, 1995 (1) U. P. L. B. E. C. 414]. 5. A large number of petitions by government servants are coming up before this Court challenging transfer orders and the time has now come when this subject has to be dealt with comprehensively. 6. The traditional principle has been that this Court does not ordinarily interfere with transfer order, as transfer is an exigency of service. However, this principle was made for and can only apply to, an administration which is functioning normally and not when there is blatant and persistent abuse of the power of transfer. 7. It is regrettable that in this State (and perhaps in other State too) transfer appears to have become an industry. Government servants are often treated like shuttle-cocks, to be banged and battered around frequently without any thought of the effect this is having on their morale and on the administration: 8. To give an example, from March 1991 to March 1997, i. e. in 6 years, there have been 16 Senior Superintendents Police in Allahabad as stated below: - 1. Sri R. K. Bhatia 28-3-91 to 3-7-91 2. Sri O. P. S. Malik 5-7-91 to 2-4-92 3. Sri Manoj Kumar 2-4-92 to 21-4-93 4. Sri R. K. Tfewari 24-4-93 to 31-12-93 5. Dr. Kashmir Singh 31-12-93 to 28-1-94 6. Sri Premnath Pathak 28-1-94 to 8-6-94 7. Anand Prakash Maheshwari 8-6-94 to 13-9-94 8. Sri Satish Chandra Yadav 14-9-94 to 7-6-95 9. Sri Subesh Kumar Singh 8-6-95 to 8-6-95 10. Sri Sulkhan Singh 9-6-95 to 27-8-95 11. Sri R. R. Bhatnagar 28-8-95 to 21-9-95 12. Sri Ranjan Dwivedi 22-9-95 to 29-12-95 13. Sri Rajni Kant Mishra 30-12-95 to 15-8-96 14. Sri Satendra Kumar Garg 16-8-96 to 20-2-97 15. Dr. Ajit Kumar Singh 20-2-97 to 26-3-97 16. Sri Subesh Kumar Singh 28-2-97 to 9. The above figures show that some S. S. Ps. lasted in Allahabad for only a month or two, while one lasted for only 24 hours. 10. Similar would be the position in other districts in U. P. In todays newspapers there was a news item that the I. G. Al lahabad Zone (who came here only a month ago) has been transferred. What a way to run the administration. lasted in Allahabad for only a month or two, while one lasted for only 24 hours. 10. Similar would be the position in other districts in U. P. In todays newspapers there was a news item that the I. G. Al lahabad Zone (who came here only a month ago) has been transferred. What a way to run the administration. 11. It must be remembered that when a new S. S. P. (or other officer) comes and joins at a particular place, he has to assess the law and order situation, meet the police officers under him and familiarize himself with the scenario. However, even before he can take stock of the situation he is transferred. How can the administration be run in such a manner? 12. Moreover, frequent transfers of of ficers entails a lot of hardship on the civil servant as well as his family, apart from the expenditure involved. It must be remem bered that a government servant is also a human being with a family to look after and children to be sent to school. At present, I am informed many government servants do not bring their families to the place of post ing, as they may have to go at a minutes notice. 13. Further it is being widely com mented that transfers and postings are being done on caste, political or even monetary considerations, instead of on administrative grounds. 14. A phenomenon which has unfor tunately arisen in U. P. in the last decade or so is of government servants getting as sociated with some political party or politician (often on caste basis ). One result of this is that whenever there is any change of government there is a spate of transfers and everyday in the newspapers one reads of a fresh list of transfers. Moreover some of these transfers are cancelled or amended within a few days of their being issued for certain inexplicable reasons, which could not possibly be administrative. 15. In my opinion it is impossible to expect fairness and objectivity from a government servant who is linked with politicians. Absence of objectivity and fair ness in administrative decisions leads in evitably to the collapse of administration and the opening of the floodgates of corrup tion and crime. 16. 15. In my opinion it is impossible to expect fairness and objectivity from a government servant who is linked with politicians. Absence of objectivity and fair ness in administrative decisions leads in evitably to the collapse of administration and the opening of the floodgates of corrup tion and crime. 16. A most unfortunate fact in U. P. is that for the last decade or so the administration in the State is being run on feudal lines, the offices and other government servants being divided on caste and communal lines, often being linked with politicians of the same caste or community. How can such an administration be cohesive and objective and work for the public good? 17. In this connection the Third Report of the Shah Commission states "un less the services work for and establish a reputation of political neutrality the citizens will have no confidence in the im partiality and fairness of the service" [see constitutional Law of India by H. M. Seervai, Vol. 3,4th Edn. p. 2987]. 18. Sardar Patel, in the Constituent Assembly Debates (vide Vol. 10, p. 51) remarked "as a man of experience, I tell you, do not quarrel with the instruments with which you want to work-Today my Secretary can write note opposed to my views. I have given that freedom to all my Secretaries. I have told them if you do not give your honest opinion for fear that it will displease your Minister, please then you had better go. I will bring another Secretary. i will never be displeased over a frank expres sion of opinion. 19. The present political leaders would be well advised to ponder over the above remark of Sardar Patel. 20. The function of civil servants has best been summarized by Sir warran Fisher, former permanent Head of the British Tre asury, while giving evidence before the Tbm-lin Commission, in the following words:- "determination of policy is the function of Ministers and once a policy is determined it is the unquestioned and unquestionable business of the civil servant to strive to carry out that policy with precisely the same energy and precisely the same good will whether he agrees with it or not. At the same time, it is the traditional duty of civil ser vants, while decisions are being formulated, to make available to their political chiefs all the infor mation and experience at their disposal and to do this without fear or favour, irrespective of whether the advice thus tendered may accord or not with the Ministers initial view. The preservation of in tegrity, fearlessness and independence of thought and utterance in their private communion with Minister of the experienced officials is an essential principle of enlightened government. Whether or not Ministers accept advice thus frankly placed at their disposal and acceptance or rejection of such advice is exclusively a matter for their judgment, it enables them to be assured that their decisions are reached only after the relevant facts and the various considerations have, so far as the machinery of government can secure, been definitely brought before their minds. " 21. In his book comparative Government Prof. Finer writes; "in 1963 two American political scientists (Professors Almond and Verba) made a survey of what they called the civic culture in five countries. These were the U. S. A. Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy and Mexico. In the course of this they conducted opinion polls on certain relevant topics across these five countries. Answering the query as, to "which aspects of na tional life they took most pride in, only two-and-a-half per cent of the Italians named their governmental arrangements and only four per cent of the Germans. In Britain, however, thirty three per cent of the respondents named their governmental arrangements. Furthermore, more than one-half believed that civil servants would give their individual problems serious consideration and three-quarters believed that the police would. Two-thirds of those questioned believed, further that it was in their power to affect a national policy and four-fifths thought they could affect a local policy. Finally, four-fifths of the respondents believed that the civil servants would treat them fairly and no less than nine-tenths believed that the police would. By international standards these proportions are very high indeed and they express what has long been asserted: that on the whole the British esteem their political arrangements and have confidence in them. " 22. In this connection Seervai in his constitutional Law of India (4th Ed. Vol. By international standards these proportions are very high indeed and they express what has long been asserted: that on the whole the British esteem their political arrangements and have confidence in them. " 22. In this connection Seervai in his constitutional Law of India (4th Ed. Vol. Ill, p. 2988) writes "if a civil service is to command the confidence of the people it must be a non-political civil service, dis charging its duty fearlessly, no matter which political party is in power for the time being. " 23. The reward of such a fearless, inde pendent, non-political civil service is respect by the people and this is well brought out in the quotation of Prof. Finer in his book comparative Government (See above ). Prof. Finer records that two American political scientist observed that in England "four-fifths of the respondents believed that the civil service would treat them fairly". There can be no greater praise for a. civil service than to have this said about it. 24. Under our Constitution various safeguards have been provided in Part XIV (particularly Article 311) to secure an effi cient and non-political civil service. While the Constitution made no attempt to clearly demarcate the respective spheres of func tions of the Ministers and the civil servants, it was assumed that the British model which we adopted gave sufficient guidance as to the relation between a permanent, non-political civil service and the Ministers in-charge of the various departments. It is for the Minister to lay down the policy and for the civil servants to carry it out, but there should not be any ministerial interference in the day-to-day administration of the depart ment. 25. In my opinion transfers and post ings should ordinarily be left to the senior civil servants (except in rare cases where the Minister may interfere ). For instance, the posting of Inspector and Sub-Inspectors of Police and even of higher officers, should be left in the hands of the concerned senior police officer and should not be done by, or at the instance of, Ministers or politicians and such postings should never be done on the basis of caste or political affiliations or monetary consideration. 26. For instance, the posting of Inspector and Sub-Inspectors of Police and even of higher officers, should be left in the hands of the concerned senior police officer and should not be done by, or at the instance of, Ministers or politicians and such postings should never be done on the basis of caste or political affiliations or monetary consideration. 26. Similarly, transfers and postings of other Government servants should be solely in the hands of senior officers of the service concerned and should not be at the behest of, or on the dictates of, politicians. 27. In Pawan Kumar Srivastava v. U. P. State Electricity Board, [1995 (1) UPLBEC, 414] This Court quashed a transfer order passed on the desire of the Chief Minister. In this case, the petitioner was a Chemist, Grade-II in the service of the U. P. Govern ment and was also General Secretary of the U. P. Vidyut Mazdur Sangh which is af filiated to the Bhartiya Mazdur Sangh. The City President of the Bahujan Samaj Party wrote a letter to the Chief Minister that the petitioner was harrassing members of the backward class. The Secretary to the Chief Minister then wrote a letter to the Chair man, U. P. State Electricity Board, convey ing the request of the Chief Minister to transfer the petitioner and on this letter the petitioner was transferred. Allowing the writ petition of the petitioner Honble Alok Chakrabarti, J. in an elaborate and well con sidered decision observed "i am convinced that the petitioners transfer was on politi cal considerations and complaints and not at all was considered from the angle of ad ministrative exigency or public interest. " 28. His Lordship relied on the decision of the Court in Sheo Kumar Sharma v. Basic Shiksha Adhikari, 1991 (1) UPLBEC, 690, where it was observed:- "it is regretted that a Minister should pass a transfer order which function is to be discharged by the competent authority in the Department. If anything adverse to the conduct of the incumbent comes to the knowledge of a Vidhayak or some other public representative then he may forward it to the competent authority requesting him to con sider the same and do the needful in the matter, but interference by directing transfer straightaway is not compatible to the principles of law by which a country having a democratic set-up is to be governed. All the persons in position should know that this is not the government of the men how ever high position they may occupy but is the Government of laws. " 29. His Lordship also relied on the decision of a Division Bench of this Court in Pradeep Kumar Agarwal v. Director, Local Bodies. [1990 (1) UPLBEC 156 which observed:- "transfers are to be done only in ad ministrative exigencies and in public interest, but in the instant case the letter written by the aforesaid M. P. addressed to the Minister for Urban Development bearing endorsement of the officers of the Government indicates that the instant transfer has neither been made in ad ministrative exigency nor in public interest. It is not onfy a matter of surprise but highfy objec tionable that bureaucrats are dancing at the tunes of such letters ignoring the well-settled norms for transfer. " 30. His Lordship distinguished the decision of the Supreme Court in Shilpi Base v. State of Bihar, AIR 1991 SC 532 , on the ground that in that decision the Supreme Court had observed that "the Court should not interfere with a transfer order which is made public interest and for administrative reasons unless the transfer order is made in violation of any mandatory statutory rule or on the ground of mala fide. " 31. His Lordship held that a transfer order passed on political considerations is malafide. 32. In my opinion, the above observa tion in Shilpi Bases case (supra) itself make it clear that the Court can interfere with a transfer order which was not passed for administrative reasons and in the public inter est. 33. In Union of India v. S. L. Abbas, 1993 (4) SCC, 357; Raiendra Roy v. Union of India, AIR 1993, SC, 1236, Union of India v. N. P. Thomas, AIR 1993 SC, 1605, etc. the Supreme Court observed that the Court should not interfere with transfer orders unless there is violation of some statutory luleor mala fides. 34. ln N. K. Singh v. Union of India, 1994 (6) SCC 98 the Supreme Court observed: "unless the decision is vitiated by mala fides or infraction of any professed norm of prin ciple governing the transfer, which alone can be scrutinized judicially there are no judi cially manageable standards for scrutinizing all transfers. 35. 34. ln N. K. Singh v. Union of India, 1994 (6) SCC 98 the Supreme Court observed: "unless the decision is vitiated by mala fides or infraction of any professed norm of prin ciple governing the transfer, which alone can be scrutinized judicially there are no judi cially manageable standards for scrutinizing all transfers. 35. The above decisions make it dear that transfer orders can be set aside on three grounds:- (1) Violation of a statutory rule, or (2)Mala fides,or (3) Infraction of any professed norm or principle governing transfers. 36. In my opinion, the impugned order is liable to be set aside on the second and third ground mentioned above. 37. The meaning of mala fides in rela tion to a transfer order has been explained by the Supreme Court in B. Varadha Rao v. State of Kamataka, 1986 (4) SCC 131 in the followingwords:- This power (of transfer) must be exercised honestly, bonafide and reasonably. It should be exercised in public interest. If the exercise of power is based on extraneous considerations or for achieving an alien purpose or an oblique mo tive it would amount to mala fide and colourable exercise of power. Frequent transfers, without sufficient reasons to justify such transfers, cannot but be held as male fide. A transfer is mala fide when it is not made for the professed purpose such as in the normal course or in public and administrative interest or in the exigencies of ser vice. It is a basic principle of the rule of law and good administration that even administrative ac tions should be just and fair. " 38. In view of the above observation it is obvious that the impugned order was passed mala fide. 39. In the same decision the Supreme Court also observed:- "one cannot but deprecate that frequent, unscheduled and unreasonable transfers can uproot a family, cause irreparable harm to a government servant and drive him to desperation. It disrupts the education of his children and leads to numerous other complications and problems and results in hardship and demobilization. It therefore follows that the policy of transfer should be reasonable and fair and should apply to everybody equally. " 40. It disrupts the education of his children and leads to numerous other complications and problems and results in hardship and demobilization. It therefore follows that the policy of transfer should be reasonable and fair and should apply to everybody equally. " 40. In my opinion, the impugned order is also illegal because it is in breach of the basic norm or principle governing transfers that such transfers should be on administra tive grounds and cot at the behest of politicians. In my opinion, a transfer order passed in breach of the settled norms of administration is arbitrary and hence viola-tiveof Article 16 of the Constitution. 41. In this connection it is of some interest to note that the great Emperor Ashok had directed that transfers of Government servants should take place every five years. In Edict III among the Rock Edicts is inscribed: "thus saith His Sacred and Gracious Majes ty the King:- When I had been consecrated twelve years this command was issued by me: - Everywhere in my dominions the subor dinate officials, the Governor and the District Officer must every five years proceed in succes sion on transfer, as well as for their other busi ness. " [see1 ashok, the Buddhist Emperor of India by Vincent Smith]. The administrative insight and under standing of Ashok is remarkable, consider ing that the above direction was given in 262 B. C. , when most people in Europe except in Greece and Rome, were living in forests. Ashokas view appears to be based on two considerations (1) No Government servant should be allowed to remain at one place permanently since otherwise he may develop local links and vested interest which would be detrimental to the public interest. (2) Government servants should not be too frequently transferred, as that too would be against the public interest since a Government servant requires some time to familiarize himself with the situation on a new posting and he too should be given some stability for a certain period of time. Thus Ashoka struck the balance by provid ing for a 5 years duration of posting. Under Mughal rule there appears to have been a custom of the Empire according to which a Governor was expected to retire from a province after three years (See provincial Government of the Mughals by Dr. P. Saran, p. 177 ). Thus Ashoka struck the balance by provid ing for a 5 years duration of posting. Under Mughal rule there appears to have been a custom of the Empire according to which a Governor was expected to retire from a province after three years (See provincial Government of the Mughals by Dr. P. Saran, p. 177 ). Thus, Tavernier writes "shaista Khan, having completed three years of his government, according to the custom in the Empire of the Great Mughal, withdrew to Agra, where the Court then was. " Similarly, Peter Mundy states "gover nors of Provinces are usually transferred from one place to another once in three or four years. 42. The British practice appears to have been a normal 3 years posting, though of course this was not a hard and fast rule and could be changed on administrative considerations. 43. After Indias Independence, the political leaders like Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Govind Ballabh Pant, Dr. B. C. Roy, etc. provided an atmosphere of dignity and sense of direction for the civil services to function honestly and efficiently, with the public interest constantly held in view. However, with the passing of these great leaders unfortunately the high stand ards they had set up were gradually diluted and there was a steady deterioration in values. 44. Thus, the Second Report of the National Police Commission, published by the Govt. of India in August 1979 states: "interference with the police system by ex traneous sources, especially the politicians, en courages the police personnel to believe that their career advancement does not at all depend on the merits of their professional performance, but can be secured by currying favour with politicians who count politicking and hob-nobbing with functionaries outside the police system appear very worthwhile in the estimate of an average police officer. Deliberate and sustained cultiva tion of a few individuals on the political plane takes up all the time of a number of police person nel to the detriment of the performance of their normal professional jobs. This process sets the system on the downward slope to decay and total ineffectiveness. Deliberate and sustained cultiva tion of a few individuals on the political plane takes up all the time of a number of police person nel to the detriment of the performance of their normal professional jobs. This process sets the system on the downward slope to decay and total ineffectiveness. " In the same report the Commis sion also observed: "pressure on the police takes a variety of forms, ranging from a promise of career advance ment and preferential treatment in service mat ters if the demand is yielded to and a threat of drastic penal action and dis-favoured treatment in service matters if the pressure is resisted. While it is not possible to punish a police officer with a statutory punishment under the Discipline and Appeal Rules, without adequate grounds and fol lowing a prescribed procedure, it is very easy to subject him to administrative action by way of transfer or suspension on the basis of an alleged complaint taken up for inquiry. While suspension acts as a great humiliating factor, a transfer acts as a severe economic blow and disruption of the police officers family, childrens education, etc. The threat of transfer/suspensions the most potent weapon in the hands of the politician to bend down the police to his will who have been told in several states about the frequent transfer of police personnel ordered on direct instructions from political levels in Government, in disregard of the rule that the transfer of the personnel con cerned fell within the normal domain of the super visory ranks within the police. We are aware of an instance in which the Inspector General of Police himself was transferred to an inconsequential post under the State Government immediately after he had shown his reluctance to issue orders for the transfer of a large number of police personnel as desired by the political leadership who he felt that the transfers were not justified on normal ad ministrative grounds. A typical instance was brought to our notice in which even though the local commanding officer specifically pointed out the hardship and loss of morale that would result from the pre-emptory transfer ordered by a Mini ster, he was overruled and was asked to comply with the order forthwith. A typical instance was brought to our notice in which even though the local commanding officer specifically pointed out the hardship and loss of morale that would result from the pre-emptory transfer ordered by a Mini ster, he was overruled and was asked to comply with the order forthwith. We were also informed of an instance in which an Inspector of police, under orders of transfer issued by his departmen tal superiors, exclaimed publicly that he would soon get orders from above cancelling his own transfer order and transferring away his superior officer instead. The Inspectors transfer was in fact cancelled within the next few days and it was his superior officer who had to move out under the compulsion of a politically directed transfer order. The consequent serious damage to dis cipline and morale of the chain of command within the police system can be easily imagined. " 45. We may compare the situation in our country with the situation in England. Sir Robert Mark, former Chief Commis sioner of Police, London said in speech: "in the legal and constitutional frame work ing which society requires us to enforce the laws enacted by its elected representatives, the most essential weapons in our armoury are not firearms, water cannon, tear gas, or rubber bul lets, but the confidence and support of the people. That confidence and support depends on our per sonal and collective integrity and in particular on our long tradition of constitutional freedom from political interference in our operational role. It is important for you to understand that the police are not the servants of the government at any level. We cannot act at the behest of a minister or any political party, not even the party in govern ment. We act on behalf of people as a whole and the powers we exercise can be restricted or widened by anyone, save parliament alone. " 46. In my opinion, to run the ad ministration properly there must be some objective criteria regarding transfers and postings of government servants in the State and it should not be done on the basis of caste, religion, favouritism pick and choose, or illegal gratification. 47. " 46. In my opinion, to run the ad ministration properly there must be some objective criteria regarding transfers and postings of government servants in the State and it should not be done on the basis of caste, religion, favouritism pick and choose, or illegal gratification. 47. Hence, I direct the State Govern ment to form a High Powered Committee, which should include the Chief Secretary, U. P. , the learned Advocate General, U. P. , the Director General of Police and some very senior LAS. , I. P. S. and allied service officers and this Committee should formu late objective criteria and guidelines regarding transfers and postings of government servants at all levels. The Committee should deal with all aspects of the matter, e. g. which authority should have the power to transfer, what should be the normal duration of a posting, what should be the criteria for transfers/posting, etc. 48. This Committee must be set up within six weeks from today and it should deliberate on the matter and then submit its report to the State Government within two months thereafter. A copy of the report shall also be sent to this Court. On receipt of the report, the State Government shall make such rules and take such action, as is necessary in conformity with the report. 49. The writ petition is allowed. The impugned order dated 13-8-96, being ar bitrary and based on extraneous considera tions is quashed. However, the Director of Health may pass fresh orders on purely ad ministrative considerations regarding the posting of the petitioner and respondent No. 4 without being influenced by any politician or authority. 50. Let a copy of this judgment be sent forthwith by the Registrar of this Court to the Chief Secretary, U. P. Govt. and the learned Advocate General, U. P. the Chief Secretary is directed to circulate a copy of this judgment to all the Secretaries to the State Government, the Director General of Police and the heads of the various depart ments as well as the heads of all services in every district, with the direction that all of ficers concerned should bear in mind the observation made in this judgment. 51. The Registrar of this Court will also send a copy of this judgment to the Home Secretary, Union of India, New Delhi. Petition allowed .