The Calcutta High Court recently rejected the transfer plea of a 100% visually impaired State Bank of India employee who wanted to be posted near his blind wife and infant child in Delhi. The court referred to the bank’s recruitment policy, which clearly does not allow transfers for junior associates.
Justice Amrita Sinha was hearing the petition filed by Sameer Khan, a junior associate in SBI. He had requested the court to direct the bank to transfer him to Delhi, where his wife is currently working.
In its May 15 order, the court said that SBI has a specific recruitment policy and guidelines for handling transfer requests from persons with disabilities. The court said the bank had followed its policy correctly and found no mistake in its decision.
The court noted that the recruitment notice under which the petitioner applied for the job had clearly mentioned that inter-circle and inter-state transfers were not allowed for junior associates. The condition was written in bold letters.
The court said that the petitioner accepted these conditions before taking part in the recruitment process. After being selected, he joined SBI in 2022.
The court also observed that the petitioner’s personal circumstances may have changed later, which led him to seek a transfer. However, he was already aware that the transfer policy was not applicable to junior associates.
It was placed before the court that Sameer Khan is a 100% visually impaired person and originally belongs to Uttar Pradesh. He had applied for a job in the Kolkata circle after seeing the SBI recruitment notice.
Later, he married a woman who is also 100% visually impaired. The couple now has a one-year-old child. His wife is working in Delhi and has shifted there with the child. The petitioner told the court that he is the main caregiver for his wife, who is also disabled.
He requested a transfer to Delhi, but SBI informed him through a letter dated December 22, 2025, that transfers for junior associates are not allowed under the recruitment policy.
The bank also informed him that SBI follows a compassionate approach for employees with disabilities and that his request may be considered favourably in the future.
However, the bank finally rejected his request on December 30, 2025, again citing the absence of any transfer provision for junior associates.
It was also submitted before the court that the petitioner had earlier approached the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. After hearing the matter, the commissioner also rejected his request.
Advocate Subrata Kumar Sinha, appearing for SBI, opposed the petition. He argued that the recruitment notice clearly stated that transfers were not allowed for junior associates.
The bank’s lawyer also said that the petitioner had hidden the fact that his complaint had already been dismissed by the commissioner in March 2026 before filing the writ petition in April 2026.
On behalf of the petitioner, advocate Chittapriya Ghosh referred to government guidelines related to transfer and posting of employees who are caregivers of disabled dependents. He requested the court to direct SBI to consider Khan’s case under those guidelines.
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