The Madras High Court has continued its interim stay on a part of Union Bank of India’s transfer policy that deals with the transfer of women officers under the longer-tenure category. The order was passed on June 2, 2026, by Justice S. Sounthar while hearing a petition filed by the All India Union Bank Officer Staff Association and a woman officer against the bank’s transfer policy issued in March 2026.
What is the Case About?
The case relates to Union Bank of India’s new transfer policy issued through a staff circular dated March 16, 2026. The petitioners challenged Clause 5.4 of the policy, which deals with transfers of officers who have completed a long period of service in a particular zone. They also raised concerns about provisions related to maternity and child-care exemptions.
According to the petitioners, the policy allows women officers to be transferred to places far away from their spouses and family members after completing a specified tenure in a zone. They argued that this is contrary to the guidelines issued by the Government of India for women employees in public sector banks.
What Did the Union and Women Officers Say?
The All India Union Bank Officer Staff Association argued that the transfer policy ignores the directions issued by the Ministry of Finance in 2014 and 2024. The union said that the Government of India had directed banks to accommodate married women employees near their husbands and unmarried women employees near their parents as far as possible.
The petitioners argued that the new policy makes longer-tenure transfers compulsory for women officers even if the transfer separates them from their spouses and families. According to them, the policy is arbitrary and violates the rights of women employees. They requested the court to quash the disputed provisions and direct the bank to follow the government guidelines while transferring women officers.
The petitioners also referred to an earlier case in which the High Court had directed Union Bank to ensure that any future transfer policy complies with the Government of India guidelines.
What Did Union Bank Say?
Union Bank opposed the petition and defended its transfer policy. The bank informed the court that its officers are part of an All India Transferable Service and transfers are an essential condition of service.
The bank argued that the policy already contains provisions to accommodate women officers near the places where their spouses or family members are working. It also stated that officers who remain in a particular zone for a long period are required to serve in another zone to ensure proper manpower distribution across the country.
The bank placed several statistics before the court. It informed the court that 367 women officers were granted exemption from transfers during 2024-25 and 119 women officers were granted exemption during 2023-24. During 2026-27, the bank granted transfer exemptions to 475 women officers on various permissible grounds.
The bank further stated that transfer orders were issued to 1,519 women officers under the longer-tenure category on April 28, 2026. Out of these, 1,204 officers submitted their transfer preferences. Among them, 1,108 women officers were transferred according to their first choice, while the remaining 96 were allotted their second or third preference because they had not completed mandatory rural or semi-urban service.
The bank also explained that it introduced a new concept called “Cohort Zones”, under which nearby zones with similar linguistic backgrounds are grouped together. Out of the 315 women officers who did not submit preferences, 284 were allotted the nearest Cohort Zone and 31 were allotted the second nearest Cohort Zone.
The bank argued that continuing the stay would disrupt manpower planning and workforce balance across various zones.
What Did the Government Guidelines Say?
The court examined the Government of India’s guidelines issued on August 8, 2014 and November 26, 2024.
The 2014 guidelines state that married women employees should be posted at the same place or near the place where their husbands are posted, as far as possible. Similarly, unmarried women employees should be posted near their parents whenever possible.
The 2024 guidelines advised banks to consider grounds such as marriage, spouse, medical issues, maternity, child care and far-away postings while deciding transfers. The guidelines also recommend that women employees should be posted to nearby places as far as possible and that their safety should be given importance when posted to remote locations.
What Did the Court Observe?
The court examined Clause 5.3.1 of the transfer policy and found that it specifically states that women officers will not be exempted from longer-tenure transfers merely because the transfer would separate them from their husbands.
The court observed that this provision appears to dilute the Government of India guidelines relating to the posting of women employees near their spouses and families. The court also noted that in an earlier judgment, Union Bank had been directed to ensure that its transfer policies comply with the government’s guidelines.
According to the court, the bank’s policy appears, at least prima facie, to weaken the protections intended for women employees under the government guidelines.
What Did the Court Order?
The Madras High Court ordered that the interim stay granted earlier on April 30, 2026, will continue until the final disposal of the writ petition.
However, the court clarified that the stay will not affect women officers who had already submitted their transfer preferences under the longer-tenure category. Therefore, transfers of those officers can proceed as planned.
The stay will apply only to women officers who did not submit any transfer preference. The court also gave liberty to both sides to seek an early hearing of the main writ petition.
What Happens Next?
The main writ petition is still pending before the Madras High Court. During the final hearing, the court will examine in detail whether Union Bank’s transfer policy and the Cohort Zone system sufficiently comply with the Government of India guidelines relating to the transfer of women employees.
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