Leave – WhatsApp ‘OK’ Message of Superior Officer Not Sanction
Judgment dated 7.10.2026 of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Allahabad Bench in Original Application No.782 of 2025 of Priya Rajan Kumar Vs. Union of India through the General Manager, North Central Railway and others
WhatsApp OK Message Not Sanction of Leave
The Central Administrative Tribunal, Allahabad Bench dismissed the challenge to a railway employee’s transfer from Prayagraj to Fatehpur, holding that a superior officer’s WhatsApp response “OK” to a leave request could not, by itself, constitute proof of leave sanction. The Tribunal found that the competent authority for granting leave during the relevant period was a different officer and that leave was required to be approved through the HRMS portal in accordance with Railway instructions. The transfer was held to be based on genuine administrative exigencies and not a punishment in disguise

