IAS Officers challenge CAT orders on cadre re-allocation in Telangana High Court

Hyderabad: A group of IAS officers has filed a lunch motion petition in the Telangana High Court on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, challenging the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) orders regarding their cadre re-allocation. The officers involved include Vakati Karuna, Amrapali Kata, Srujana Gummala, A. Vani Prasad, Siva Shankar, Hari Kiran, and Ronald Rose.

The IAS officers are seeking a stay on the CAT verdict, which they claim threatens their retention in the state of Telangana. The High Court has accepted their lunch motion petition, and a bench led by Justice Abhinandan Kumar Shavili is scheduled to hear the matter at 2:30 p.m. today.

This legal challenge follows the CAT’s refusal on Tuesday to grant relief to the officers regarding their cadre reallocations. The CAT had earlier instructed the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to prepare a comprehensive report by the first week of November, addressing the officers’ concerns, but did not suspend the Centre’s orders, which mandated that the officers report to their respective state cadres by October 16.

Among those affected are GHMC Commissioner Amrapali Kata, Tourism Principal Secretary Vani Prasad, Telangana Energy Secretary Ronald Rose, Women and Child Welfare Secretary Karuna Vakati, and NTR District Collector G. Srujana, Siva Shankar, Hari Kiran. They have been advised to continue their regular duties until further notice, despite the impending changes.

The IAS officers had filed petitions against the DoPT’s orders issued on October 9, which instructed them to return to their original state cadres due to the cadre bifurcation guidelines established after the 2014 division of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The officers argue that the decisions made by the Pratyush Sinha Committee, responsible for the cadre bifurcation, did not adequately consider their personal circumstances, leading to unfair reallocations.

The conflict started from the bifurcation of IAS officers following the formation of Telangana in 2014. The officers, who have served in their current positions for nearly a decade, previously received permission from the CAT to remain in their roles. However, the Telangana High Court referred their cases to the Central government in 2023, instructing a review of their representations based on existing guidelines.

The IAS officers are now calling for a reconsideration of their cadre allocations, highlighting their grievances regarding the process initiated by the Pratyush Sinha Committee.