Report to AP: Telangana HC dismisses petition of IAS officers seeking stay on cadre allocation

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday dismissed the petition filed by the Andhra Pradesh-cadre IAS officers challenging the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) orders over their allocation to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana cadres.

The officers include Telangana’s Energy Secretary Ronald Rose, Principal Secretary (Tourism) Vani Prasad, GHMC Commissioner Amrapali Kata, Women and Child Welfare Secretary Karuna Vakati, Andhra Pradesh’s NTR District Collector G Srijana, Public Health and Family Welfare (Director) C Hari Kiran and Kadapa Collector Siva Shankar Lotheti.

Vani Prasad, Vakati Karuna, Ronald Rose and Amrapali Kata were allotted to Andhra Pradesh cadre, while C Hari Kiran, Shiva Shankar Lotheti and G Srijana were assigned to Telangana. The IAS officers currently posted in Telangana wanted to be retained in the same state, the other three currently serving in Andhra Pradesh wanted to be continued there.

After hearing their pleas, the court ordered the IAS to report to their states right away and refused to stay the Center's directives. The presiding judge stressed that courts should not validate the nominations of civil servants and said in a severe ruling that the judiciary cannot meddle in such affairs.

The counsel appearing on behalf of the IAS officers informed the High Court that the tribunals have a hearing on November 4 and not to relieve them till then.

"If we interfere, then there is no end to this," the Court said and added that the IAS officers must follow the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order and adhere to their designated postings and report to their respective states.

"You are all responsible officers. People should not be inconvenienced. The Center decides who should work where. Do you want to order the DoPT to look again?" the bench asked. The counsel for the IAS told the court that both the states have asked the DoPT to give them 15 days to relieve them.

The IAS's Counsel also informed the High Court that the Center did not take into account the Court's recommendations to account for their ten years of expertise. He urged the court to hold off on relieving the IAS officers till after the CAT's final verdict.

Additional Solicitor General Narasimha Sharma argued on behalf of the Central Government. “The Courts should not decide where the employees should work and the CAT not giving a stay order is a right decision,” he said and added that they would file a counter outlining all the reasons why the DoPT's decision was justified.

Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili bench heard arguments from both sides and issued orders dismissing the petitions filed by the IAS officers.

CAT’s response

The Tribunal’s bench members Latha Baswaraj Patne (Judicial) and Shalini Mishra (Administrative) heard the individual petitions filed by the IAS officers on Tuesday and made crucial comments.

“People in Andhra Pradesh are facing a tough time due to floods. Don’t you have any responsibility to serve them? The DoPT has all rights to allocate the cadres to the IAS officers. Despite the nativity, is there a possibility of swapping in the guidelines?” the CAT questioned.

The counsel who appeared on behalf of the IAS officers informed the CAT that the one-man committee of Deepak Khandekar is not paying attention to the recommendations of DoPT. Based on the recommendations of the one-man Committee, it did not give its report before issuing the order by the Centre.

The Bench directed the DoPT to provide a comprehensive counter-affidavit that explains the concerns in detail, including the criteria used to determine an officer's "domicile" status, officer switching, and reservation regulations. Additionally, it requested a copy of the DoPT's one-man committee led by Deepak Khandekar, which served as the basis for allocating officers to cadres.

What is the case about?

The DoPT dismissed the officers’ appeals on October 9 and reiterated the 2014 cadre distribution order, which mandates that the officers report back to their respective state cadres by the specified date.

After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014, the cadre separation of IAS officers is the source of the conflict. Following their original approval by CAT to stay in their current positions, the officers have been serving in their respective states for about 10 years.

In 2023, however, the Telangana High Court remitted their cases to the Central government, giving it instructions to examine the officers’ arguments and render judgments consistent with the rules in place. Regarding the Pratyush Sinha Committee's allocation procedure, the IAS officials also have voiced a number of complaints.