Hyderabad: The Central Administrative Tribunal in Hyderabad has dealt a setback to senior IPS officer Abhilasha Bisht, refusing to grant interim relief and directing her to join the Andhra Pradesh cadre immediately.
In a key ruling on Wednesday, the tribunal upheld the ministry of home affairs‘ directive, despite Bisht’s contention that her seniority and cadre allocation were unfairly altered during the bifurcation of the state. The MHA last week had ordered two other IPS officers, Anjani Kumar and Abhishek Mohanty, along with Bisht, to report to AP, directing the Telangana govt to relieve them.
The bench, consisting of judicial member Lata Baswaraj Patne and administrative member Shalini Misra, clarified that while her petition would be heard in full at a later date, there was no justification to block the Centre’s order at this stage, emphasising that AP, like any other state, requires senior IPS officers.
While issuing notices to the central govt as well as the states of AP and Telangana asking them to answer to the contentions raised by Bisht in the plea, the bench said: “She can go and join there and in the meantime. We will hear the version of the Centre and adjudicate the issue.” While Anjani Kumar and Bisht are DGP rank officers, Mohanty is of SP rank.
Bisht, a 1994 batch IPS officer, initially allotted to the West Bengal cadre, had her cadre changed to AP in 1997 after her marriage to an AP cadre officer.
Despite being senior to two other officers — Sowmya Misra and Shikha Goel, who were also transferred to AP for similar spouse-related reasons — Bisht’s name was moved down the seniority list during the state bifurcation. This alteration led to Sowmya being placed above Bisht, a move that she contends was based on her later date of joining the AP cadre.
In her petition before the tribunal, Bisht argued that had the Pratyush Sinha Committee norms been properly applied, she would have been placed in the Telangana cadre instead of AP. She has continued working in Telangana for the past 11 years, following a CAT order. However, the MHA has now issued a directive for her to join the AP cadre, a decision she has contested.
Her counsel, J Sudheer, requested the tribunal to stay the operation of the Centre’s order, citing past CAT and high court orders that upheld her seniority. The bench assured the petitioner’s counsel that it would seek responses from the central authorities regarding the matter but clarified that requesting relief at this stage was premature.
Making it clear that the counsel should not repeatedly ask for a relief, the bench said, “There are 10 officers of this batch and we will examine the analogy applied in respect of each of them in the final hearing.”
The bench also emphasised the need to define the term ‘AP-borne cadre,’ which remains unclear in the context of the dispute.
The case is set to be heard again in March, with the tribunal promising to review the seniority issue and the application of norms for all the affected officers.
In a key ruling on Wednesday, the tribunal upheld the ministry of home affairs‘ directive, despite Bisht’s contention that her seniority and cadre allocation were unfairly altered during the bifurcation of the state. The MHA last week had ordered two other IPS officers, Anjani Kumar and Abhishek Mohanty, along with Bisht, to report to AP, directing the Telangana govt to relieve them.
The bench, consisting of judicial member Lata Baswaraj Patne and administrative member Shalini Misra, clarified that while her petition would be heard in full at a later date, there was no justification to block the Centre’s order at this stage, emphasising that AP, like any other state, requires senior IPS officers.
While issuing notices to the central govt as well as the states of AP and Telangana asking them to answer to the contentions raised by Bisht in the plea, the bench said: “She can go and join there and in the meantime. We will hear the version of the Centre and adjudicate the issue.” While Anjani Kumar and Bisht are DGP rank officers, Mohanty is of SP rank.
Bisht, a 1994 batch IPS officer, initially allotted to the West Bengal cadre, had her cadre changed to AP in 1997 after her marriage to an AP cadre officer.
Despite being senior to two other officers — Sowmya Misra and Shikha Goel, who were also transferred to AP for similar spouse-related reasons — Bisht’s name was moved down the seniority list during the state bifurcation. This alteration led to Sowmya being placed above Bisht, a move that she contends was based on her later date of joining the AP cadre.
In her petition before the tribunal, Bisht argued that had the Pratyush Sinha Committee norms been properly applied, she would have been placed in the Telangana cadre instead of AP. She has continued working in Telangana for the past 11 years, following a CAT order. However, the MHA has now issued a directive for her to join the AP cadre, a decision she has contested.
Her counsel, J Sudheer, requested the tribunal to stay the operation of the Centre’s order, citing past CAT and high court orders that upheld her seniority. The bench assured the petitioner’s counsel that it would seek responses from the central authorities regarding the matter but clarified that requesting relief at this stage was premature.
Making it clear that the counsel should not repeatedly ask for a relief, the bench said, “There are 10 officers of this batch and we will examine the analogy applied in respect of each of them in the final hearing.”
The bench also emphasised the need to define the term ‘AP-borne cadre,’ which remains unclear in the context of the dispute.
The case is set to be heard again in March, with the tribunal promising to review the seniority issue and the application of norms for all the affected officers.
