Cadre allotment: Telangana HC quashes CAT order on allowing IAS, IPS to continue in chosen State after bifurcation

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has quashed the verdict of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on the allotment of IAS and IPS cadre to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The court asked the Centre to take into consideration the contention of the officers before allotting cadre. The court also allowed officials to continue until the Centre takes a decision.

Delivering its judgement in the seven-year-old case, the court on Wednesday agreed with the Centre's argument that the cadre's allocation should be based on the guidelines of the Pratyush Sinha Committee. It also made it clear in its judgment that the objections of IAS and IPS should be strictly considered.

The Telangana High Court had given an opportunity to the IAS and IPS to express their objections to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) along with striking down the seven-year-old CAT verdict. It also said that seniority and locality of officials should be taken into consideration. It has also ordered that officers to continue their duties in the States allocated presently to them till the DoPT give a clarity.

"These 13 bureaucrats should request the Centre on the issue of cadre allocation. The Centre should consider the fact that the officers have completed more than 10 years of service. The Centre should hear each officer's request separately. Officials can proceed legally if necessary. CATs has no right to allotment of officers," the High Court said.

During bifurcation of the State, 14 IAS and IPS officers were allotted to both the Telugu states by the DoPT. However, the order was rejected by CAT. In 2016, the DoPT approached the Telangana High Court challenging the issuance of more CAT orders, setting aside its allocations.

It was argued that the CAT issued orders to bureaucrats beyond its jurisdiction. Since 2016, the trial of this dispute had been going on in the High Court.