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2025 Supreme(Online)(CAT) 5671
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
Dr. Lata Baswaraj Patne, J, Mr. Varun Sindhu Kul Kaumudi, ACJ
D.Ronald Rose, I.A.S. – Appellant
Versus
The Union Of India, Rep. by the Secretary, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India – Respondent
Original Application | O.A.No.021/128/2015
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Mr. M Avinash Reddy
For the Respondents: Mrs. K. Rajitha, Sr. PC for CG, Mr. B. Rajeshwar Reddy, GP for AP, Mrs. S. Anuradha, GP for TS, Mr. V. Nitesh for R-4, Mr. C. Lalith Kumar Reddy for R-5
The allocation of All India Service officers must adhere to statutory provisions, ensuring fair consideration of seniority and options for swapping, as established by the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
Headnote:(A) Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 - Section 76 - Allocation of All India Service officers - Applicant, an IAS officer, contended the rejection of his claim for allocation to the Telangana cadre was illegal and arbitrary, violating constitutional provisions and principles of natural justice. The Tribunal found that the allocation process disregarded the applicant's seniority and the guidelines for swapping, thus denying him due process. (Paras 1, 2, 20, 25)
(B) Judicial Review - The Tribunal emphasized that the allocation orders must adhere to the statutory provisions and guidelines, ensuring fair consideration of seniority and options available to officers. (Paras 20, 24)
Facts of the case:
The applicant, originally allocated to Andhra Pradesh, sought reallocation to Telangana based on his seniority and preference, claiming the process was flawed and arbitrary due to incorrect seniority listings.
Findings of Court:
The Tribunal quashed the impugned orders, restoring the applicant's right to be allocated to Telangana, emphasizing adherence to the seniority guidelines established by the Central Government.
Issues: The primary issue was whether the allocation to Andhra Pradesh was valid considering the seniority and the swapping options available.
Ratio Decidendi: The Tribunal ruled that the allocation process was flawed as it ignored the statutory provisions and the applicant's right to a fair process, thus quashing the allocation to Andhra Pradesh.
Result: Original Application allowed.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. factual background of allocation dispute (Para 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8) |
| 2. arguments regarding improper allocation and seniority (Para 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16) |
| 3. court's observations on allocation process and errors (Para 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24) |
| 4. restoration of legal swapping option (Para 25) |
| 5. conclusion and order to allow reallocation (Para 26) |
ORAL ORDER
(As per Hon’ble Dr. Lata Baswaraj Patne, Judicial Member) By this Original Application, the applicant is seeking the following relief(s):
"That this Hon'ble Tribunal may be pleased to declare the Impugned Order vide proceedings No.22012/04/2024-AIS-I/9 dated 09.10.2024 issued by the 1st Respondent, in not considering the claim of the Applicant to be allotted to cadre of State of Telangana and the consequential letter vide proceedings No.22012/04/2024-AIS-I/19 dated 09.10.2024 of the 1st Respondent to the 2nd Respondent stating that the Applicant stands relieved from the State of Telangana with immediate effect and directed to join the State of Andhra Pradesh by 16.10.2024; as being illegal, arbitrary, unconstitutional, and in violation of provisions of AP Re- organisation Act, 2014 as also Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution and in violation of Principles of Natural Justice and consequently, direct the Respondents to allocate the Applicant to the cadre of the 2nd Respondent i.e., State of Telangana in terms of his option along with all the applicable benefits and pass such other and further order in the interest of justice, equity and good conscience."
2. Facts of the case:
(i) The applicant, who belongs to OBC category, is a Member of All India Service (IAS) of 2006 batch, having been directly recruited. He was originally allocated to the erstwhile composite State of Andhra Pradesh, based on merit, and he is currently working as Secretary, Energy Department, in the State of Telangana.
(ii) The Central Government vide Notification dated 04.03.2014, notified 02.06.2014 as the appointed date for the purpose of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 and the 3rd Respondent issued Memo dated 09.05.2014 calling for preference from the IAS officers for allotment of cadre. The Applicant submitted his option to serve the State of Telangana. Under Section 76 r/w Section 80 of the Re-organization Act, the Central Government constituted an Advisory Committee on 28.03.2015 headed by Sri Pratyush Sinha to make recommendations on the determination of cadre strength of all the three All India Services (AIS) of the successor States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, to recommend objective and transparent criteria for allocation of personnel belonging to the three services and to consider any representations made by the officers belonging to the AIS. Accordingly, the Pratyush Sinha Committee recommended a draft list distributing AIS officers based on the said guidelines and the same were published on the website of the respective Cade Controlling Authorities. The 1st Respondent vide Notification dated 26.12.2014 finalized the provisional list, wherein the Applicant was allotted to the State of Andhra Pradesh, though he had opted to serve in the State of Telangana.
(iii) It is his contention that a notice was also issued on the same day notifying for options to swap the Officers and also issued further detailed guidelines with regard to swapping the officers, particularly Clause-2 (III) (c) of the guidelines. Accordingly, the Applicant made representations to the Pratyush Sinha Committee stating that Mr. J. Nivas and Smt. Bharathi are IAS probationers of 2010 batch and as per provisional inter-se-seniority of IAS Probationers 2010 batch, circulated on 29.08.2013, Mr. J. Nivas was shown at Sl. No.31 and Smt. Bharathi was shown at Sl. No.10. Subsequently, final seniority list was published on 16.04.2014, wherein Smt. Bharathi was shown at Sl. No.10 and Mr J. Nivas was shown at Sl.No.31 and they are placed at final rank of 3 & 5 respectively in
