Suspense continues over the fate of eight IAS and IPS officers from Telangana and four IAS officers from Andhra Pradesh, as they have only two days left to comply with the Centre's orders to report to the states originally allocated to them in 2014.
At least four officers - Vakati Karuna, Kata Amrapali, and Vani Prasad, who are currently serving in Telangana and have been directed to report to the Andhra Pradesh government by October 16, and Srijana Gummala from Andhra Pradesh, who has been asked to move to Telangana - approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Monday.
They have requested that CAT strike down the orders issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, which reassigns them to neighboring states. They seek permission to remain in their current positions. A hearing on the matter is expected on Tuesday.
Last week, the DoPT rejected the requests of five Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and three Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, originally assigned to the Andhra Pradesh cadre during the state's bifurcation in 2014. These officers had appealed to be reallocated to the Telangana cadre instead.
The DoPT has directed IAS officers Vakati Karuna (2004 batch), Ronald Rose (2006), Vani Prasad (1995), Amrapali Kata (2010), M. Prashanti (2009), and IPS officers Anjani Kumar (1990), Abhilasha Bisht (1994), and Abhishek Mohanty (2011) to join the Andhra Pradesh government by October 16.
The department has also ordered Telangana-cadre AIS officers serving in Andhra Pradesh, including IAS officers SS Rawat, Anantha Ramu, Srijana Gummala, and Siva Sankar Lotheti, to return to the Telangana government.
In January last year, the DoPT relieved then-Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar from the state government after the Telangana High Court quashed his allotment to the Telangana cadre.
The High Court overturned a 2016 CAT decision that had assigned the 1989-batch IAS officer to Telangana. Following the DoPT order, Somesh Kumar opted for voluntary retirement.
