New Delhi: The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has revised several of its earlier orders concerning the tenure of members of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).
As per the revised orders issued on September 1, 2026, the tenure of the concerned CAT members has been changed from four years to five years or until attaining the age of 67 years, whichever is earlier.
The DoPT has revised orders issued on different dates between 2022 and 2025, covering Administrative Members (AM), Judicial Members (JM) and other members of the Central Administrative Tribunal.
The revised orders affect members appointed under several earlier DoPT orders, including those dated March 15, 2022; August 6, 2022; November 7, 2022; August 31, 2023; August 5, 2024; and September 1, 2025.
CAT Members’ Tenure Changed to Five Years or Age 67
The key change introduced by the DoPT is the revision of the tenure condition applicable to the concerned CAT members.
Under the revised arrangement, the tenure will be five years or until the member attains 67 years of age, whichever is earlier.
The change has been incorporated by revising the relevant earlier DoPT orders through the September 1, 2026 orders.
The move covers members belonging to both the Judicial and Administrative streams of the CAT.
Administrative Members Under November 7, 2022 Order
The DoPT has revised its earlier order dated November 7, 2022, concerning the following Administrative Members:
- Mohan Pyre
- Dr Chhabilendra Roul
- Dr Anand Singh Khati
- Sanjeeva Kumar
- Pramod Kumar Das
- Dr Sumeet Jerath
- Rashmi Saxena Sahni
- Dr Sanjiv Kumar
- Anindo Majumdar
- Shri Krishna
- Kumar Rajesh Chandra
- B Anand
Their tenure is now governed by the revised five-year-or-age-67 framework.
Judicial Members Under March 15, 2022 Order
The revised September 1 order also covers Judicial Members appointed under the earlier DoPT order dated March 15, 2022.
The members are:
- Harvinder Oberoi — whose tenure had earlier been extended up to September 8, 2026.
- Lata Basawraj Patne — whose tenure had earlier been extended up to September 8, 2026.
The latest revision changes the applicable tenure framework for these members as well.
Members Covered by September 1, 2025 Order
The DoPT has also revised the earlier order dated September 1, 2025, covering six CAT members.
These include three Judicial Members and three Administrative Members:
- Diwakar Singh, JM
- Justice Narendra Kumar Johari, JM
- Justice Ritu Tagore, JM
- Manju Pandey, AM
- Braj Mohan Agrawal, AM
- Sanjiv Kumar, AM
The revised tenure provisions will apply to these members in accordance with the September 1, 2026 orders.
Members Appointed Under August 5, 2024 Order
Another group covered by the DoPT’s latest revision comprises members appointed under the earlier order dated August 5, 2024.
The list includes two Judicial Members and several Administrative Members:
- Veena Kothavale, JM
- Rajveer Singh Verma, JM
- Anjani Nandan Sharan, AM
- Anjali Bhawra, AM
- Sisir Kumar Ratho, AM
- V Rama Mathew, AM
- Hukum Singh Meena, AM
- M L Srivastava, AM
- Santosh Mehra, AM
- Pragya Sahay Saksena, AM
- Sangam Narain Srivastava, AM
- Mallika Arya, AM
- Ram Mohan Johri
These members are also covered by the revised tenure arrangement.
Judicial Members Under August 6, 2022 Order
The DoPT has made a further revision concerning Judicial Members appointed under its earlier order dated August 6, 2022.
The group comprises 14 members:
- Manish Garg — tenure earlier extended up to September 8, 2026
- Justice K Haripal — tenure earlier extended up to September 8, 2026
- Justice Sunil Thomas — tenure earlier extended up to September 8, 2026
- Justice S Sujatha — tenure earlier extended up to September 8, 2026
- Justice Anil Kumar Ojha — tenure earlier extended up to September 8, 2026
- Jayesh V Bhairavia — tenure earlier extended up to September 8, 2026
- Sudhi Ranjan Mishra — tenure earlier extended up to September 8, 2026
- Suresh Kumar Batra — tenure earlier extended up to September 8, 2026
- Justice Rameshwar Vyas — tenure earlier extended up to September 8, 2026
- Ramesh Singh Thakur — tenure earlier extended up to September 8, 2026
- Justice Om Prakash -VII
- Justice Mukund Govindrao Sewlikar
- Urmila Datta (Sen)
- R N Singh
For the first ten members listed above, the earlier orders had specifically extended their tenure up to September 8, 2026. The latest DoPT revision changes the applicable tenure framework in line with the new five-year or age-67 provision.
Members Appointed Under August 31, 2023 Order
The latest revision also covers 15 members appointed under the DoPT order dated August 31, 2023.
The Judicial Members are:
- Ajay Pratap Singh, JM
- Ranjana Shahi, JM
- Mir Syed Latif, JM
- Sanjeev Gupta, JM
- Rajinder Singh Dogra, JM
- M Swaminathan, JM
- Umesh Gajankush, JM
- Rajnish Kumar Rai, JM
- Justice Rajiv Joshi, JM
The Administrative Members covered by the same order are:
- Prasant Kumar, AM
- Varun Sindhu Kul Kaumudi, AM
- Lok Ranjan, AM
- Shalini Mishra, AM
- Pankaj Kumar, AM
- Rajinder Kumar Kashyap, AM
What Is the Central Administrative Tribunal?
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) is a specialised judicial forum dealing primarily with service-related disputes involving employees of the Central Government and other authorities falling within its jurisdiction.
It was established under the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, with the objective of providing a specialised mechanism for adjudicating service matters.
CAT benches comprise Judicial Members and Administrative Members, bringing both judicial expertise and administrative experience to the adjudication of service-related cases.
The tenure and appointment conditions of its members are therefore significant for the functioning and continuity of the tribunal.
What Has DoPT Changed?
The September 1, 2026 revision essentially changes the tenure framework reflected in several earlier appointment orders.
Earlier framework: Four-year tenure.
Revised framework: Five years or until attaining 67 years of age, whichever is earlier.
The revision has been applied to members appointed through different DoPT orders issued over the past several years.
For members whose tenure had previously been extended only up to September 8, 2026, the revised framework is particularly significant as it changes the basis on which their tenure is determined.
Full List Covered by the September 1 Revision
Taken together, the revised orders cover CAT members appointed under six earlier DoPT orders:
| Earlier DoPT Order | Category | Number of Members |
|---|---|---|
| 07.11.2022 | Administrative Members | 12 |
| 15.03.2022 | Judicial Members | 2 |
| 01.09.2025 | Judicial & Administrative Members | 6 |
| 05.08.2024 | Judicial & Administrative Members | 13 |
| 06.08.2022 | Judicial Members | 14 |
| 31.08.2023 | Judicial & Administrative Members | 15 |
This represents a substantial revision of the tenure provisions attached to CAT members appointed through these earlier orders.
Key Takeaway
The DoPT’s September 1, 2026 orders revise the tenure of concerned Central Administrative Tribunal members from four years to five years or until they reach 67 years of age, whichever is earlier. The changes cover Judicial and Administrative Members appointed under multiple earlier DoPT orders issued between 2022 and 2025.
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