In a significant ruling on Wednesday, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in Hyderabad dealt a blow to 1994 batch senior IPS officer Abhilasha Bisht, rejecting her plea for interim relief and directing her to join the Andhra Pradesh (AP) cadre immediately. The tribunal upheld the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) directive, despite Bisht’s objections regarding her seniority and the changes to her cadre allocation following the bifurcation of the state.
The MHA had earlier ordered Bisht, along with two other IPS officers, Anjani Kumar and Abhishek Mohanty, to report to the AP cadre, while directing the Telangana government to relieve them of their duties. The bench, consisting of judicial member Lata Baswaraj Patne and administrative member Shalini Misra, clarified that while Bisht’s petition would be heard at a later date, there was no basis to block the Centre’s order at this stage. The bench stressed that AP, like any other state, requires senior IPS officers, and Bisht must join the AP cadre as directed.
The tribunal issued notices to the central government as well as the states of AP and Telangana, seeking their responses to the contentions raised by Bisht. The bench reiterated, “She can go and join there and in the meantime, we will hear the version of the Centre and adjudicate the issue.”
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. However, during the state bifurcation, her seniority was altered, placing her below two other officers – Sowmya Misra and Shikha Goel – who were also transferred to AP for similar spouse-related reasons. Bisht claims this change was unfair, as it was based on her later date of joining the AP cadre.
In her petition, Bisht argued that had the Pratyush Sinha Committee’s norms been applied correctly, she would have been placed in the Telangana cadre, rather than AP. She has continued to serve in Telangana for the past 11 years, following a previous CAT order. However, the MHA’s recent directive now requires her to join the AP cadre, which she has contested. Her counsel, J Sudheer, requested the tribunal to stay the Centre’s order, citing previous CAT and high court rulings that upheld her seniority.
The bench assured the counsel that responses from the central authorities would be sought but emphasized that requesting relief at this stage was premature. The bench also stated that it would examine the situation of the 10 officers of Bisht’s batch and the analogy applied in their cases during the final hearing.
The tribunal further highlighted the ambiguity surrounding the term “AP-borne cadre” and suggested that it be defined clearly as part of the ongoing dispute. The case is scheduled for another hearing in March, during which the tribunal will review the seniority issue and the application of norms to all affected officers.
