Seniority Dispute in CS Appointment Process in Haryana, IAS Sudhir Rajpal or Sumita Misra, Who Will be the Next Chief Secy?

The Haryana government is facing a seniority dispute that could delay the appointment of a new Chief Secretary, following Mr. Vivek Joshi, a 1989-batch IAS officer from the Haryana cadre, as the new Election Commissioner. The state government is expected to name Mr. Joshi’s successor soon, but before proceeding, it must resolve a technical issue related to the seniority of the 1990-batch IAS officers.

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According to the official seniority list, Mr. Sudhir Rajpal, a 1990-batch officer, currently holds the top position, followed by Ms. Sumita Misra, Mr. Anurag Rastogi, Mr. Anand Mohan Saran, and Mr. Raja Sekhar Vundru. However, three officers from the same batch—Mr. Ankur Gupta, Mr. Anurag Rastogi, and Mr. Raja Sekhar Vundru—have raised concerns regarding the seniority order. Despite Mr. Gupta having already retired, this dispute could impact the Chief Secretary appointment.

The officers argue that Mr. Rajpal’s transfer from Himachal Pradesh to Haryana in 1994, and Ms. Misra’s alleged original allocation to Jammu and Kashmir, should affect their positions in the seniority list. They have appealed for the revision of the gradation list, citing the Indian Administrative Service (Regulation of Seniority) Rules, which state that an officer transferred at their request should be placed below others from the same year of allotment. Based on this, they claim that they should be ranked higher than Mr. Rajpal and Ms. Misra.

While the final authority on seniority lies with the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) at the national level, the Haryana government has requested clarification on these issues. Specifically, they asked for a copy of the CAT judgment concerning Mr. Rajpal’s cadre allotment and clarification on Ms. Misra’s original cadre. The DoPT has already instructed the Haryana government to resolve the seniority dispute according to the IAS Seniority Rules, 1987.

Until the dispute is resolved, the Haryana government cannot proceed with the appointment of the new Chief Secretary.

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