CAT quashes IFS babu promotion

Hyderabad, Nov. 24: The appointment of Mr C. Siva Sankar Reddy as the principal chief conservator of forests was set aside by the Central Administrative Tribunal on Tuesday on the ground that his promotion was contrary to the law.

A two-member bench of the CAT while allowing a petition filed by Mr Madhukar Raj, an IFS officer, set aside the appointment order issued by the government.

The petitioner contended that he is the senior most IFS officer in the state at present and his seniority was overlooked by the government and Mr Siva Sankar Reddy, who is junior to him, was selected for the post of PCCF.

He argued that the appointment was illegal and contrary to the rules laid down by the Centre to promote All India Service Officers.

He told the CAT that promotion and the selection of Mr Siva Sankar Reddy as the forest chief was contrary to the law.

He urged the tribunal to set aside the appointment and direct the government to pay salary on par with the PCCF salary which he is entitled to.

The government told the CAT that the Centre had recently issued the guidelines for promotion of All India Service Officers which are in prospective effect not retrospective.

However, the tribunal did not agree with the contention of the government and set aside the appointment order observing

that the government did not follow the Centre’s guidelines. Earlier, on October 14, 2008, his posting was set aside by CAT observing that the state had erred by filling up the post

without following the selection process. However, the government constituted the selection committee and chose Mr Reddy as PCCF again.

Meanwhile, the government has decided to prefer an appeal against the CAT order in the High Court.