Telangana HC halts Centre's transfer order of IPS officer Bisht to Andhra
Telangana high court
has suspended the Union ministry of home affairs' (MHA) directive ordering senior IPS officer
Abhilasha Bisht
's transfer to Andhra Pradesh and directed that she be allowed to continue serving in Telangana until the
Central Administrative Tribunal
(CAT) adjudicates her petition challenging the Centre's decision.
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Justice P Sam Koshy and Justice Narsing Rao Nandikonda, while hearing the case, said that Abhilasha had prima facie grounds to challenge the cadre allotment and directed both the central and state authorities to maintain the status quo. "The officer cannot be made to suffer in the interregnum period before her contention on seniority is adjudicated by the CAT," the bench observed while disposing of the petition.
Abhilasha, a 1994 batch IPS officer, had originally been allotted to Andhra Pradesh during the 2014 state bifurcation exercise, despite having opted for Telangana.
She had continued to serve in Telangana for the past 10 years, protected by an interim order from the CAT.
However, in Jan 2025, the MHA issued a fresh order directing Abhilasha to report to Andhra Pradesh, prompting her to once again approach the CAT, which this time refused interim relief but assured that the main petition would be decided soon.
Unwilling to wait in limbo, Abhilasha moved the high court, claiming that her original cadre allotment in 2014 was the result of an erroneous fixation of seniority.
Court questions state's role
The high court bench examined the record and found no plausible explanation from the state govt for the alleged anomaly in her seniority during the bifurcation process.
Despite repeated queries from the bench, the state counsel failed to clarify how and why Abhilasha's name—originally listed as senior among officers who had shifted cadres on grounds such as marriage—was moved below others in the 2014 seniority list.
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Even though the bench repeatedly asked the state counsel to explain who changed the seniority list and the basis for doing so, the state could not answer the query.
Seniority list
Abhilasha was one of three IPS officers—along with Shikha Goel and Soumya Mishra—who had been transferred to the then undivided Andhra Pradesh on personal grounds prior to 2014. Under the All India Services (AIS) rules, their seniority should have been preserved.
Abhilasha had always been ranked senior to the other two officers, but during the bifurcation, her position was lowered, allegedly based on the year of her inter-cadre transfer and her joining date—a move the court noted was unsupported by the IPS Seniority Rules, 1988.
The bench said that prima facie it appeared that there was unfair interference in the preparation of the seniority list and emphasised that Abhilasha should not be penalised while the matter remains sub judice.
"Abhilasha cannot be made to suffer till the issue is determined by the CAT," the bench reiterated.
However, the court also made it clear that CAT will decide the matter independently, uninfluenced by the high court's interim observations.
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