Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday stayed the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order that had allotted IAS officer Amrapali to Telangana, putting a temporary halt to her posting in the state.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had originally assigned Amrapali to Andhra Pradesh in October. She contested the allocation before the CAT, which directed a cadre swap with another officer, Harikiran.
Court flags reservation category conflict in swap
However, the DoPT challenged the CAT ruling, leading the High Court to intervene. The bench noted that the proposed swap was not legally permissible as Harikiran belongs to a reserved category, and such inter-category swaps are disallowed under current norms.
The court directed Amrapali’s counsel to file a counter and adjourned the matter for six weeks.
This development marks a significant setback for the officer, who had sought reassignment to Telangana. The final decision will depend on the court’s detailed examination of reservation rules and cadre allocation guidelines.