Telangana High Court reserved orders in an appeal filed by Union government challenging the order given by Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) - Hyderabad staying allotment of senior IAS officer Somesh Kumar to Andhra Pradesh cadre.
A bench of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Surepalli Nanda heard contentions of the counsels of the Union government and Mr. Somesh Kumar and reserved orders on Thursday.
Following bifurcation of undivided AP into separate States of AP and Telangana, the Union government re-allotted IAS and IPS officers working in the unified AP State to the residuary AP State and the newly created Telangana State. In this process, Somesh Kumar was allotted to AP cadre.
But Somesh Kumar moved the CAT and secured an order staying his allotment to AP cadre. He continued in Telangana State and eventually became Chief Secretary. Sixteen bureaucrats secured orders from CAT and are continuing to serve Telangana State.
The Union government filed a batch of appeals before Telangana State HC challenging the CAT order, facilitating continuation of these officers in Telangana even as they were allotted AP cadre. While Additional Solicitor General T. Surya Karan Reddy appeared for Union government, Mr. Somesh Kumar and other officers engaged separate counsels to represent their cases.
VANPIC case
The bench led by the CJ had also reserved orders in a petition filed by Vadarevu and Nizampatnam Port and Industrial Corridor (VANPIC) project owners challenging PMLA Appellate Tribunal-Delhi order declining to interfere in attachment of properties relating to the project.
In a separate development, lawyers Chikkudu Prabhakar and P. Pradeep Kumar Reddy on Thursday wrote a letter to Chief Justice of Telangana High Court to over the death of a lawyer Kallem Goverdhan Reddy on HC premises. Stating that Mr. Reddy suddenly collapsed near 14th court hall on HC premises around 1.10 p.m., they said the lawyer’s death brought to fore non-availability of basic medical emergency equipment like oxygen cylinder, wheel chair, stretcher and other equipment on HC premises.
The lawyers requested the HC to take up the issue as a PIL petition and pass necessary orders.
