Supreme Court relief to 20 trainee officers on IAS, IPS cadre allocation for 2018 batch
New Delhi: In a relief to 20 trainee IAS and IPS officers who had challenged the Centre's cadre allocation process for the 2018 batch, the Supreme Court Friday said they will be accommodated by increasing of one post in the state cadres of their preference this year.
The apex court ordered this while hearing the appeal filed by the Centre challenging the Delhi High Court's verdict which had quashed the entire cadre allocation of IAS and IPS officers of the 2018 batch.
A vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna praised Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for showing "exemplary fairness" in suggesting that 18 petitioners who had approached the high court and two others who had moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on the issue would be accommodated without considering '99' in their respective choices.
As per the Centre's cadre allocation policy for 2018 batch, the candidates had to enter "99" for no preference in zones and cadres in the online form.
"This will be done by increasing one post in the respective state cadres this year, which will have to be adjusted in coming years. The suggestion is accepted by the respondents," the bench noted in its order and said it is an "exemplary fairness" that Mehta has suggested this.
The bench, which modified the high court's order, directed the Centre to accommodate the 20 trainee officers in the manner suggested by the Solicitor General.
"It is made clear that such accommodation is being made as an exceptional case and will not be treated as a precedent for other candidates of the same batch or in future as only these 20 persons approached the court/ tribunal in time," the bench said.
"Needless to mention that the original cadre allocation of the other candidates shall not be disturbed," the court said while disposing of the petitions.
It said however that "all questions of law are kept open".
During the arguments, the bench said that it was a "very serious matter" and also observed that language of the office memorandum of September 5, 2017 relating to cadre allocation policy was "extremely vague".
"Your circular should have been more clear and if required, you should have given examples also," the bench told Mehta. However, Mehta said that out of around 400 candidates, only 19 have raised grievances over the cadre allocation process.
He said that trainee IAS and IPS officers have undergone training as per local language and local revenue laws of the respective state where they will be posted.
On May 13, the top court had agreed to hear the Centre's plea challenging the high court's May 3 verdict which had quashed the Centre's cadre allocation of IAS and IPS officers of the 2018 batch under the new policy and ordered fresh cadre allocation.
The high court had said that it was inclined to grant relief to petitioners considering that they have approached the court at the very earliest and at a stage when neither IAS nor IPS officers of the 2018 batch have commenced their on-site training which are cadre-specific.
The high court's verdict came on four petitions filed by various officers challenging the notification of the central government allocating cadres to candidates of Indian Police Service (IPS) on the basis of results of the Civil Services Examination (CSE), 2017.
They had sought direction to the Centre to issue a new list allocating respective cadres to selected IPS candidates in the CSE, 2017, purely on the basis of merit and preferences indicated in the online form, by correctly interpreting the Office Memorandum (OM) of September 5, 2017.
The pleas had claimed that the interpretation of Cadre Allocation Policy 2017 adopted by authorities was unreasonable and grossly unfair, unjust and arbitrary.
As per the 2017 office memorandum on cadre allocation policy, states and joint cadres were divided into five zones.
According to that policy, candidates were required to first give their choice in the descending order of preference from amongst various zones. Thereafter, candidates will indicate one preference of cadre from each preferred zone.
The candidates will indicate their second cadre preference for every preferred zone thereafter. Similar process will continue till a preference for all cadres is indicated by the candidate.
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
