IPS officer Abhishek Mohanty

The Telangana High Court on Monday (March 24) directed the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and the Centre to permit IPS officer Abhishek Mohanty to continue serving in the Telangana government till his petition in Central Administrative Tribunal challenging his allocation to A.P. is adjudicated. 

A bench of Justices Abhinand Kumar Shavili and E. Tirumala Devi passed this order, disposing of a petition filed by the IPS officer. The IPS officer questioned his allocation to Andhra Pradesh and sought a direction to retain him in the Telangana cadre. He contended that earlier on March 14, 2022, the Telangana government, issued a G.O. RT no 583 allocating him to Telangana. 

Additional Solicitor General B. Narasimha Sharma, appearing for the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, informed the bench that the Centre was unaware of the said G.O. “It was marked to us, but did not reach us,” the ASG said. The IPS officer’s counsel P.S. Rajashekhar maintained that the said G.O. was the pivot based on which he was allotted to Telangana cadre earlier. 

The G.O. was still in force and it was never challenged, the counsel argued. The ASG informed the bench that the Central government would file its counter affidavit in the CAT-Hyderabad making its stand clear. Let the CAT adjudicate the officer’s plea without being influenced by the High Court observations, he said.