KOCHI: In a setback to the state government, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Ernakulam Bench, has ruled that key posts such as excise commissioner, director of the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) and director general of the Institute of Management in Government (IMG) are IAS cadre posts and can be held only by serving IAS officers.
The Tribunal also quashed three transfer orders involving senior IAS officers, including that of Dr B Ashok — currently serving as agricultural production commissioner and principal secretary — and directed the state government to strictly adhere to the IAS Cadre Rules, 2014 while making postings and transfers.
The order came on a petition by the Kerala IAS Association, which sought a declaration that posts notified by the Union government as belonging to the IAS Kerala cadre must be filled only by serving IAS officers.
A Bench comprising Justice Sunil Thomas, judicial member, and V Rama Mathew, administrative member, said that if any of these cadre posts are currently held by non-IAS officers or retired IAS officers, they must be removed immediately and the posts should remain vacant until a serving IAS officer is appointed.
In a significant observation, the Tribunal declared that the appointment of current Excise Commissioner M R Ajith Kumar — an IPS officer — was illegal. Ajith Kumar, who had been serving as additional director general of police, was shifted from police duties and appointed excise commissioner amid controversies surrounding the disruption of Thrissur Pooram and allegations raised by legislator P V Anvar.
CAT flays bid to fill cadre posts with non-IAS officers or retired officials
With the Tribunal’s latest order, Ajith Kumar cannot continue as excise commissioner and the government will have to remove him from the post.
The state government argued that the functions of the excise department predominantly involve prevention, detection and investigation of serious offences. Therefore, appointing an IPS officer as excise commissioner was appropriate. It also pointed out that since the appointment of Rishiraj Singh as excise commissioner in 2016, the post has been held by IPS officers. Rejecting the state government’s argument, the Tribunal pointed out that under Section 4(a) of the Abkari Act, the excise commissioner exercises overall administrative control over the department and revenue collection, making it the administrative head of the department.
As on September 2025, Dr Ashok was subjected to multiple contentious transfers, including as agriculture production commissioner while he was holding the post of principal secretary (agriculture). The tribunal clarified that since the applicant has now completed the minimum tenure, the state government was free to pass appropriate transfer orders, if it so desires, “strictly in accordance with the applicable rules, regulations, and law”.
The Bench noted that the post had historically been held by IAS officers and that the first excise commissioner in the state was also an IAS officer. The Tribunal also criticised attempts to fill cadre posts with non-IAS officers or retired officials. It said any effort to redesignate, rename or create equivalent posts while leaving encadred posts vacant would amount to a “fraud on the law” under the All India Services Act and the IAS Cadre Rules.
Further, the Tribunal directed the state government not to issue appointment, transfer or posting orders for IAS officers without convening the Civil Services Board and obtaining its recommendations.
Referring to Supreme Court directives on civil service reforms, the Bench reiterated that civil servants must ordinarily be given a minimum tenure of two years in a post.