HYDERABAD: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Thursday directed the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to relieve IAS officer Siva Shankar Lotheti and ensure his transfer to Andhra Pradesh within two weeks.
Failure to comply, it warned, would result in strict action, including the freezing of the DoPT Secretary’s salary.
Lotheti, originally allotted to Telangana at the time of bifurcation in 2014, had been serving in Andhra Pradesh following earlier orders from the CAT. However, in October 2024, the Union government issued fresh directions mandating that all All India Services officers return to their originally allotted cadre states.
Several officers challenged these orders in the CAT and various high courts, but did not receive interim relief. Most of them, including Lotheti, complied and reported to their original cadre states. He returned to Telangana accordingly.
Subsequently, Lotheti filed a petition contesting his reallocation. On February 28, 2025, after hearing the matter, CAT ruled that assigning an officer of Andhra Pradesh nativity to Telangana was inappropriate. It held that determining nativity based merely on a postal address in Ranga Reddy district was flawed, and directed that Lotheti be reallocated to Andhra Pradesh.
Despite the ruling, the order had not been implemented even two months later, prompting the filing of a contempt petition in April 2025.
On hearing the case, CAT gave the DoPT four weeks to comply, warning that non-compliance would invite contempt proceedings.
Meanwhile, the Centre appealed the February order before the High Court, which dismissed the appeal and upheld the CAT directive.
When the case came up again before the Tribunal on Thursday, the Bench criticised the delay and granted the DoPT one final opportunity to act.
It warned that if Lotheti was not relieved and sent to Andhra Pradesh within the given time, strict action, including stoppage of the DoPT Secretary’s salary, would follow.