HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has dismissed a petition filed by senior IAS officer A Vani Prasad challenging her allocation to the Andhra Pradesh cadre.
The bench, comprising judicial member Lata Baswaraj Patne and administrative member Varun Sindhu Kul Kaumudi, ruled that the cadre allocation process followed the recommendations of the Pratyush Sinha and Khandekar committees and withstood judicial scrutiny.
Vani Prasad had sought allocation to the Telangana cadre, citing her domicile in Hyderabad. She argued that she had resided in Hyderabad since childhood, completed her education here, and consistently listed the city as her permanent and postal address in official records, including her 1990 UPSC Civil Services examination application.
Her counsel referred to paragraph 5.1.3 of the approved cadre allocation guidelines, asserting that domicile should be determined based on submitted evidence and not merely by place of birth. They further alleged that the Telangana government had provided inaccurate information to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and that the DoPT had disregarded valid documentation submitted by the officer.
In response, the government stated that the reconsideration process was conducted in accordance with the High Court’s directive, through a single-member committee chaired by Deepak Khandekar.
Vani Prasad was granted a personal hearing on May 20, 2024, and her submissions were thoroughly evaluated before the final report was issued in July 2024.
After careful consideration, the Tribunal concluded that the allocation decision adhered to the prescribed guidelines and legal framework. The CAT found no grounds for intervention and ruled that the original application lacked merit, thereby dismissing the petition.