HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Monday directed the Centre, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments to permit IPS officer Abhishek Mohanty to remain in Telangana until the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) resolves his petition challenging the Union government’s decision to transfer him to Andhra Pradesh.
A division bench comprising Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili and Justice E Tirumala Devi passed the interim order and scheduled the next hearing for April 7. The court had earlier sought clarification from the Centre regarding the Telangana government’s GO (RT No 583), issued on March 14, 2022, which facilitated Abhishek’s inclusion in the Telangana cadre.
The bench had specifically questioned the Centre on whether it had taken this GO into consideration while rejecting Abhishek’s representation for allocation to the Telangana cadre on February 19, 2025.
During Monday’s proceedings, Additional Solicitor General B Narasimha Sarma, representing the Ministry of Home Affairs, informed the court that the Centre was unaware of the GO. “It was marked to us but never reached us,” he stated.
Abhishek’s counsel, P S Rajasekhar, argued that GO 583 was the foundation of his allocation to Telangana. The order was issued following a CAT judgment directing the Centre to allot Telangana cadre to Abhishek based on his domicile status in Hyderabad, Telangana. Rajasekhar emphasized that this finding remained unchallenged, with neither the High Court nor any other authority overturning it, implying that GO 583 was still in effect.
Responding to the court’s directive, Narasimha Sarma acknowledged that Abhishek could continue serving in Telangana for the time being.