Day after IAS officer’s posting in P&ARD, CAT stays Kerala govt order

In yet another setback to the LDF government in Kerala, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Ernakulam bench on Tuesday stayed the Kerala government’s order posting IAS officer B Ashok as principal secretary of Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department (P&ARD).

The CAT ordered Ashok to continue as the principal secretary (Agriculture) and agricultural production commissioner, and said detailed arguments in his petition would be heard later.

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The stay came a day after the state government issued an order appointing Ashok as the principal secretary of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (P&ARD), effective from September 17.

Only recently, Ashok had rejoined the Agriculture Department following a previous CAT order that blocked the government’s move to appoint him as chairman of the Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation (KTDFC).

The repeated transfer of Ashok has now drawn back-to-back rebukes from the CAT, leaving the government embarrassed.

Earlier on September 9, the CAT stayed the government’s order appointing him as the chairman and managing director of the Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation (KTDFC).

Reports suggest that Ashok’s transfer did not come as a routine administrative move but may have been triggered by his probe report on the fund diversion issue — a politically sensitive topic that has exposed internal fault lines within the government.

The situation escalated following the leak of a confidential World Bank email regarding the Finance Department’s decision to divert funds initially earmarked for the KERA project. This reallocation had been strongly opposed by the Agriculture Department.