new delhi, Sept 9
In a setback to the LDF government in Kerala, the Central Adminis-trative Tribunal (CAT), Ernakulam bench, has on Tuesday stayed its order appointing senior IAS officer Dr. B Ashok as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation (KTDFC).
The Tribunal issued the order on a petition filed by Dr. Ashok, challenging the order of the General Administration Department that displaced him from the post of Principal Secretary to the Government (Agriculture) and Agricultural Production Commissioner and appointed him as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation (KTDFC). Dr. Ashok argued that, since he was being appointed to a post carrying a pay scale lower than that of his cadre post, the order violated the All India Service (Cadre) Rules.
The Bench made it clear that Ashok will continue in the post held by him prior to the transfer order and posted the matter for hearing on September 16. The CAT also directed the state government to produce the original file that led to the transfer order in a sealed cover.
The petitioner pointed out that the Tribunal had earlier set aside the state government’s order posting him as Chairperson of the Local Self-Government Reforms Commission.
The Tribunal had held that the Kerala government’s order was not legally sustainable, as it exercised a power it did not hold under the All India Services (Cadre) Rules. It observed that the power to depute an IAS officer to any post, including those in Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), lies exclusively with the Union Government, not the state. Such deputation requires the consent of the officer concerned, the Tribunal further said.
In the last week of August, Dr. Ashok was transferred from the post of Agriculture Production Commissioner and Principal Secretary (additional charge) of Agriculture and appointed as Chairman and Managing Director, Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation (KTDFC).
He has decided to approach the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) against the government order. Since the tribunal is closed for the Onam vacation from August 29 to September 7, Dr.Ashok entered on leave until September 8. 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.
Notably, Ashok’s transfer order came shortly after the submission of his report, leading to speculation that the move may be punitive in nature.
In January 2025, the government issued an order appointing him as the chairman of the Local Self Government Reforms Commission, transferring him from his post as Agricultural Production Commissioner & Principal Secretary (Agriculture)
Dr. Ashok challenged this order in the CAT. The tribunal, in an interim order, directed the Kerala government to allow the official to continue in his post with the Department of Agriculture.Later, the tribunal also set aside the state government’s order.
