Telangana HC to hear Somesh Kumar cadre case on September 30

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has fixed September 30 as the date of hearing for the long pending case filed by the Union department of personnel and training (DoPT) challenging the continuance of Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar in Telangana cadre.

The case remained unheard for four years and listed only once at the time of admission. This newspaper published a report "Centre's plea on Chief Secretary stuck in Telangana High Court" in these columns highlighting the inordinate delay in the High Court taking up the case for hearing.

The case was listed before a division bench headed by Justice A. Rajasekhar Reddy for fixing a date for hearing. Accordingly, the bench directed the registry to list the case against the Chief Secretary for further hearing on September 30.

Following the state bifurcation, Somesh Kumar was allotted to the Andhra Pradesh cadre but obtained an order from the Central Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad bench, in March 2016, to work in Telangana cadre.

The DoPT, headed by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approached the High Court against CAT order in February 2017 and listed only once in June 2019 for admission. If he continues to enjoy this privilege for the next two years, he will retire from service in 2023.

Stating that the CAT "misconstrued the provisions of law and its approach is manifestly misconceived and misdirected," the DoPT knocked the HC doors with a plea to suspend the operation of the CAT order.