The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Tribunal dismisses Sivanandi's plea

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Thursday, Nov 02, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Tribunal dismisses Sivanandi's plea

Special Correspondent

Says only course open is to seek relief before higher courts

CHENNAI : The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has declined to entertain senior police officer P. Sivanandi's plea against a State Government order demoting him from Deputy Inspector-General to Superintendent of Police.

The CAT on May 5, 2006 had quashed the Select List of 1994-95 on the basis of which Mr. Sivanandi gained seniority over several directly recruited IPS officers. The State Government passed the impugned order on May 15, 2006, and posted him as Superintendent of Police.

On October 27, the High Court dismissed Mr. Sivanandi's revision petition against the quashing of the Select List. In his present application, his counsel Vijay Narayan submitted that Mr. Sivanandi had not challenged the May 15 order of the State Government before the High Court.

Maintaining that the impugned order was not appropriate, counsel argued that the State Government lacked the jurisdiction to pass such orders.

Additional Solicitor-General V.T. Gopalan and Advocate-General R. Viduthalai submitted that the Government had not passed any independent order. It had merely implemented the CAT order.

There was no cause for filing the application. Pointing out that the Tribunal order had merged with that of the High Court, they said it was not open for adjudication before the Tribunal.

Concurring with the submissions, the Madras Bench of the CAT comprising its Vice-Chairman P. Shanmugam and Administrative Member R. Ganesan recorded the averment that consequent to the quashing of the Selection List of 1994-95, Mr. Sivanandi could not retain the year of allotment of 1991 and his resultant position as Deputy Inspector-General of Police.

"We accept the stand that the impugned order is only a consequential order passed by virtue of the Tribunal's order."

The Bench concluded that the only course open to Mr. Sivanandi was to seek relief before higher courts, and then dismissed it as not maintainable.

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