Partha Sarathi Das (IA&AS:1994), currently serving as Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor in the Department of Posts, has been repatriated to parent cadre. According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Saturday (03.05.2025), the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved repatriation of Mr Das to his parent cadre on personal grounds with imposition of extended cooling off.
Das has held the post since August 2022, and prior to that, served as Joint Secretary in the Department of Food & Public Distribution.
In a major bureaucratic development, the Punjab government on Saturday (03.05.2025) issued transfer and posting orders for nine IPS officers and one PPS officer. Senior IPS officer Varinder Kumar (IPS:1993:PB), who was awaiting posting, has been appointed as Special DGP, Punjab State Human Rights Commission, Chandigarh.
Praveen Kumar Sinha (IPS:1994:PB) will continue to serve as ADGP Intelligence and Chief Director, Vigilance Bureau, Punjab, while relinquishing his additional charge as ADGP NRI Affairs.
The names of the officers and their postings are as follows;
Varinder Kumar (IPS:1993:PB), awaiting posting orders, has been posted as Special DGP, Punjab State Human Rights Commission.
Praveen Kumar Sinha (IPS:1994:PB), ADGP, NRI with additional charge of posts of ADGP, Intelligence and Chief Director of Vigilance Bureau, has been transferred and posted as ADGP, Intelligence with additional charge of Chief Director of Vigilance Bureau.
RK Jaiswal (IPS:1997:PB), awaiting posting orders, has been posted as ADGP, NRI, SAS Nagar.
Kuldeep Singh Chahal (IPS:2009:PB), awaiting posting orders, has been posted as DIG, Technical Services.
Harjeet Singh (IPS:2010:PB), DIG, Bathinda Range, Bathinda, has been transferred and posted as DIG, Training with additional charge of DIG, Bathinda Range, Bathinda.
Nanak Singh (IPS:2011:PB), SSP, Patiala, will look after the work of DIG Patiala Range, Patiala on superannuation of Mandeep Singh Sidhu.
Varun Sharma (IPS:2014:PB), AIG, Provisioning, Chandigarh with additional charge of SSP, Sadak Surakshya Force, Chandigarh, has been transferred and posted as SSP, Patiala.
Tushar Gupta (IPS:2018:PB), awaiting posting orders, has been posted as AIG, Provisioning, Chandigarh with additional charge of SSP, Sadak Surakshya Force, Chandigarh.
Maninder Singh (IPS:2019:PB), SSP, Amritsar Rural, has been transferred and posted as AIG, Welfare, Chandigarh with additional charge of SSP, Amritsar Rural.
Karkamalpreet Singh Khakh (PPS), awaiting posting orders, has been posted as AIG, NRI, Jalandhar with additional charge of Commandant, ISTC, Kapurthala.
The Union Ministry of Power has assigned Bhupender Gupta, Director (Technical) of THDC India Limited, with the additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL).
According to the official order dated May 2, 2025, the appointment is effective from May 1. Gupta will hold the post for a period of three months or until the appointment of a full-time CMD, whichever comes earlier. This move is seen as an interim arrangement while the selection process for a regular CMD is underway.
An absconding Telangana’s retired IPS officer, T Prabhakar Rao IPS, is now scurrying for legal cover, but to no avail. The Telangana High Court on Friday dismissed his petition seeking protection from arrest in the telephone tapping case. Rao is the prime accused in the case and is presently hiding in the United States of America.
Justice J. Sreenivas Rao of the Telangana High Court dismissed the bail petition moved by him.
Rao’s crisis deepened after his passport was revoked by the Union government recently and the INTERPOL issued a red-corner notice seeking his detention. It is when Rao ran to the Telangana HC seeking protection from arrest when he returns to India. Rao said that he would co-operate with the investigators after coming to India but wanted an anticipatory bail. But the HC remained unmoved.
Prabhakar Rao was a high-flying IPS officer holding key posts like Intelligence chief during the previous BRS government in Telangana. He was the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) chief on extension of service when the Congress party came to power in December 2023.
But his allegedly objectionable action to placate his political masters turned the tide against him after the change of political regime. A criminal case was registered by the Hyderabad police on a complaint alleging telephone tapping at the behest of politicians in power during BRS rule. In the following action, Rao emerged as the prime accused. He, however, had left the country by then.
For more detailed insights and timely updates on significant legal decisions, high-profile cases, and judicial outcomes like the Telangana HC’s refusal of bail to T Prabhakar Rao, stay tuned with Legendofficers — your trusted source for all things governance and legal news.
The Union government on Thursday (01.05.2025 notified the transfer of seven High Court judges to various High Courts across the country, based on recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium.
Of the seven, four judges from the Karnataka High Court have been reassigned to the High Courts of Gujarat, Orissa, Kerala, and Madras. Additionally, two judges from the Telangana High Court have been posted to the Madras and Karnataka High Courts, while one judge from the Andhra Pradesh High Court has also been transferred to Karnataka.
The detailed list of transfers is as follows:
Justice Hemant Chandangoudar – Transferred from Karnataka High Court to Madras High Court
Justice Krishnan Natarajan – Transferred from Karnataka High Court to Kerala High Court
Justice Neranahalli Srinivasan Sanjay Gowda – Transferred from Karnataka High Court to Gujarat High Court
Justice Dixit Krishna Shripad – Transferred from Karnataka High Court to Orissa High Court
Justice Perugu Sree Sudha – Transferred from Telangana High Court to Karnataka High Court
Justice Kasoju Surendhar @ K. Surender – Transferred from Telangana High Court to Madras High Court
Justice Dr. Kumbhajadala Manmadha Rao – Transferred from Andhra Pradesh High Court to Karnataka High Court
The Supreme Collegium had proposed these transfers during its meetings held on April 15 and April 19, 2025.
Keep following Legendofficers for exclusive, fact-checked coverage on High Court judge transfers, Supreme Court movements, and other key legal system updates.
The Union government on Thursday (01.05.2025) notified the appointment of seven Judicial Officers as Judges of the Gujarat High Court.
They are;
Liyakathussain Shamsuddin Pirzada
Ramchandra Thakurdas Vachhani
Jayesh Lakhanshibhai Odedra
Pranav Maheshbhai Raval
Mool Chand Tyagi
Dipak Mansukhlal Vyas
Utkarsh Thakorbhai Desai
On March 19, 2025, the Supreme Court Collegium approved the elevation of eight judicial officers as Judges of the Gujarat High Court and forwarded the recommendations to the President. However, the central government cleared only seven names, excluding Rohenkumar Kundanlal Chudawala from the list this time.
The Union government on April 29 notified the appointment of two Judicial Officers as Judges of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.
They are;
Sanjay Parihar
Shahzad Azeem
The Supreme Court Collegium on April 16, 2025, approved the elevation of two Judicial Officer as Judges of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court and sent the recommendations to the President.
Gone are the days when IAS officers of Uttar Pradesh cadre used to rule the roost at the Centre. There was a time when their dominance at the Centre was so stout that many Cabinet Secretaries came from this state cadre. But that scenario is now changed. Despite having the largest IAS cadre with authorised strength of around 620 officers, the UP cadre IAS officers’ clout at the Centre has been on continuous decline.
The situation has come to such a sorry pass that no officer of 1992, 1993 and 1994 is currently working with the central government. Amit Kumar Ghosh was the lone officer belonging to the 1994 cadre, who was working as Additional Secretary in Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, but he too was repatriated to his home cadre, UP, a few days back.
Even those, who have earlier served at the Centre, were either not empanelled or not relieved by the state for deputation.
UP’s representation in the state cadre IAS officers on deputation to the Centre is so low that it has become a major cause of concern in the corridors of power. That this feeling of concern is not unfounded is proved by the fact that there are only four state cadre IAS officers currently working at secretary level with the Union government and even this number may go down further if the prevailing situation continues.
Among the four state cadre IAS officers, currently posted as secretaries at the Centre are Devesh Chaturvedi of 1989 batch posted as Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Archana Agarwal of 1990 batch as Member Secretary, NCR Planning Board, Kamran Rizvi of 1991 batch posted as Secretary in the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Nivedita Shukla Verma of 1991 batch posted as Secretary, Chemicals and Fertilisers.
Even an award of excellence given by the Union government fails to qualify the officers for empanelment resulting in the number coming down considerably.
Many bureaucrats feel that a system of 360-degree appraisal, introduced in 2015 by the Modi government, has proved as a major stumbling block in the process of empanelment of officers for senior level positions in the Union government.
The 360-degree appraisal system is perceived to be lacking transparency and is susceptible to discrimination as it involves multi-source feedback from various stakeholders, including seniors, peers and even juniors. The empanelment process also takes into account the overall service record, vigilance status and suitability of the officers concerned.
A top former bureaucrat from UP goes to the extent of saying that there may be a point when no UP-cadre officers get empanelled if this situation persists.
It is not that only the appraisal system is to blame, the state government has been equally responsible for this situation. There are instances of the state government denying NOC to some of the officers willing to go to the Centre. Besides, there are officers who were not relieved by the state government on time.
Against this background, a senior IAS officer adduces a curious rationale when he says, “We don’t want good officers to leave Uttar Pradesh.”
The delay in the promotion has been another factor like many IAS officers in the Principal Secretary rank have not been promoted to Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) level to enable them to get empanelled at senior positions at the Centre.
Thus, the root of this rot runs deeper and cries for attention.
Following the assumption of charge by Dr. Poonam Gupta as Deputy Governor, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday announced a reshuffle in the portfolios of its four deputy governors.
Dr. Gupta, who joined the central bank on May 2, 2025, has been entrusted with the key Monetary Policy Department, a crucial area she takes over after the retirement of Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra in January. In addition to monetary policy, she will oversee seven other departments, including Corporate Strategy and Budget, Communication, and Financial Stability.
Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao, who was handling the monetary policy brief in the interim, will now be responsible for six departments, including Coordination, Regulation, Enforcement, and Risk Monitoring.
Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar retains a wide-ranging portfolio, managing 12 departments. These include the Central Security Cell, Information Technology, Payment and Settlement Systems, Foreign Exchange Department, and FinTech, among others.
Deputy Governor Swaminathan Janakiraman has been assigned oversight of Consumer Education, Supervision, Inspection, and four additional departments related to banking operations and oversight.
Ramesh Chandra Mohapatra has been selected for appointment as Director (Technical), South Eastern Coalfields Limted (SECL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on May 2, 2025. Presently, he is serving as General Manager, Jhanjra Area, Eastern Coalfields Limted.
He will be appointed to the post of Director (Technical) after receiving vigilance clearances and approval from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
The following 10 applicants were interviewed in the selection meeting:
Ashutosh Dwivedi, Executive Director (Safety & Rescue), Coal India Limited
Chiranjib Patra, Executive Director (Corporate Affairs & Business Development), Coal India Limited
Palle Buchi Reddy, General Manager, Basundhara Area, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited
Amitanjan Nandi, Executive Director (Mining), Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC)
Ramesh Chandra Mohapatra, General Manager, Jhanjra Area, Eastern Coalfields Limited
Rajeev Singh, General Manager (Contract Management Cell), Northern Coalfields Limited
Kripa Shankar Singh, General Manager, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited
Rajeev Kumar Sinha, General Manager TS to CMD, CMD Sectt., Bharat Coking Coal Limited
S Rajmohan, Executive Director, Coal Co-ordination, NLC India Limited
Buddha Priya Mahudwale, Deputy General Manager, (Mining), NMDC Limited
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