The Nayab Singh Saini government’s decision to send back two senior IPS officers occupying positions perceived to be cadre posts for IAS seems to have tilted the balance of power back in favour of the IAS lobby in Haryana.
The government recently transferred the IPS couple—Navdeep Singh Virk (IPS:1994:HR) and Kala Ramachandran (IPS:1994:HR)—both ADG-rank officers, to mainstream policing.
They were believed to be holding IAS cadre posts. While Virk was posted as Principal Secretary, Sports, Ramachandran was serving as Principal Secretary in the Heritage and Tourism department. Both these positions have traditionally been reserved for IAS officers.
The state govt’s move seems to be an attempt to restore a perceived balance of power between the two All India Services (AIS) officers who have been involved in a prolonged fight over this issue. The IAS cadre has consistently opposed the posting of non-IAS officers to these designated cadre posts.
The action also delivers a setback to those saying that state governments have unfettered discretion in posting AIS officers to cadre posts. Its impact is not limited to them. Nearly half a dozen non-IAS officers currently occupying IAS-cadre positions, which have historically remained the preserve of the IAS, have also developed a feeling of unease.
There has been a history of battle for the control of IAS-designated cadre posts by IPS officers in Haryana but it reached a flash point during Manohar Lal Khattar’s regime as the CM when he appointed controversial IPS officer Shatrujeet Kapoor (IPS:1990:HR) as chairman of Haryana’s power utilities — a post traditionally held by an IAS officer.
The decision triggered a storm, but Khattar handled it with a firm hand, asserting the government’s authority over postings. The result was an IAS-IPS cold war over cadre posts.
The issue resurfaced in 2021, when then Home Minister Anil Vij and Chief Secretary Vijai Vardhan raised objections over the posting of non-cadre officers to IAS cadre posts. Vij had then argued that IPS officers should not be posted to IAS cadre positions without prior approval of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
The Centre had to intervene after nine non-IAS officers from the IPS, IFS and IRS were found deputed to IAS cadre posts by the state government. Vardhan is said to have strongly objected to it, citing IAS Cadre Rules.
The BJP government, however, has consistently maintained that postings of AIS officers fall within the sole discretion of the ruling dispensation.
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