The Kerala government on Monday (June 1, 2026) appointed IAS officer Seeram Sambasiva Rao (IAS:2012:KL) as the new Excise Commissioner, marking a return to the practice of appointing IAS officers to the post after nearly a decade.
Rao had earlier served as Officer on Special Duty to former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He will continue to hold his existing additional charges along with the new responsibility.
The appointment assumes significance as the post of Excise Commissioner had been held by IPS officers since 2016.
The move follows a recent directive of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on a petition filed by the Kerala IAS Association seeking a declaration that posts notified by the Union government as belonging to the Kerala IAS cadre should be occupied only by serving IAS officers.
Subsequently, the Tribunal held that key positions including Excise Commissioner, Director of the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) and Director General of the Institute of Management in Government (IMG) are cadre posts meant exclusively for serving IAS officers.
Following the ruling, Additional Director General of Police M R Ajith Kumar (IPS:1995:KL) was removed from the post of Excise Commissioner.
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