Telangana HC Grants Interim Relief to IPS Officer Abhilasha Bisht in Cadre Dispute

The Telangana High Court on Friday granted interim relief to senior IPS officer Abhilasha Bisht, permitting her to continue serving in Telangana while her challenge to a cadre reassignment is pending.

A division bench comprising Justices P Sam Koshy and Narsing Rao Nandikonda passed the order during the hearing of Bisht’s petition against a ruling of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which had upheld the Centre’s January decision transferring her to the Andhra Pradesh cadre.

The bench noted that it was inclined to grant interim protection, particularly as Bisht was already covered by a 2025 order issued by the same bench. The matter has been listed for further hearing on July 1.

Bisht, a 1994-batch IPS officer currently serving as Director of the RBVRR Telangana Police Academy, has challenged the cadre allocation on the ground that it was based on what she described as “distorted” seniority data.

She argued that both the state and central governments had disregarded a long-standing seniority list in place for over two decades, replacing it with a revised version that placed her below officers who were previously junior to her.

Calling the decision “arbitrary, discriminatory and unconstitutional,” Bisht submitted that the revision was carried out for extraneous reasons, without affording her prior notice or an opportunity to respond.

She further contended that the Union government failed in its supervisory role by accepting the state’s modified seniority list instead of relying on certified records. By treating her as junior at this stage, she argued, the authorities violated established principles of natural justice.

Seeking relief, Bisht has urged the court to restore her original seniority position within the 1994 batch of transferee officers and to grant her permanent allotment to the Telangana cadre by setting aside the 2025 order enabling her transfer to Andhra Pradesh.