Case Note & Summary
The appellant, Rupesh Kumar Meena, an IPS officer selected in the 2004 batch and allocated to Tamil Nadu cadre, sought re-allocation to Rajasthan cadre against an insider vacancy, claiming entitlement as the third in merit after two senior candidates declined the offer -- He filed applications before the Central Administrative Tribunal and High Court, which were dismissed, leading to the present appeals before the Supreme Court -- The Court examined the issues of delay, administrative finality, and the consumption of vacancies -- It found that the appellant raised the claim six years after allocation, which was an unreasonable delay, and that re-allocation would disrupt cadre finality and create a chain reaction affecting other officers -- The Court dismissed the appeals, emphasizing the need for certainty in administrative allocations
Headnote
The Supreme Court dismissed the civil appeals filed by Rupesh Kumar Meena, an IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, challenging the orders of the High Court and Central Administrative Tribunal that rejected his claim for re-allocation to Rajasthan cadre against an insider vacancy from the 2004 batch -- The appellant argued that he was entitled to the vacancy as two senior candidates, Rishikesh Meena and Rajesh Kumar, did not join the Rajasthan cadre, and that the vacancy remained unfilled -- The Union of India contended that the allocation was final, the vacancy was consumed when offered to Rishikesh Meena, and the appellant's claim was barred by delay and laches -- The Court held that cadre allocations must achieve finality to avoid administrative chaos, and the appellant's delay of six years in raising the claim was unreasonable -- The appeal was dismissed, upholding the appellant's allocation to Tamil Nadu cadre
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Issue of Consideration: The Issue of consideration was whether the appellant, an IPS officer allocated to Tamil Nadu cadre, could claim re-allocation to Rajasthan cadre against an insider vacancy from the 2004 batch after a delay of six years, and whether such re-allocation would disrupt administrative finality and create a chain reaction in cadre allocations
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Final Decision
The Supreme Court dismissed the civil appeals, upholding the orders of the High Court and Central Administrative Tribunal, and confirmed the appellant's allocation to Tamil Nadu cadre, rejecting his claim for re-allocation to Rajasthan cadre
