Woman IB official`s repatriation quashed by CAT

The Central Administrative Tribunal on Wednesday quashed the repatriation of a senior woman IB official on deputation here, holding it to be "arbitrary, malicious and malafide".

Bangalore: The Central Administrative Tribunal on Wednesday quashed the repatriation of a senior woman Intelligence Bureau (IB) official on deputation here, holding it to be "arbitrary, malicious and malafide".

The CAT bench directed the Ministry of Home Affairs, Intelligence Bureau (IB), Delhi, and IB (Karnataka), to continue IB Deputy Director N B Bharathi (in the present post) till the end of her present term (2014) and also consider extension. Allowing the original application filed by Bharathi, an IPS officer of Odisha cadre, seeking quashing of the November 26, 2012, repatriation order, a division bench of CAT comprising K B Suresh and Naresh Gupta said the order had been made without considering real facts and taking into account "external elements" foreign to the issue. It said she would continue till the end of the present term in accordance with the rules and Director IB shall consider extension or absorption (into the bureau) depending upon the "situation at that time". Earlier, senior counsel for Bharathi, Navkesh Batra, had submitted that the applicant was serving in IB Bangalore on deputation from Odisha cadre for the past four years. While she was in IB Delhi, she was promoted and given a commendation certificate from the Director and transferred to Bangalore. While at Bangalore also, she was promoted and all her Annual Confidential Reports were "outstanding". However, she was `hurriedly` sought to be relieved from IB in November 2012, he had said. Subsequent to this, CAT had passed an interim order staying operation of the relieving order and the same was extended twice. PTI