Move to appoint administrative member fails: Justice Asha made Kerala Administrative Tribunal Acting Chairperson

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Judicial member Justice P.V. Asha has been appointed as the acting chairperson of the Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT). The Governor's order was issued on the recommendation of the Chief Minister at a time when the IAS lobby was pressuring to appoint administrative member Dr. Pradeep Kumar here.

Kerala Kaumudi had reported that the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department was moving to make an administrative member the acting chairperson instead of a judicial member. The Chief Minister intervened and forwarded the appointment recommendation to the Governor, following this. The notification was issued by Additional Chief Secretary Dr. Rajan Khobragade as per the Governor's order.

The acting chairperson was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the chairman, Justice C.K. Abdul Rahim, who retired on 5th. Justice P.V. Asha will continue in the post until a new chairperson is appointed. Justice Asha was a High Court judge and retired in 2021.

The senior-most judicial member is appointed as the acting chairperson in the event of a vacancy in the chairmanship of the KAT. This time, the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department had taken the stand that the appointment should be made on the basis of the seniority of the existing members.