CAT Refuses Stay on Termination of Arvind Kejriwal’s Personal Secretary

CAT (Central Administrative Tribunal) Issues Notice, Declines Interim Relief in Bibhav Kumar’s Termination Case

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) declined to halt the termination of Bibhav Kumar, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s personal secretary, on Monday.

Kumar’s suspension by the Delhi Government’s Vigilance department earlier this month was based on a 19-year-old case involving obstruction and threats against a public servant.

A bench headed by Justice Ranjit More (Chairman) and Member Anand Mathur issued a notice on Kumar’s plea challenging the termination order issued on April 10, along with the show cause notice.

However, the bench opted against issuing any interim order at this stage, citing that granting it would essentially constitute final relief.

The contention from Kumar’s side was that if a stay wasn’t granted, he wouldn’t be permitted to continue serving as the Private Secretary to the Chief Minister of Delhi.

According to Kumar’s plea, he was appointed to a permanent and co-terminus post, and therefore, his tenure appointment could only be terminated by the Chief Minister in accordance with the terms and conditions outlined in the appointment order, not by the Special Secretary (Vigilance).

“In light of this, the respondent’s action in terminating the applicant’s services under the CCS (Temporary Service) Rules, 1965, is deemed illegal and void ab initio. Furthermore, it is crucial to clarify that tenure appointments can only be terminated with justifiable reasons and in accordance with the principles of Natural Justice,” the plea stated.

Advocates Mr. M K Bhardwaj, Mr. Karan Sharma, Mr. Mohit Siwach, Ms. Urvi Kashiwal, and Mohd. Irshad represented the applicant, while Advocates Mrs. Avinash Ahlawat, Mr. Amit Anand, Mrs. Sriparna Chatterjee, and Mr. Nitesh Kumar Singh represented the respondent(s).