The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has rejected a petition by DGP (Director of Fire and Rescue Services) R Nataraj, challenging the appointment of Letika Saran as Director General of Tamil Nadu Police.

Dismissing Nataraj’s application, the Madras Bench of CAT, comprising K Elango and R Satapathy, held that Nataraj had not established any arbitrariness. Besides, he had not pointed out any specific violation of rules in appointment of Saran as DGP.

In its order, the Tribunal said though the applicant claimed he had been empanelled by the Union Government in the panel of DGP as per a May 2009 memo, a perusal of the same showed the panel was not drawn up to fill up the DGP post.

Subsequent to the memo, the Centre had equated the post Nataraj held in the DGP cadre to enable him to draw a higher pay and allowances. In as much as Nataraj had also been posted in the cadre of DGP, he could not have any grievance in the matter of appointment of Saran, it said.

The main relief claimed in the application, to quash the appointment of Saran and consequently to direct authorities to follow the rule of law in filling up the vacancy to the post of DGP was an omnibus prayer, which was not maintainable in the absence of any specific violation of rules in filling up the vacancy in the DGP’s post, the bench pointed out.

Nataraj, in his petition said Saran was junior to him and others and that she ought not to have been appointed as DGP. The process of selection and appointment was not followed by constituting the screening committee as per the rules, he said.

Saran was posted as DGP after K P Jain proceeded on leave.