CAT stays transfer order of ED officer & Karuvannur case investigator P Radhakrishnan
ED officer P Radhakrishnan’s transfer to Kashmir stayed by CAT. Tribunal questions deviation from standard service norms.
ED officer P Radhakrishnan’s transfer to Kashmir stayed by CAT. Tribunal questions deviation from standard service norms.
ED officer P Radhakrishnan’s transfer to Kashmir stayed by CAT. Tribunal questions deviation from standard service norms.
Kochi: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has stayed the transfer of P Radhakrishnan, Deputy Director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), from the Kochi Zonal Office to the Srinagar Zonal Office in Kashmir. Radhakrishnan is a key figure in several high-profile investigations, including the diplomatic baggage gold smuggling case and Karuvannur Cooperative Bank fraud case.
Granting the stay, CAT Judicial Member Justice K Haripal directed that the officer be allowed to continue in his current position until the matter is next taken up for consideration. The ED’s counsel sought additional time to file a formal explanation regarding the transfer.
The order to move Radhakrishnan to Srinagar was issued as part of a larger reshuffle, which involved the transfer of 27 Deputy Directors of the Enforcement Directorate across the country.
According to Advocate Girija Gopal, the petitioner became aware of the transfer only upon receiving his relieving order. Radhakrishnan had previously been transferred to the Chennai Zonal Office in 2022 and had returned to Kochi just eight months ago. As per service norms, an officer is expected to serve a minimum of three years in one post unless there are exceptional circumstances and such reasons must be clearly stated in the transfer order.
The petition argues that Radhakrishnan has had an unblemished service record and urges the tribunal to quash the transfer order, allowing him to remain in Kochi. The Central Government, the ED authority and Chairman of the Civil Service Board have been named as respondents in the case. The matter is scheduled to come up for further hearing next month.