IAS officer Kritika Sharma reaches UP after 8-year legal battle

Lucknow: Under Secretary of DoPT, Uday Bhan Singh, has issued notification to send IAS Krutika Sharma from West Bengal cadre to Uttar Pradesh cadre as per the High Court’s order of March 7, 2022. Her joining will be considered in UP from May 18, 2022.

The state bureaucracy has now received another 2014 batch IAS officer, pushing the number to 51, including 20 IAS of direct recruitment and 31 IAS of state cadre. If the state government makes everyone of 2014 batch a DM, then it would have to change DMs of 51 districts, although the Yogi government has already made DMs 5 IAS officers of 2014 batch: Neha Jain, Manish Bansal, Medha Rupam, Ashwani Kumar Rai and Ravi Ranjan.

Kritika Sharma had bagged 86th All India Ranking in 2013 and was given West Bengal cadre. After she married fellow 2014 batch IAS officer Abhishek Anand of Uttar Pradesh cadre, the duo applied to DOPT to be posted together in Uttar Pradesh cadre. The DOPT had sought NOC from Chief Secretaries of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal Governments for the cadre change. The UP government issued its NOC on Jul 8, 2015, but the West Bengal government did not.

The West Bengal government argued that it was short of IAS officers, post which Kritika Sharma filed a case in the Central Administrative Tribunal, New Delhi. But still the West Bengal government did not issue her NOC and instead advised that if her husband Abhishek Anand wanted to come from UP to West Bengal cadre, then it would be considered.

Finally, after a long legal battle, the High Court refused to accept any of the arguments of West Bengal government and decreed that if she was not given NOC, she would be relieved from Bengal cadre after May 17, 2022.

After this direction of the High Court, a notification has been issued to change her cadre from West Bengal to Uttar Pradesh.

Kritika Sharma is currently ADM Purulia in West Bengal while her husband Abhishek Anand is Municipal Commissioner, Bareilly.