No light at the end of the tunnel for KAS rank-holders

The appointments to the second batch of the Kerala Administrative Service (KAS) continue to be stuck in limbo with the United Democratic Front (UDF) government persisting in its stance that the appointments proposed during Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule were based on a flawed premise.

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan reiterated his government’s stance in the Assembly last week. Citing the findings of a July 27 meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary, the Chief Minister had stated, in reply to questions in the House, that a “situation persists wherein the government cannot proceed with the appointments.”

The controversy surrounds the delayed appointments to 31 notified vacancies in KAS under rank list published by the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) on January 30, 2026.

From the perspective of the rank-holders, they had gone through months of gruelling preparation and a valid selection process, following which the PSC published its rank list.

‘Deputation reserve’

The then LDF government had reported 31 vacancies to the PSC after creating a ‘deputation reserve’ on the lines of the All India Services. The number represented 30% of the KAS cadre strength of 105. However, the meeting convened by Chief Secretary Bishwanath Sinha on July 29 this year had concluded that the government cannot proceed with the appointments to vacancies created through deputation reserves.

In his reply to the Assembly, the Chief Minister observed that although ‘deputation reserve’ would be part of the cadre strength, such vacancies are “temporary” and appointments cannot be made to them counting them as permanent vacancies. The Kerala Service Rules - Part 1 holds that an officer who has been absent from a post for some time still retains a ‘lien’ on it, and is entitled to that post once he rejoins duty. The UDF government has taken the stand that the previous LDF government’s decision to report vacancies to the PSC when there exists the possibility of a lien-holder reclaiming a post was not legal.

Meanwhile, the KAS rank-holders hold that many State Administrative Service cadres, such as Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, already have provisions for creating a Deputation Reserve, which is in line with the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) rules. Although the Chief Minister had given them an assurance that the 31 candidates will be accommodated by placing the matter before cabinet, the file to be placed before Cabinet has been pending for more than a month, they allege. They also point out that the PSC rank list would expire in three months’ time.

KAS was established in 2018 during the LDF government’s term. Appointments were made to 105 cadre posts in the first batch in 2021. With regard to the second batch, the LDF decision was based on a policy decision for deputing KAS officers to various boards and institutions and creating a ‘deputation reserve’ on the lines of the All India Services.