Former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, whose compulsory retirement challenge is pending before CAT Lucknow.

The Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) has directed the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Lucknow, to expeditiously decide a pending original application filed by former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur challenging his compulsory retirement from service in March 2021.

Justice Jaspreet Singh passed the order on September 3 while disposing of a petition filed under Article 227 of the Constitution, filed by Thakur through counsel Nutan Thakur and Deepak Kumar.

Thakur's Compulsory Retirement

Thakur had approached the high court seeking expeditious disposal of his Original Application No. 332/00147/2021, titled Amitabh Thakur v. Union of India and others, pending before the Central Administrative Tribunal, arrayed as respondent no. 1.

The application, filed by Thakur to challenge his compulsory retirement from the Indian Police Service in March 2021, has remained pending before the tribunal for over five years. The Central Administrative Tribunal, through its Registrar, and two other respondents were named as parties in the case before the high court.

During the hearing, notice on behalf of the state respondents was accepted by the office of the Chief Standing Counsel, while advocate Varun Pandey accepted notice on behalf of respondent no. 2, the Union of India. Counsel appearing for the Union of India told the court that he had no objection if an order for expeditious disposal was passed.

Tribunal to Decide Without Unnecessary Adjournments

Taking note of the submissions, court observed that no useful purpose would be served in keeping the petition pending before it and that the ends of justice would be better served by directing the tribunal to take up and finally decide the original application as expeditiously as possible. The bench directed respondent no. 1 to afford full opportunity of hearing to both parties while deciding the matter, but cautioned against granting unnecessary adjournments to either side, subject to there being no legal impediment in doing so.

Importantly, court clarified that it had not examined the merits of the case set up by either party and left it entirely open for the tribunal to decide the matter strictly in accordance with law.

Background

Amitabh Thakur is a former 1992-batch Uttar Pradesh-cadre IPS officer. He is known for having filed several litigations against government authorities over the years. 

He first drew national attention in 2015 when he alleged that Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav had threatened him over his criticism of the then SP government, following which he was suspended on July 13, 2015, and a vigilance inquiry was initiated against him, though the Lucknow Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal later stayed his suspension and ordered his reinstatement with full salary.

In March 2021, Thakur was given compulsory retirement by the Union Home Ministry with immediate effect, on the ground that he was "not found fit to be retained for the remaining tenure of his service", cutting short a career that would otherwise have run until 2028.

Last year in September, Thakur filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging two major provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta and Up-Lokayuktas Act, 1975, as unconstitutional.

In a separate matter, in 2024, the high court had restrained Thakur and his wife, Nutan Thakur, prohibiting them from disseminating any information, videos, or content that could damage the reputation of former Indian Administrative Service officer Awanish Kumar Awasthi who was also chief advisor to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Case Title: Amitabh Thakur vs. Central Administrative Tribunal Lko. Thru. Its Registrar And 2 Others

Order Date: September 3, 2026

Bench: Justice Jaspreet Singh

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