The Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT) has issued an order directing the demotion of around 500 section forest officers (SFOs) in the Forest Department who were promoted without clearing the required departmental examinations. The decision comes as a result of promotions that violated the Forest Subordinate Services Special Rules, which came into effect in 2010. According to these rules, beat forest officers (BFOs) must pass two departmental exams to be eligible for promotion as SFOs. However, despite the stipulation, the state government continued to promote BFOs without the required qualifications. The demotion order will now shift these SFOs back to the lower rank of beat forest officers.

The case reached the Kerala Administrative Tribunal following a petition filed by A D Pramod, a BFO in Thrissur district, highlighting the improper promotions. The tribunal’s order calls for the annulment of the 2022 promotion order and the filling of the posts with qualified BFOs, including the petitioner. This decision also affects some officers who were further promoted as deputy range officers from the SFO position. The Forest Department had previously promoted BFOs as SFOs based on the rules of 1962, allowing them to continue in probation until they passed a forest test. However, numerous SFOs have not cleared the forest test for several years while receiving a higher salary, leading to the recent demotion order by KAT.