Kochi | The Kerala High Court on Tuesday set aside an administrative tribunal's interim stay on the transfer of former DHS K J Reena who according to the government was transferred as her tenure had ended.

The government appointed Dr V Meenakshy as the new Director of Health Services (DHS).

However, Dr Reena moved the Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT) which on June 18 issued an interim order staying her transfer for two weeks.

The KAT interim order was challenged by the state government in the High Court and on Tuesday a bench of Justices Anil K Narendran and Muralee Krishna S set it aside, a senior government lawyer said.

The detailed order of the High Court is awaited.

The government, in its plea, had claimed that it had told the KAT that Reena's prescribed tenure was over on February 22, 2026 and thereafter, no extension was granted to her.

It further said that she was transferred to a new post equivalent to the one already held by her, but the tribunal allowed her to continue as DHS without appreciating these aspects.

The transfer came amid criticism from Health Minister K Muraleedharan over Reena's decision not to allot doctors for the Sabarimala pilgrimage season without consulting the government and over the alleged delay in informing him about a Nipah test result confirming infection in a Kozhikode native.