DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand High Court has set aside an order by the chairman of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) which transferred the case of 2002-batch Indian Forest Service officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi to the tribunal's Delhi bench.
The division bench of Chief Justice RS Chauhan and NS Dhanik while setting aside the order by CAT chairman L Narsimha Reddy stated that the reasoning contained in the order dated December 4, 2020 is "legally unsustainable".
At present, Chaturvedi, a Magsaysay awardee, is posted as the chief conservator of forests in research wing of Uttarakhand forest department in Haldwani city.
The court observing that a bare perusal of the order clearly reveals that the tribunal has failed to consider the hardship caused to the petitioner stated in its order dated October 23, 2021, "Since the petitioner is presently posted as Chief Conservator of Forest (Working Plan), Haldwani, District Nainital, Uttarakhand, on every date of hearing, it is the petitioner who would be required to travel from Haldwani to New Delhi. His travelling would not only entail financial expenditure, but also require time and energy."
The bench further added, "It will also necessitate that the petitioner should take leave from his work, thereby, preventing him from discharging his official duties. Travelling from Haldwani to New Delhi would also adversely affect his physical health, and psychological makeup. For, he will continue to be under a mental tension while having to travel from Haldwani to New Delhi. Thus, the balance of convenience is in favour of the petitioner if the case should be heard by the Nainital Circuit Bench, and should be decided by it."
The bench further remarking that since all the CAT benches, including the principal bench of the CAT have equal jurisdiction stated that the order by the CAT chairman creates an impression that somehow the other nenches of the CAT are subordinate to the principal bench, and the principal bench is paramount bench in the country.
"For, the impression is being created that issue of 'national importance' can be decided only by the Principal Bench, and by none others. According to Mr. Sanjiv Chaturvedi, such an interpretation of the Act is highly misplaced. If such an impression were to be created, it would dilute the importance of other Benches of CAT, and for all practical purposes would make all other Benches of C.A.T. subordinate to the Principal Bench," the HC bench observed in the order.
Replying to the Centre's plea that relevant files are lying in New Delhi, and since relevant witnesses would be available in New Delhi, it would be in the interest of justice to transfer the case to the principal bench, rather than keeping the case pending before the Nainital circuit bench, the court observed in the order that the petitioner's hardships have been ignored.
"Even if the records are in Delhi, the respondents have sufficient means to send them to Nainital. Moreover, the question of production of witnesses does not exist, for, CAT is not a trial court where witnesses need to be produced. Furthermore, since the petitioner is appearing in person before CAT, he would have to travel and stay at Delhi. He would have to invest time, energy and money to fight his case. According to Mr. Chaturvedi to force him to travel to Delhi on each date makes access to justice an expensive proposition. Yet, the learned Tribunal has ignored the hardship caused to the petitioner," the HC bench remarked.
Chaturvedi had filed a case before Nainital Bench of the CAT in February 2020 alleging irregularities in the present system of empanelment at the level of joint secretary and above in the central government including recently introduced system of 360 degree appraisal and lateral entry of private sector experts.
Later, in in August 2020, notices were issued by the CAT to Union Public Service Commission and Uttarakhand state government. The Allahabad bench of the CAT had also granted time to counsel of central government to 'seek instructions' including department of personnel training (DoPT) and MoEF&CC (Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change).
In September 2020, the center was given ten days’ time to file preliminary submissions by the CAT bench, after they raised the issue of maintainability and the bench fixed date of September 22, 2020 for disposing the issue of maintainability.
In a dramatic turn of events, the center on October 13, 2020 filed transfer petition requesting transfer of the case from Nainital Circuit Bench of Allahabad bench to Principal Bench, Delhi which was opposed by Chaturvedi.
On December 4, 2020 the CAT chairman directed transfer of the petition to the principal bench of the CAT in Delhi.
Chaturvedi challenged this order of the CAT chairman in Uttarakhand High Court stating that the order dated December 4, 2020 which Reddy passed as the chairman of the CAT is in blatant violation of principles of natural justice - audi alteram partem.