DEHRADUN: In a rare and significant move, the Union Cabinet Secretary has approached Uttarakhand High Court, to seek the quashing of a seven-year-old Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order concerning Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi. The petition also challenges contempt notices issued to the Cabinet Secretary by the Nainital Bench of CAT on May 21.
The Uttarakhand High Court is set to examine a long-standing dispute involving Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi, concerning the downgrading of his annual performance review and alleged suppression of corruption cases he investigated during his tenure at AIIMS, Delhi.
The case dates back to 2018 when the Nainital bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) dismissed an application filed by the then Cabinet Secretary regarding the downgrading of Chaturvedi's Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR) for 2015-16. The Tribunal had ruled that the Cabinet Secretary was a necessary party to the case since he had approved Chaturvedi's selection and many of the officer's grievances were directed against him.
In a recent development, the Cabinet Secretary has approached the High Court seeking to quash CAT's February 2023 order, which directed the Cabinet Secretary, Health Secretary, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), and AIIMS to provide documents related to the closure of certain high-profile corruption cases. These cases were initiated during Chaturvedi's tenure as Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of AIIMS from 2012 to 2014.
Simultaneously, the Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has filed a separate petition requesting the High Court to remove the Cabinet Secretary's name from the case and substitute it with the DoPT Secretary's name instead.
The controversy stems from Chaturvedi's challenge in July 2017 against the downgrading of his 2015-16 APAR. CAT had stayed the downgrading in September 2017. In 2019, Chaturvedi further alleged that his performance review was deliberately downgraded as an act of vendetta for his anti-corruption efforts.
During his tenure as CVO of AIIMS, Chaturvedi had initiated action in nearly 200 corruption cases, including those involving the then AIIMS Director, a senior Tamil Nadu-cadre IPS officer, and a Himachal Pradesh-cadre IAS officer.
The High Court, after hearing the Attorney General's submissions, has listed the matter for further hearing on August 28.