DEHRADUN: In a continuing setback for whistleblowers in India, a fourteenth judge has recused herself from a case involving Ramon Magsaysay Award-winning Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Sanjeev Chaturvedi. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Neha Kushwaha of Nainital stepped aside from a criminal defamation case filed by Chaturvedi, citing personal reasons linked to familial connections.
The case, filed in November 2023, concerns allegations by Chaturvedi that Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) member Manish Garg used objectionable language against him in open court on October 16, 2023. ACJM Kushwaha stated that she is related to another CAT member, D.S. Mehra, who often visits her official residence a connection she deemed sufficient grounds for her recusal.
The familial link gains further relevance as Mehra’s bench had, in October 2024, issued a criminal contempt notice against Chaturvedi for initiating the defamation case. In retaliation, Chaturvedi filed a contempt petition against Mehra in November 2024.
Chaturvedi, who was honoured in 2015 for his anti-corruption efforts, has seen an unusual number of judges withdraw from hearing his cases 14 in total across various judicial levels. This includes two Supreme Court justices, two judges of the Nainital High Court, the CAT Chairman, one trial court judge in Shimla, and seven CAT members from benches in Delhi and Allahabad.
The trend of judicial recusals has intensified in recent years. In February 2025, CAT members Harwinder Kaur Oberoi and B. Anand recused themselves from a matter concerning Chaturvedi’s appraisal report without offering any explanation, also instructing the registry not to list future matters involving him before their bench. A similar step was taken in February 2024 by Uttarakhand High Court Justice Manoj Tiwari in cases related to Chaturvedi’s deputation.
This pattern stretches back over a decade. In 2018, the Uttarakhand High Court directed that Chaturvedi’s service-related matters be heard exclusively by the Nainital Circuit Bench, penalising the Central Government Rs 25,000 a decision upheld by the Supreme Court. The High Court reaffirmed this in 2021, prompting another legal challenge by the Centre, now pending before a larger Supreme Court bench since March 2023.
Earlier recusals include that of then-Supreme Court Justice Ranjan Gogoi in 2013 and Justice U.U. Lalit in 2016 from a petition filed by Chaturvedi seeking a CBI probe into alleged corruption by then Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other senior officials. Both stepped aside without citing reasons.
The frequency and opacity of these recusals continue to raise concerns about judicial impartiality and access to justice for whistleblowers in India.
