The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday has directed the Central Government to provide Uttarakhand cadre IFS Officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi with documents related to his empanelment process.
The court specifically ordered the disclosure of records concerning the decision made by the Joint Secretary on November 15, 2022, but limited to Chaturvedi’s own empanelment.
A division bench, led by Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Alok Kumar Verma, issued the order on September 3, based on Chaturvedi’s writ petition where he argued his case personally. The court emphasized that only the records related to Chaturvedi’s empanelment should be shared.
This ruling marks a unique case as it’s the first time a court has mandated the release of empanelment documents to an aggrieved officer.
Chaturvedi’s empanelment was previously rejected by the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet on November 15, 2022, with a note stating it had not been approved for holding a post equivalent to Joint Secretary at the Centre.
In his petition, Chaturvedi highlighted his consistently high performance ratings, several presidential orders in his favor from his tenure in Haryana, and commendations from the Union Health Ministry for his role as Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) in AIIMS. He also alleged ongoing persecution for his honest and fearless discharge of duties.
Originally, Chaturvedi filed his petition with the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in December 2022, which was dismissed in May this year on the grounds that the requested records were confidential under Section 8(1)(i) of the RTI Act. Chaturvedi then appealed to the Uttarakhand High Court in June, challenging the CAT’s decision and claiming it was based on incorrect submissions by the Central Government.
