Nainital: Another judge has recused himself from hearing the case involving Uttarakhand cadre Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi. Uttarakhand High Court Justice Alok Verma has also recused himself from the case. He is the 16th judge to recuse himself from the case involving IFS officer Sanjay Chaturvedi.
16 Judges Recused So Far: Uttarakhand High Court Justice Alok Verma has recused himself from hearing the contempt petition filed by senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer and whistleblower Sanjiv Chaturvedi against the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and members of its registry. This brings the total number of judges who have recused themselves from hearing Sanjiv Chaturvedi’s cases to 16.
IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi, who exposed alleged corruption during his tenure as Chief Vigilance Officer at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, has faced repeated recusals in his ongoing legal battle with government agencies. Previously, three Uttarakhand High Court judges—Justice Ravindra Maithani, Justice Rakesh Thapliyal, and Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari—also recused themselves from cases involving Sanjiv Chaturvedi.
In addition, 12 other judges recused themselves from cases in which Sanjiv Chaturvedi was a party, including former Supreme Court judges Justice UC Lalit and Justice Ranjan Gogoi. Previously, the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Nainital recused itself from hearing a criminal case.
The CAT bench of Justices Harvinder Kaur Oberoi and B Anand had recused themselves from hearing the cases involving IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi. The Chairperson of the CAT (Central Administrative Tribunal), a judge from a lower court in Shimla, and eight CAT judges from the Delhi and Allahabad benches also recused themselves from Chaturvedi’s cases at different times.
According to Sanjiv Chaturvedi, this is a record in the country, with 16 judges recusing themselves from hearing a case involving an individual. Previously, 10 judges had recused themselves from hearing the case of gangster and politician Atiq Ahmed. The current contempt case arises from suo motu proceedings initiated by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) against IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi on October 17, 2024.
The Uttarakhand High Court stayed the case until October 7, 2025, but the CAT resumed hearing the case on September 12, appointing a senior advocate as amicus curiae. Chaturvedi has approached the High Court challenging this action. Meanwhile, Justice Alok Verma, in his brief order on October 8, said, “List it before another bench,” without giving any reason.
PTI
