In an unusual development, two more judges of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Harvinder Kaur Oberoi and B Anand, have recused themselves from hearing cases involving IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi (IFoS:2002:HY), bringing the total recusals in his cases to 13.
So far, two Supreme Court judges, two Uttarakhand High Court judges, the CAT chairman, a Shimla trial court judge, and seven CAT judges from Delhi and Allahabad have stepped away from his cases. In its latest order on February 19, the CAT bench of Justices Oberoi and Anand directed the registry not to list his cases further, without providing a specific reason. Chaturvedi’s counsel, Sudershan Goel, stated that the matter pertained to his appraisal report.
The pattern of recusals dates back to 2013, when then-Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjan Gogoi withdrew from hearing Chaturvedi’s plea for a CBI probe into alleged corruption involving former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Subsequent recusals have included Justices U U Lalit (SC, 2016), a Shimla trial court judge (2018), CAT Delhi chairman Justice L Narasimhan Reddy (2019), and multiple judges from CAT and Uttarakhand HC in recent years.
Chaturvedi first gained prominence for exposing scams in the Haryana forest department between 2007 and 2012, leading to his repeated transfers—12 times in five years. He was later suspended and charge-sheeted but reinstated following a Presidential intervention. Recognized as a whistleblower in 2012, he went on to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his anti-corruption efforts.
