The Uttarakhand High Court has instructed the Central Government to release the empanelment documents for cadre IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi

Nainital (Uttarakhand), September 5: The Uttarakhand High Court has directed the Central Government to release documents related to the empanelment of Uttarakhand cadre IFS Officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi.

The court has instructed the authorities to disclose records concerning the decision-making process of Chaturvedi's empanelment at the Joint Secretary level, specifically the decision made on November 15, 2022. The disclosure should be limited to documents related solely to Chaturvedi's empanelment.

This ruling was issued by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Alok Kumar Verma on September 3, following a writ petition filed by Chaturvedi himself.

The order stipulates, "Given that the petitioner has requested his own record, the respondents are directed to provide the records related to the process and decision-making of his empanelment at the Joint Secretary level on November 15, 2022."

It was noted that this type of order regarding the release of empanelment documents to an aggrieved officer is unprecedented.

In November 2022, the Central Government had announced that the 'Appointment Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has not approved' Chaturvedi's empanelment for a position at the Centre.

Chaturvedi’s petition highlighted his 'consistent outstanding grading', four presidential orders in his favor during his Haryana tenure, and commendations for his performance as Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) at AIIMS. He also referenced favorable remarks from the Uttarakhand High Court, Delhi High Court, and Supreme Court regarding his credentials.

Chaturvedi argued that he had faced persistent persecution for his honest and fearless discharge of official duties, and the petition was a result of ongoing injustices.

He had initially filed a petition with the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in December 2022, but it was dismissed in May this year on the grounds that disclosure of records related to the ACC and CSB was prohibited under Section 8(1)(i) of the RTI Act.

Chaturvedi challenged this decision in the Uttarakhand High Court in June, claiming that the tribunal's order was based on unfounded, incorrect, and unsubstantiated submissions by the Central Government. He argued that the tribunal had ignored the proviso of Section 8(1)(i) of the RTI Act, which mandates that decisions of the Council of Ministers and the materials on which decisions were based should be made public after the matter is concluded.