17 Judges, Including 2 SC Judges, Recuse From Chaturvedi Cases
Latest Recusal By CAT Judge Takes Tally To 17 Across SC, Uttarakhand HC And Other Courts
Seventeen judicial officers, including two former Supreme Court judges, have recused themselves over the years from cases involving Uttarakhand-cadre Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi, according to reports tracking the proceedings.
The latest recusal came on September 21, when Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Delhi Bench judicial member Rajveer Singh Verma stepped aside from hearing Chaturvedi's petition challenging a November 2021 Uttarakhand government order concerning the appraisal-report channel for IFS officers. The order did not specify a reason for the recusal.
With the latest development, the reported tally of judicial officers who have recused themselves from matters involving Chaturvedi stands at 17. They include two Supreme Court judges, four Uttarakhand High Court judges, nine CAT members, including a former chairman, and two judges from the district judiciary.
The history of recusals dates back to November 2013, when then Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjan Gogoi recused himself from a petition filed by Chaturvedi seeking a CBI investigation into alleged corruption and harassment. In August 2016, then Justice U U Lalit also recused himself from a related matter.
Several recusals have occurred in the Uttarakhand High Court. In September and October 2025, Justices Alok Verma and Ravindra Maithani stepped aside from a contempt petition filed by Chaturvedi against CAT members and its registry. Earlier, in February 2024, Justice Manoj Tiwari recused himself from a case concerning documents sought from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet regarding Chaturvedi's central deputation.
In May 2023, Justice Rakesh Thapliyal of the Uttarakhand High Court also recused himself from a matter concerning documents related to anti-corruption investigations conducted by Chaturvedi during his tenure as Chief Vigilance Officer at AIIMS, New Delhi. The cited High Court recusal orders did not state specific reasons.
At the CAT, judges have stepped aside from cases involving Chaturvedi on several occasions. In February 2025, a bench comprising Harvinder Oberai and B Anand recused itself from a case concerning the downgrading of Chaturvedi's appraisal report. In January 2025, CAT judge Rajeev Joshi recused himself from a case related to Chaturvedi's central deputation and the Lokpal.
Most of the recusal orders cited in reports do not record a specific reason. Recusal itself does not establish wrongdoing or misconduct by any judge or party, and the matters concerned different proceedings spanning more than a decade.
The latest petition will now be placed before another appropriate CAT bench following Verma's recusal.
