The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has rejected a plea seeking removal of the name of Cabinet Secretary P. K. Sinha as one of the respondents in a case filed by whistle-blower Forest Service officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi.
The tribunal was hearing a case contesting the rejection of representations made by Mr. Chaturvedi against unsatisfactory assessment of his annual performance appraisal report (APAR) during his tenure at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)here.
Mr. Chaturvedi was the Chief Vigilance Officer, who acts as a distant arm of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to check corruption in government departments, and Deputy Secretary between June 2012 and June 2016. He exposed corrupt practices at the premier institute during his tenure.
Mr. Chaturvedi has filed a case against the Cabinet Secretary, Secretary of the CVC, AIIMS Director, Union Heath Minister J. P. Nadda, former AIIMS Director M. C. Mishra and former AIIMS Deputy Director V. Srinivas and others.
Counsels appearing for the respondents stated before the CAT that according to rules the Cabinet Secretary has no role in preparation and communication of APAR of the applicant and the “applicant has wrongly and illegally impleaded the Cabinet Secretary”.
Mr. Chaturvedi, a 2002-batch Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer of Uttarakhand cadre, in his reply denied the averments and contentions made by the respondents.
The CAT, in its order on Tuesday, said the selection of the applicant in AIIMS was done with the recommendation or approval of the cabinet secretary. It also noted that some of the prayers made by the applicant are against cabinet secretary.
The tribunal held that Mr. Chaturvedi’s petition is maintainable and fixed May 22 as the next date of hearing.
