Tribunal slams govt over ‘harassment’ of forest officer

However, Chaturvedi showed CAT over a dozen orders by ACC where inter-state deputations were allowed on the basis of original approvals by state governments and also after relaxation of conditions.

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The 2002-batch officer adduced documents to show that the Ministry of Environment and Forests had recommended his deputation in view of harassment in Haryana where he blew the lid off several land and forest scams. But before ACC could approve it, the government at the Centre changed and the ACC, after sitting over his case for six months, asked him to get fresh consents.

Asked to explain, the government said it was willing to reconsider Chaturvedi’s case after taking into account his contentions. The tribunal ruled that the January 28 order of ACC was hence “rendered infructuous” and that Chaturvedi’s case should be considered preferably within two months.

The tribunal said it was not examining the merits of the case since the government has agreed to reconsider the matter with an open mind, and gave Chaturvedi a liberty to approach it again in case “the order of the competent authority on his representation does not match up to his satisfaction.”

The tribunal also warned the government against officers getting targeted for exposing corruption and for their refusal to budge to the pressure by powerful politicians. “…the instances of harassment cited appear to be on the extreme side and deserves to be taken serious note of. We do hope and trust that a situation may never arise, where honesty is punished and corruption is rewarded. Such a system cannot be expected to last for a long time,” said the tribunal in its order. It also reproduced the poem ‘Where The Mind Is Without Fear’ by Rabindranath Tagore to bring home the point that officers must be allowed to act fearlessly.

Chaturvedi had come in the crosshairs of Haryana government for alleging corruption by ministers and bureaucrats.

He was later removed as the chief vigilance officer at AIIMS two years before the end of his tenure, reportedly on a request by then BJP MP and now Union Minister J P Nadda.