Reinstate Rajiv Bhartari as Uttarakhand PCCF by 10am tomorrow, orders high court
The Uttarakhand high court directed the state to allow Rajiv Bhartari to take charge as PCCF, the top post in the state for an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, by 10am on Tuesday, the officer’s lawyer Abhijay Negi said
DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand high court on Monday ordered the state government to implement the decision to reinstate Rajiv Bhartari as the state’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) by 10am on Tuesday.
The order was passed by the high court’s bench comprising chief justice Vipin Sanghi and justice Alok Verma on a petition by Bhartari, who complained that the state hadn’t reinstated him despite clear directions from the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and instead, initiated disciplinary proceedings against him.
The bench has directed the state government to allow Bhartari to take charge as PCCF, the top post in the state for an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer by 10am on Tuesday, Bhartari’s lawyer Abhijay Negi said.
Bhartari is scheduled to retire on April 30. But instead of complying with the CAT order, a charge sheet was handed over to Bhartari on March 13, he said.
Bhartari, a 1986 batch IFoS officer, was appointed as Uttarakhand PCCF on December 31, 2020. He was abruptly transferred out on November 25, 2021, as chairman, of Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board, on a proposal initiated by the state minister.
Bhartari challenged his transfer order before CAT. He complained that he was transferred out before completing two years without citing any grounds, that he was too senior to occupy the biodiversity board chairman’s post which was normally occupied by a joint secretary-level officer and that proper procedure was not followed to transfer him.
The CAT bench, which first ordered the state government to reinstate him on February 24, noted that Bhartari’s transfer was made on a proposal on a note initiated by the minister concerned. “No such procedure has been prescribed in any statutory law, rule or regulation to transfer the cadre post officer only on the basis of note prepared by the concerned minister without the recommendation of the Civil Services Board, which is not justifiable,” the tribunal said.
A review petition filed by the state government against CAT’s February 24 decision was dismissed on March 20. Bhartari’s petition before the high court came up for a hearing on March 15 when the bench issued notice to chief secretary SS Sandhu, principal secretary forests RK Sudhanshu and PCCF Vinod Singhal.
