Thursday, 16 March 2023 | PNS | NAINITAL
The Uttarakhand High Court has issued notice to the State government and the current principal chief conservator of forests (head of forest force) Vinod Singhal and directed them to reply within three weeks in a petition filed by the previous PCCF Rajiv Bhartari regarding the the failure of the government to reinstate him to his earlier post despite orders. The division bench of chief justice Vipin Sanghi and justice Alok Kumar Verma also directed the petitioner to file a counter affidavit. The matter will be taken up for hearing next on April 3.
It will be recalled that in February, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) circuit bench in Nainital had stayed the transfer of senior Indian Forest Service officer Rajiv Bhartari from the post of the State’s PCCF (HoFF) and ordered the State government to reinstate him on the same post. In the past, while hearing on Bhartari’s petition, the HC had directed him to challenge his transfer order in CAT Allahabad while asking the tribunal to also hear the matter soon. According to the case details, Bhartari had stated in his petition that he is the senior most IFS officer in the State. However, November 25, 2021 the State government transferred him to the post of the State biodiversity board chairman which he contended was unconstitutional. The officer had made submissions on four occasions to the government but these were not heard. Bhartari had contended that his transfer was motivated by political reasons and amounted to violation of his constitutional rights. In his latest petition in the HC, Bhartari has questioned Singhal’s continuation on the post of HoFF despite orders to reinstate him (Bhartari) to the position.
