[2][3] Sanjiv Chaturvedi graduated as an electrical engineer in 1995 from the Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, situated at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
Chaturvedi made a number of decisions during his management of the Corbett Tiger Reserve, and undertook conservation and research projects in the state of Uttarakhand.
[4][5] Chaturvedi's first posting was in Kurukshetra, where he registered a first information report against contractors for large-scale, illicit tree felling and poaching of hog deer in the nearby Saraswati Wildlife Sanctuary.
The land belonged to local Congress member Prahlad Singh Gillakhera, who became Chief Parliamentary Secretary of Forest after winning the MLA election.
[6] The Hooda government blocked Chaturvedi's promotion by keeping the charge sheet pending for over three years,[11] and later had to compensate him and concede in writing that he had been framed.
In May 2012, Chaturvedi was selected by the central government as a deputy secretary at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS) under the Union Health Ministry.
The Delhi High Court upheld the CIC orders and dismissed the Intelligence Bureau's petition, paving way for Chaturvedi to access the IB report.
[42][43][44][45][46] During his tenure, police seized banned drugs worth ₹60 million from a vehicle delivering to an on-campus pharmacy owned by an Indian National Congress MLA.
[49] The CBI found in October 2015 that AIIMS director M. C. Mishra and other school officials were involved in corruption in the purchase of medical items, and recommended action against them to the health ministry.
[55] He wrote in a 16 August letter to incoming health minister Harsh Vardhan of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that his removal was the result of a campaign by corrupt officials.
Chaturvedi was supported by AIIMS staff (who wrote to the prime minister requesting his reinstatement) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who staged demonstrations.
The media and the AAP alleged that the BJP's Nadda removed Chaturvedi on behalf of Vineet Chaudhary, an IAS officer from Himachal Pradesh.
[16][57] Health and family welfare minister Harsh Vardhan said that Chaturvedi was removed because he was ineligible for the CVO post, and the government decision had no male fides.
[71][72] In February 2015, the Delhi High Court issued notices to the central government and Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda in response to public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Prashant Bhushan demanding a CBI investigation of pending corruption cases and Chaturvedi's removal as CVO.
[74] In April 2018, the court issued notices to the central government seeking their reply on the improper closure of corruption cases by the health ministry (headed by Nadda) during the PIL.
Shah, referred the matter of Chaturvedi to a larger bench regarding the issue of deciding the jurisdiction of high courts to hear appeal against orders of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).
In 2013, the prime minister's office had intervened to resolve his case concerning differences between the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
In August 2017, Chaturvedi submitted a 16-point RTI application to the prime minister's office for information on funds brought into India by the Modi government and deposited into citizen accounts.
[125][126] The office also refused to provide information about money brought in from abroad, saying that its disclosure would affect a black-money investigation and citing Sections 8(1)(h) and 24 of the RTI Act.
[141][142] Earlier in September 2023, in an unprecedented and bold order, the Delhi High Court issued contempt notices, to two senior CBI officers on petition of Chaturvedi.
[155] In October 2012, Chaturvedi applied for a change of cadre from Haryana to Uttarakhand on the grounds of extreme hardship, including frequent transfers, a suspension and false cases.
The state governments and the Ministry of Environment and Forests also recommended a cadre change in July 2014 to the Appointment Committee of Cabinet (ACC), headed by the prime minister.
After completing his four-year tenure at AIIMS New Delhi, Chaturvedi joined the Uttarakhand cadre on 29 August 2016 and was promoted to Conservator of Forest in November of that year.
[188][189] Chaturvedi released a report in May of that year on 1,145 plant species (endemic and threatened) conserved by Uttarakhand's research wing, including trees, medicinal herbs, orchids, bamboo, ferns, grasses, shrubs, cactus, palm, Alpine flowers, moss, algae and lichens.
[210][211] In June 2021, a unique garden called Bharat Vatika was unveiled, prepared by Research Wing under Sanjiv Chaturvedi and inaugurated by schoolgirls.
[239] An initiative was taken by research wing to plant flowering shrubs and trees native to Himalayan region, along roads in hills of Uttarakhand to provide proper habitat and nectar to various pollinators.
[240] Under the leadership of Chaturvedi, Research wing successfully conserved, a critically endangered plant species (part of IUCN list) in Nainital district of Uttarakhand.
[241][242] A popular positive developmental news portal The Better India appreciated his efforts in protecting large number of threatened and endangered plant species, of Himalayan region in an article published in May 2024.
[276] In September 2021 a division bench of Uttarakhand High Court led by Chief Justice, in a detailed order, allowed Sanjiv Chaturvedi to argue his case in person.
[277] Later on, in October 2021, Sanjiv Chaturvedi won main case, arguing against Central Government regarding issue concerned to his service matter.