In Brief
Sanjiv Chaturvedi, an Indian Forest Service officer serving as Deputy Secretary at AIIMS, challenged an order by the CAT Chairman staying proceedings pending before a two-member Bench. The High Court quashed the stay, finding the Chairman lacked power to interfere with a Bench's interim orders. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court, holding that the Chairman, though senior in administration, is judicially equal to other members and cannot nullify Bench orders or pass interim orders in transfer proceedings. Judicial discipline requires that interim orders be varied only by coordinate or larger benches, not by a single-member Chairman.
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