Overview

• Justice Ravindra Maithani stepped aside on September 26 from a contempt petition against Central Administrative Tribunal members and registry officials, directing listing before a different bench.
• He is the third Uttarakhand High Court judge to withdraw from matters involving the IFS officer after Justice Rakesh Thapliyal in May 2023 and Justice Manoj Tiwari in February 2024.
• Reporting places the total at 15 recusals across forums, including two Supreme Court judges, three High Court judges, two lower-court judges, and eight CAT members with a former chairman among them.
• This is the fourth recusal in 2025, following CAT members Harvinder Oberai and B Anand in February and ACJM Neha Kushwaha in April, who cited previous family relations.
• Many orders do not state reasons for stepping aside, prompting concern from legal observers about repeated bench changes and potential delays in resolving the cases.