The Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow Bench, comprising Justice Sangeeta Chandra and Justice Shree Prakash Singh, has issued an order in a case involving allegations of misconduct against the Presiding Officer of the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) in Lucknow.
The case, Writ-C No. 7725 of 2022, was filed by the Debt Recovery Tribunal Bar Association through its Secretary, Arvind Kumar Srivastava, against the Union of India’s Ministry of Finance and others.
The petitioners, represented by Senior Advocate Asit Chaturvedi and Anuj Kudesia, sought an inquiry into the alleged misbehavior and incompetency of the DRT’s Presiding Officer, A.H. Khan.
The case stemmed from a series of complaints and strikes by the DRT Bar Association, alleging nepotism, corruption, and arbitrary decision-making by Khan.
The court noted that previous writ petitions (Writ-C No. 7240 of 2022 and Writ-C No. 7362 of 2022) had been filed by private parties affected by the lawyers’ strike, which had disrupted DRT proceedings.
In its order, the court directed the Chairperson of the Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT) to submit a preliminary report under Rule 9(1) of the Tribunal (Conditions of Service) Rules, 2021, within four weeks.
The court also instructed the Central Government to make a reasoned decision on this report within four weeks thereafter[1].
The judges emphasized that they had not expressed any opinion on the alleged misbehavior or incapacity of Khan in his judicial work.
This order aims to address the grievances raised by the Bar Association while ensuring a fair and thorough examination of the allegations against the Presiding Officer.
