SUNNY ABRAHAM Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The appellant before us, at the material point of time was an Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax. The authorities issued a memorandum of charges (charge memorandum) proposing to hold an inquiry against him on 18th November, 2002 for major penalty under Rule 14 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965. Disciplinary proceeding was initiated against him on 19th September, 2002. Allegation against him was that while functioning as an Income Tax Officer in Surat during the year 1998, he, in collusion with a Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, had conducted a survey under Section 133A of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 in five proprietary group concerns of one Mukeshchandra Dahyabhai Gajiwala and his family and demanded a sum of rupees five lacs other than legal remuneration from the said individual through his advocate for settling the matter. It was further alleged in the articles of charge that he, alongwith the said Deputy Commissioner, had demanded a sum of rupees two lacs other than legal remuneration from the same individual and later on, the Deputy Commissioner Shri K.K. Dhawan accepted the said amount. Disciplinary proceeding was initiated against the appellant with the approval of the Disciplinary Authority-the Finance Minister on 19th September, 2002. On 18th November, 2002, charge memorandum was issued to the appellant. This charge memorandum was however not specifically approved by the Finance Minister. Enquiry officer was appointed, who submitted his report on 13th July, 2007 and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) concurred with the findings of the enquiry officer and appellant was served with both the reports and advice of the CVC. Till the time of filing of the O.A. No. 1157 of 2014 before the Principal Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), the appellant instituted several proceedings, mainly on procedural irregularities in CAT as well as the High Court. We, however, do not consider it necessary to refer to all of them in this judgment. Earlier, in one decision of the CAT, Principal Bench delivered on 5th February, 2009 in O.A. No. 800 of 2008 (B.V. Gopinath vs. Union of India) it was held, while examining the same Rule, that in absence of the approval of the charges by the competent authority, further proceedings in the disciplinary case could not be sustained. This view has been ultimately upheld by this Court in a judgment delivered by a Coordinate Bench in the case of Union of India and Ors. vs. B.V. Gopinath [(2014) 1 SCC 351] on 5th September, 2013. The ratio of this decision constitutes the sheet anchor of the appellant 's case. We shall deal with that aspect of the appellant 's case later in this judgment.

(3.) Relying on the B.V. Gopinath (supra) case decided by the CAT, the appellant had approached the same forum with O.A. No. 344 of 2012 for quashing the charge memorandum. The Tribunal disposed of that application giving liberty to the appellant to raise the point before the Disciplinary Authority. The said order specified that the appellant could approach the Tribunal again if adverse order was passed. Representation of the appellant to the Disciplinary Authority on this count does not appear to have had been considered at that point of time, which prompted the appellant to bring another action before the Tribunal. This application of the appellant (O.A. No. 1047 of 2012) was disposed of on 30th April, 2012 with a direction upon the authorities to dispose of the pending enquiry within three months. The appellant 's request for quashing the charges was ultimately turned down on the ground that the petition for Special Leave to Appeal was pending before this Court against the order of the CAT in the case of B.V. Gopinath (supra). Another application of the appellant (O.A. No. 2286 of 2012) before the Tribunal was dismissed as withdrawn giving liberty to the appellant to give detailed representation on reply to the inquiry report and CVC advice, which were directed to be disposed of by a reasoned and speaking order.