STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH Vs. JAI LAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Though the cases from which these appeals arise were disposed of by judgments rendered by the High Court of Himachal Pradesh on different dates the questions of fact and law involved in all the cases are similar. With the consent of learned counsel for the parties all the cases were heard together and they are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) The State of Himachal Pradesh is well known throughout the country for its apples. In the State there are large tracts of apple orchard and a good number of persons are engaged in growing apples. The apple season in the State is between the months of July to October. In the year 1983 the apple orchards in different areas of the State like Jubbal and Rohru were afflicted by a disease called 'scab' rendering the fruits unfit for human consumption. Feeling concerned about the heavy financial loss which apple growers in the State were facing and keeping in view the danger to public health if the scab affected apples are sold in markets, the State Government took a policy-decision to purchase the diseased fruits and destroy the same. For implementation of the policy a set of modalities were formulated in which it was provided inter alia that procurement and destruction of diseased apples will be done at different centres throughout the State by comprising of terms officials and non-officials. Each team was headed by a Gazetted Officer of the State Government and Pradhans, Up-Pradhans of the local Panchayats were included in the team. Arrangements were made for weighing the Scab affected apples at the Centre and for its destruction. The growers were asked to bring the diseased apples from their orchards to the Centre for procurement and destruction. Precaution was taken to ensure that the procured apples were not re-cycled. The underlying idea was that the growers are to bring the apples produced in their orchards and not to bring fruits purchased or collected from others. This was in keeping with the purpose of rendering assistance to the growers facing heavy financial loss. In this operation about 30000 tons of Scab affected apple were procured and destroyed at 195 centres set up for the purpose and compensation @ 50 paise per kilogram was paid to the concerned gro-wers.

(3.) Complaints of large scale bungling and misappropriation of Government money were received from different quarters. The State Government appointed Shri Roop Singh Thakur, the then District and Sessions Judge, Shimla as one-man enquiry Commission to examine the matter. The Commission came to the conclusion that some persons had obtained false payments by showing inflated quantities of scabbed apple and had, thereby cheated the State Government. The Commission had also come to the conclusion that the bungling had been done in connivance with the members of the team engaged in the procurement and destruction of the fruits. On the basis of the said enquiry report a number of criminal complaints were lodged against the public servants who were members of the team and also the concerned growers. The cases were sent to the Court of the Special Judge, Shimla for trial.