PHOOL CHAND GOYAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner joined the Income-tax Department in 1933 as Income-tax Officer and he was promoted as Assistant Commissioner in 1950. He was confirned as Commissioner of Inocme-tax on 29th April, 1960. From July 1959 to October 1961 he worked as Commissioner of Income-tax (Central) at Calcutta. On 2nd September, 1963, the petitioner was served with a charge-sheet dated 29th August, 1963, containing the following charges:- "(a) Being a Class I Officer of the Government of India, he placed himself under obligation of Directors of Messrs. Kalimpong Properties Ltd., with which concern he had official dealings, by getting his son Shri G. P. Goyal, employed with Messrs. Suraj Udyog (P) Ltd., as its Managing Director, which said concern had received substantial assistance from the Director of Messrs. Kalimpong Properties Ltd., (b) That during the aforesaid period and while functioning in the aforesaid office, the said Shri Goyal placed "himself under pecuniary obligation of Messrs. Sohan Lal Pachisia and Co. by occupying flat on Eastern Wing, groundfloor of House No. 117, Southern Avenue, Calcutta, for which Messrs. Sohanlal Pachisia and Co. were paying a rent of Rs.550.00 per month and making them shift to the flat rented to him for Rs. 350.00 per month although he continued to pay only Rs. 350.00 per month to the landlord for the original flat rented out to him and Messrs. Sohan Lal Pachisia and Co. paid Rs. 550.00 per month as rent for the portion occupied by him."

(2.) According to the charge-sheet the above acts constituted failure to maintain absolute integrity and devotion to duty in violation of rules 3 and 3A of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1955. A statement of allegations explaining the said charges was annexed to the charge-sheet and so far as charge (b) is concerned, the statement reads as under :- "Shri P. C. Goyal while functioning as the Commissioner of Income-tax Calcutta (Central) took on rent, the Western Wing flat, ground-floor of House No. 117, Southern Avenue, Calcutta, from Shri Chhotalal Sethia, a businessman of Calcutta. The rent was Rs. 350.00 p.m. and was paid from August, 1959 to October, 1961. Shri P. C. Goyal exchanged his fiat with Messrs. Sohanlal Pachisia and Co., a "firm of Share Brokers of Calcutta, who were occupying a flat in the Eastern Wing, ground-floor, of the same building on a monthly rent of Rs. 550.00 p.m. but continued to pay Rs. 350.00 p.m. as rent. Shri P. C. Goyal, thus placed himself under pecuniary obligations of Shri Chhotulal Sethia and/or Messrs. Sohan Lal Pachisia and Co., etc.".

(3.) I have quoted the statement because considerable arguments have been addressed to me on behalf of the petitioner that the enquiry report is vitiated on account of the fact that the Enquiry Officer based his decision substantially on the ground of the petitioner's failure to have an electric meter installed in the flat occupied by him or to have the existing meter mutated in his name. One of the findings arrived at by the Enquiry Officer is that though the electric meter, through which electricity was being supplied to the eastern flat occupied by the petitioner, being meter No. 404242, was exclusively for that flat and yet the petitioner paid only 50 per cent, of the electricity bills prepared in accordance with the recording on that meter. In this connection the Enquiry Officer observed :-