IBRAHIMBHAI KARIMBHAI CHHIPA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. One Ibrbhimbhal Karimbhai Chhipa was the original petitioner. He was a member of the Police Service of the State. He was appointed as a Sub-Inspector of Police on January 1 1939 in the former State of Bombay. He was promoted as Inspector of Police on November 8 1953 and was confirmed in that post on August 19 1960 He was listed in the selection list of the Police Officers fit for promotion as Deputy Superintendent of Police by the Selection Board. He was appointed as an Officiating Deputy Superintendent of Police by the Government of Gujarat on May 3 1961 He took charge of the Sub-Divisional Police Officer Morbi Sub Division Rajkot on May 28 1961

(2.) During the course of his duties he camped at Vankaner on August 5 1961 in connection with an investigation of a murder case. One Lalji Hirji complained to him that his nephew a boy named Jayantilal was taken to Vankaner City Police Station as a suspect in a case of house-breaking and theft at the place of one Gambhirsinh Ratansinh on August 3 1961 and that Haribhai the maternal uncle of the said Jayantilal beat the boy with a stick causing fracture of his left leg. Lalji complained that Jayantilal was beaten in the presence of the Police Sub-Inspector Ajitdan Jivraj Gadhvi and inspite of this no action was taken by the Police Sub-Inspector against Haribhai. Ibrahimbhai Chhipa (hereinafter referred as to the original petitioner) went to the police station and registered the offence under sec. 325 of the Indian Penal Code against Haribhai He also recorded the complaint of Gambhirsinh regarding the offence of house-breaking and theft under secs. 454 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code. He reported to the District Superintendent of Police for suitable action against Police Sub-Inspector Gadhvi. The District Superintendent of Police took a serious view of the matter and passed an order of suspension against P.S.I. Gadhvi on August 29 1961 While the original petitioner was camping at Vankaner City on August 30 1961 P.S.I. Gadhvi came to see him and at that time a police constable from Morbi brought office post wherein the orders of suspension of P.S.I. Gadhvi were also received by him. The original petitioner therefore served the order of suspension on P.S.I. Gadhvi who signed the duplicate copy as a token of having received the order. The original petitioner was making an endorsement on a duplicate copy and at that time he heard a shot of a revolver and saw his clerk Mr. Rana falling down. Other shots were also fired and be himself received an injury on abdomen. These shots were fired by P.S.I. Gadhvi and he committed suicide by shooting himself with the revolver. The Deputy Inspector General of Police Rajkot Range conducted an enquiry in respect of this incident and the visit of the original petitioner on that day to Vankaner. He submitted his report to the Government of Gujarat. The Government of Gujarat General Administration Department issued a notice dated December 28 1961 to the original petitioner stating therein that the Government had come to the conclusion that there was sufficient evidence to hold that the original petitioner had acted in contravention of Rule 402 of the Bombay Police Manual as he had purchased some supplies through the subordinate officer during his camp at Vankaner; that the petitioner failed to use proper discretion In hastily registering an offence under sec. 325 of the Indian Penal Code without proper verification of the complaint of Lalji against Haribhai and in entrusting the investigation of the two cases namely injury to Jayantilal and house-breaking and theft at the house of Gambhirsinh Ratansinh to P.S.I. Misra and therefore the Government proposed to revert the original petitioner on the basis of the aforesaid misconduct. The original petitioner submitted his reply to the said show cause notice on March 24 1962 He denied the aforesaid allegations and gave an explanation in respect of the charges leveled against him. An advance copy of this reply was forwarded to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Gujarat. The original petitioner thereafter filed Special Civil Application No. 337 of 1962 in this Court. The said Special Civil Application was withdrawn on April 17 1962 as he had an alternative remedy of filing a departmental appeal. On April 14 1962 the original petitioner received an order dated April 10 signed by the Chief Secretary to the Government of Gujarat reverting the original petitioner from the post of officiating Deputy Superintendent of Police to the post of Police Inspector. He thereafter preferred an appeal to His Excellency the Governor of Gujarat challenging the show cause notice and the order of reversion. The Deputy Secretary to the Government of Gujarat Home and Civil Supplies Department informed the original petitioner by letter dated December 29 1962 that his reversion from the post of the Deputy Superintendent of Police to the post of Police Inspector was on the ground of his unsuitability to the post and not by way of a punishment and therefore the appeal did not lie and was filed. In the meanwhile the original petitioner received an order signed by the Deputy Secretary to the Government of Gujarat Home and Civil Supplies Department dated December 10 1962 intimating the original petitioner that the Government had carefully considered the explanation submitted by him and had come to the conclusion that allegations Nos. 1 and 3 mentioned in the show cause notice were proved and the Government had therefore decided to award him a punishment of censure for those irregularities and accordingly he was censured for the same. The original petitioner therefore has filed the present petition against the State of Gujarat challenging the order of reversion dated April 10 1962 and contending that the said order is illegal and of no effect on the grounds firstly that the said order of reversion was on account of the misconduct mentioned in the show cause notice dated December 28 1961 and secondly that the said order was passed by way of punishment and put a stigma on his competency and integrity and affected his future service. The order was also challenged on the ground that the same was passed without hearing him and in contravention of the provisions of Article 311 of the Constitution of India. The petitioner prayed amongst others the following reliefs :

(3.) The respondent to the petition is the State of Gujarat. On behalf of the respondent the Deputy Secretary to the Government of Gujarat Home Department has filed an affidavit in rejoinder and contended that the petition had become infructuous due to the death of Ibrahimbhai Chhipa. The contention was that the petition did not survive as the reliefs claimed were personal to the deceased and the heirs and legal representatives i. e. the present petitioners had no right to continue the petition. On merits the contention was that the order of reversion was not passed as a punishment but on the ground that Ibrahimbhai Chhipa was unsuitable for the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police. The paragraph 9 of the affidavit raising the said contention runs as follows :