KHUSHI RAM Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. for quashing FIR No. 383 dated 5.9.2001 under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC, Police Station City Jind and all consequential proceedings.

(2.) THE relevant facts for the disposal of this petition are that the petitioners were working in District Rural Development Authority, Jind (hereinafter called 'the DRDA, Jind'). Petitioner No. 1 belong to Scheduled Caste and there was no representation of a Scheduled Caste in the grade of 5000-7850 in the DRDA, Jind. Respondent No. 3, after considering the service record of petitioner No. 1 and applying his mind promoted petitioner No. 1 from the post of Clerk to the post of Assistant on 22.9.2001. On the same day, he promoted one Shri Jai Parkash Sharma to the post of Clerk from the post of Peon. Respondent No. 2 replaced respondent No. 3 as Additional Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chief Executive Officer (for short ADC/EAO). It has further been pleaded that respondent No. 2 is a casteist and started hating petitioner No. 1 as he belongs to Chamar caste. Respondent No. 2 did not give charge of the Assistant to petitioner No. 1 and started finding out the ways to revert petitioner No. 1. On the other hand, respondent No. 2 gave charge to Jai Parkash Sharma as respondent No. 2 belong to his caste. The office of ADC, Jind, after perusing the record of petitioner No. 1, reported that the petitioner No. 1 was promoted under rules as he belongs to Scheduled Caste and was having nine Good and one Very Good A.C.R. and respondent No. 3 promoted petitioner No. 1 on vacant post of Assistant. Petitioner No. 2 Jai Parkash Sharma did not make wrong report as desired by respondent No. 2. He sought a legal opinion from the District Attorney, Jind who reported that the promotion of the petitioner No. 1 was legal and valid one. Again the respondent No. 2 sought the opinion of the District Attorney on the point that a criminal case was pending against petitioner No. 1 at the time of promotion and under these circumstances whether the promotion of petitioner No. 1 was legal or not. The District Attorney again opined vide Annexure P-5 that pending criminal cases do not bar an employee from his promotion. When respondent No. 2 could not find any ground to revert petitioner No. 1 and found the promotion as legal and valid one, respondent No. 2 in order to make grounds for reversion of the petitioner No. 1 from the post of Assistant to Clerk, passed an order re- writing promotion order of petitioner No. 1 by adding fresh conditions in the promotion order dated 22.9.2000 passed by his predecessor. The conditions incorporated by respondent No. 2 were that the petitioner No. 1 is put on probation and in case of his A.C.R. for the year 1999-2000 was received with adverse remarks then petitioner No. 1 will be reverted back. Respondent No. 2 told petitioner No. 1 that he keeps Chure/Chamar as Peons only. On this petitioner No. 1 moved complaints against respondent No. 2 and sent a legal notice to D.C. Jind, S.P. Jind and complainant for giving him charge of the post of Assistant. Shri Ravinder Sharma, a close associate of the complainant stopped petitioner No. 1 from drinking water from water cooler of the department from stating that petitioner No. 1 had polluted the water as he belongs to Scheduled Caste. Petitioner No. 1 contacted respondent No. 2 but he did not hear him rather rebuked him in the presence of petitioner No. 2 and Jaswant Singh, Clerk, DRDA, Jind. Respondent No. 2 continued to humiliate petitioner No. 1 and no action was taken on the complaints of petitioner No. 1. Petitioner No. 1 approached the High Court by filing Crl.M.No. 23893-M of 2001 which was supported by an affidavit of petitioner No. 2 and Jaswant Singh. The High Court vide order Annexure P-8 dated 4.7.2001 directed S.P., Jind to look into the complaint dated 4.6.2001 submitted by the petitioner before him and to take necessary action thereon in accordance with law. In compliance of the directions of this Court, after holding an enquiry S.P., Jind found prima facie case against respondent No. 2 and lodged FIR No. 377 dated 2.9.2001 under Section 3(i)(x) and 3(ii)(vii) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

(3.) ON notice, reply on behalf of respondent No. 1 has been filed by Inspector Karan Singh, SHO, PS City, Jind. It was pleaded that Shri J.P. Goyal, Assistant Project Officer, Shri Jai Parkash Dy. Supdt. and Shri Khusi Ram with common intention fraudulently and dishonestly managed to get promotion to the post of Assistant in favour of petitioner No. 1 and the ACP Scale was also granted by concealing the material facts from the then Addl. D.C., Jind and in this way great financial loss was caused to the State Government.