PARTAP SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition, though it does not say so, apparently under Article 226 of the Constitution by Dr. Partap Singh, petitioner, seeking writ, direction or order to quash the order of suspension made against him and also the order of revocation of his leave preparatory to retirement and the enquiry that is going to be held against him. The facts and the circumstances are these.

(2.) THE petitioner joined Punjab Civil Medical Service in April, 1940. From June 1941 to the end of 1945 he served in the War in a temporary rank in the Indian Medical Service. His rank in the Army was Lieutenant Colonel. In 1947 the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province Civil Service Commission invited applications for selection of candidates in Class I of the Punjab Civil Medical Service. He made an application to be appointed to that service and on having been selected joined it on August 21, 1947- The partition of the country took place in the meanwhile on August 15, 1947. In the History of Services of Gazetted Officers, 6th Edition, at page 377, appears the history of the petitioner. This is the note in regard to his joining the new service on August 21, 1947,- "treated "new Entrant" and allowed the benefits of War Service for the fixation of pay, seniority. He will forfeit all his previous service in the Civil Department as also the privileges and rights accruing from it including the benefits of War Service, if any, already allowed to him in his previous appointment in P. C. M. S. , Class II (Gazetted ). " The petitioner thus for the first time joined this new service with effect from August 21, 1947, forfeiting all previous service with privileges and rights in the Punjab Civil Medical Service, Class II. After having been posted to other stations, from April 6, 1956, he came to be posted as Civil Surgeon at Jullundur. He avers that the Chief Minister came to bear malice towards him, the details in support of which will be referred to later at the proper place and on October 29, 1960, started an enquiry against him and he was further informed by the Director of Health Services' letter of December 6, 1960, that he had been transferred from Jullundur to Amritsar. Then he says that in view of the attitude of the Chief Minister he applied for leave preparatory to retirement, which was sanctioned by the Government with effect from December 18. 1960, and this was notified in the Punjab Gazette of January 27, 1961. In the Blitz of January 14, 1961, appeared an article under the caption "punjab's Latest Scandal. . . The Sewing Machine of Kairon Family". A copy of the article is Annexure E. In that article appeared certain allegations against the Chief Minister and some members of his family, most of which allegations find repetition in the petition of the petitioner. On January 17, 1961, the petitioner received a letter, dated January 13, 1961, Annexure F, from the Jullundur District Inspector Vigilance enquiring from the petitioner whether he would come to Jullundur or would be available at some other address where his viewpoint in regard to the examination of a patient by him at private level, while posted at Jullundur, could be obtained. In February, 1961, the petitioner received letter of the Director of Health Services conveying to him remarks in the annual confidential file relating to the period. April 1, 1959, to March 31, 1960. The remarks were: "professionally he is reported to be somewhat above average, yet there have been persistent complaints about his avarice and lack of integrity. " The petitioner says that he gave reply to this letter by his letter, copy Annexure G, of June 29, 1961, in which nearly all the allegations in the petition and most of those that appeared in the Blitz find place. On February 13, 1961, the Vigilance Inspector interrogated the petitioner in regard to the one case already referred to above and seven other cases, which cases had been examined by the petitioner in private wards of the Jullundur Civil Hospital. In the Biltz issue of March 18, 1961, was published a letter, copy Annexure H, from the wife of the petitioner. In this letter though she said that the name of her husband was unjustifiably associated with the Chief Minister and his family, she proceeded to confirm practically all what had been previously published in the issue of the Biltz of January 13, 1961. The petitioner further avers that on March 20, 1961, certain tape-recorded talks between him and the Chief Minister and the Chief Minister's wife were played before a Press Conference and subsequently an attempt was made to raise the matter in the local Legislative Assembly. He then says that in April, 1961, his wife sent a pamphlet with the title "acts of Corruption by Shri Partap Singh Kairon and his family" to Members of Parliament and numerous other leading personalities in the country. On May 12, 1961, the petitioner wrote to the Director of Health Services that the Chief Minister was weighted against him and mala fide enquiries were being conducted against him.

(3.) ON June 3, 1961, the Deputy Secretary in the Health Department addressed the letter, copy Annexure, J. to the Director of Health Services in regard to the petitioner. The letter says: "i am directed to say that the investigations made by the Vigilance Department into certain complaints have revealed that while working as Civil Surgeon Jullundur, Dr. Partap Singh had extracted illegal gratifications from a number of patients or their relatives by coercing them and had charged fess which were either not admissible to him or were in excess of the scale laid down in the Punjab Medical Manual. It has also come to light that he did not attend the patients until he had received illegal gratification. The evidence brought on record being sufficiently strong to warrant serious action against him. Government have decided that a departmental enquiry should be instituted against him under Rule 7 of the Punjab Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1952. The Governor of the Punjab is therefore pleased to order that Dr. Partap Singh, ex-Civil Surgeon Jullundur, should be placed under suspension with immediate effect. Since he is due to attain the age of superannuation on the 16th June, 1961, the Governor of Punjab is further pleased to order that. Dr. Partap Singh shall be retained in service beyond this date till the completion of the inquiry referred to in para 1 above. This order is being passed under Rule 3. 26fd) of the Punjab Civil Services Rules, Volume I, Part I. During the period of suspension Dr. Partap Singh will be entitled to such subsistence allowance as may be admissible to him under Rule 7. 2 ibid as amended from time to time. " A copy of this letter on the same day, with a covering letter of which the copy is Annexure I, was forwarded by the Director of Health Services to the address of the petitioner at Kanpur. The petitioner apparently had left his address at Kanpur while going on leave preparatory to retirement. The petitioner has produced at the hearing an envelope in which these letters were posted to him. The postal seals show that the letters were despatched on June 5, the envelope reached Kanpur on June 7, and on being redirected, it reached Delhi on June 16. But the petitioner says that he did not receive it until June 19, 1961.