The respondent while working as Deputy General Manager POL Marketing in Bongaigaon Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, Dhaligaon during the year 1998 99 was alleged to have companymitted serious misconduct for which he was charge sheeted.
depending on topography.
The numbere also stated that as the value of the work to be done was more than Rs.25,000/ a tender companymittee was to be companystituted to recommend the said job.
The following charges were framed against him which read as under Article of Charge No.1 Sri G.C.Sarma dishonestly selected and recommended purchase of land at Jorabat on the ground of ecomonic viability.
The proposal received from one Shri Sharma was submitted to the companypetent authority for approval and the companypetent authority approved the same.
He had recommended in the preliminary report along with Shri P.K.Gogoi, Senior Manager Project which was placed before the Director Commercial .
Thereafter, on 12.12.1998 the Director Commercial found Jorbat to be techno companymercially the best location and after administrative approval a high level companymittee was companystituted to negotiate with the land owner.
That letter formed the basis of the regular departmental enquiry in which the respondent was charge sheeted, on the basis of the above charges.
As a Member in the price negotiating companymittee, he failed to assess the reasonable price of the land inasmuch as he himself intimated the price of 7 acres of land at Rs.30 lakhs in his preliminary report.
The Committee decided to engage a Government approved valuer for valuation of Jorbat land.
but the sale price in registered documents is shown less than the market value to reduce registration companyts.
Thereafter, the disciplinary authority gave a numberice and after hearing the respondent passed the aforesaid impugned order.
Article of Charge No.2 Sri G.C.Sarma appointed the Valuer Sri I. Sharma for land valuation violating the due process of tendering and that the fictitious price fixed by the Valuer at Rs.25/ per sq.ft.
The Tender Committee was also companystituted and the tender companymittee on 2.2.1999 decided that the job was of priority and inviting further quotations would cause delay and since Shri I.Sarma has surveyed the land earlier, the work companyld be done by that person expeditiously.
The Director Commercial was also a member.
Thereafter, the Central Tender Department awarded the work of valuation of land to Shri I.Sharma on 5.11.1998.
Thus as per the facts mentioned above, it appears that it was the joint decision which has passed through various levels.
The Board of Directors of the appellant companypany in its 156th meeting held on 23.1.1999 approved the setting up of Jubilee Retail Outlet at Jorbat.
Therefore, it is number a case that the respondent alone was responsible.
The same was placed before the respondent for approval and it was sent to the Vigilance approval.
Respondent was one of the members of the Tender Committee Technical along with other four members i.e. Shri A.Saran, Shri T.V.John, Shri P.K.Gogoi and Shri R.Chopra.
Ltd., was engaged without process of tendering for determination of soil and rock strata as recommended by Sri G.C.Sarma.
But thereafter ultimately the negotiation was done and the same was effected at Rs.50.01 lakhs.
This was approved by the General Manager Finance .
Therefore, he was found to be suitable valuer.
The soil exploration report rock strata was submitted by Shri P.K.Gogoi, SM Project with his companyments and the same was endorsed by the respondent to the Director Commercial that the land was suitable.
The whole issue started on the basis that Bongaigaon Refinery Petrochemicals Ltd for short, BRPL launched a programme for setting up of a Jubilee Outlet for marketing its finished products.
The Prince Negotiation Committee negotiated with the land owners on 4th 5th January, 1999 wherein Rs.45 lakhs was offered by the Committee against Rs.61 lakhs demanded by the land owner.
The Price Negotiation Committee after series of discussion, finalized the deal ultimately at Rs.50.01 lakhs for 5 acres of land which was companysidered reasonable and recommended the price of the land.
The Tender Committee recommended the award of work to Shri I. Sarmas firm , M s. ESS Firm.
Aggrieved against this order the respondent filed a writ petition before the Guwahati High Court.
This Tender Committee met on 16.9.1998 and examined various offers received against the advertisement inviting tenders for purchase lease of land for establishing the Jubilee Retail Outlet.
Aggrieved against that order the respondent preferred a writ appeal before the Division Bench.
The Inquiry Officer submitted his report on 6.6.2002 finding all the three charges to have been proved against the respondent.
Ltd. was also number the decision of the respondent alone.
Meanwhile, on 11.1.2000 the Officer on Special Duty, Revenue Department, Meghalaya informed the Executive Director Vigilance of the appellant companypany that there was numberclassification of land in Ribhoi district since numberland revenue had been realized.
Hence the present appeal.
Learned Single Judge dismissed the writ petition.
Thereafter, the Purchase Committee held its meeting on 14.11.1998 for companysidering the price bids.
On 2.11.1998 the Committee opened the price bids and found that only the Jorbat land was offered on outright basis.
The first charge levelled against the respondent was that the respondent submitted a preliminary report being the member of the Tender Committee in which after meeting the land owner he recommended that the land owner was prepared to sell 7 acres of land at Rs.30 lakhs and that report was directly submitted to the Director Commercial .
Thereafter the Price Negotiation Committee was companystituted which was headed by Shri S.C.Goswami, General Manager R P and the respondent was one of the members.
Shri S.C.Goswami, General Manager Marketing as the Chairman of the Price Negotiating Committee admitted in his statement that he did number dispute the submission of the report where the price of 7 acres of land was mentioned as Rs.30 lakhs and he was also a member of the Committee.
As per the local information it was found that the price varied from Rs.20/ to Rs.25/ per sq.
Accordingly, the Committee recommended the opening of Model POL, retail outlet at Jorbat.
Shri I.Sharma was one of the listed valuers who had earlier done the work for the appellant companypany.
Thereafter, the land owner on 21.1.1999 informed the General Manager R P that Rs.45 lakhs as offered was number acceptable and the minimum price acceptable was Rs.51 lakhs.
The Prince Negotiation Committee in its meeting dated 18.12.1998 companysidered the offer and assessment of the valuer and decided inter alia that a second assessment of price through local source would be necessary because of the high value of the deal and accordingly, deputed the respondent with Shri P.K.Gogoi, Senior Manager Project to get the details.
Sri G.C.Sarma in companynivance with Sri Sharma thereby dishonestly recommended the land as suitable.
Thereafter, the Deputy Manager POL Marketing by numbere dated 29.1.1999 intimated the respondent regarding receipt of an offer from Shri Sarma for determining rock strata.
The Division Bench allowed the writ appeal of the respondent, set aside the order of learned Single Judge and quashed the order of the disciplinary authority imposing the aforesaid punishment.
This Tender Committee examined the offers received against the numberice inviting the bids and after discussing sixteen eligible offers, four were found to be technically suitable including Jorbat out of the tenders which had been received.
The preliminary report of the respondent was before the Price Negotiation Committee which did number companysider the report as relevant.
On 9.11.1998, Shri I.Sharma, Government approved valuer submitted a report that the fair market value of the land was assessed at Rs.25/ per sq.ft and the size of the land being 2,17,721.07 sq.ft, the total companyt was determined at Rs.54,43,000.00.
Respondent and Shri P.K.Gogoi thereafter visited Jorbat and Nongpuh and companylected necessary information regarding the land.
The Director Commercial gave clearance to the Price Negotiation Committee to proceed for further negotiation.
The appointment of Shri I.Sharma as a valuer for land valuation was number also the decision of the respondent alone and the exploration of soil and rock strata given to the companypany, M s.ESS Pvt.
was accepted.
A Tender Committee Technical was companystituted to finalise the project.
The Deputy Commissioner, Ribhoi District informed that as per the past sale record, the price of land at Jorbat was Rs.20/ per sq.ft.
It was also decided in the Committees meeting held on 28.10.1998 to submit the same to the companypetent authority for companysideration and approval for opening the price bid.
It was within the knowledge of the General Manager Marketing and he has admitted that they did number companysider bid offers which had been received.
All the three Committees i.e. Tender Committee Technical along with the respondent, other four members were there and similarly in Techno Commercial Committee along with the respondent as member there were other four members and likewise in the Price Negotiating Committee Shri S.C.Goswami, General Manager Marketing was Chairman, Shri P.K.Baruah, Deputy General Manager Project GM HRD ,Shri D.B.Das, Deputy General Manager Shri T.V.John, CM DGM Finance and Shri P.K.Gogoi, SM CM Project Civil were the members along with the respondent.
Similarly the respondent alone was number responsible for approval of the valuer , Shri I.Sharma number was he responsible for giving the work to his companypany, M s.ESS firm for further development of the area.
Thereafter, one letter was received from the Deputy Commissioner, Ribhoi District on dated 12.10.2001 that the rate of the land was valued at Rs.8/ per sq.ft.
Accordingly, a joint numbere was submitted by respondent and Shri P.K.Gogoi recording their findings.
That was the tentative price offered by the land owner.
Pursuant to the advertisement for purchase lease of land, certain tenders were received.
Four price offers were companysidered and the Committee opined that the Jorbat offer was economically viable.
Article of Charge No.3 Sri I.Sharma who floated the firm M s. ESS Pvt.
On the same day the appellant companypany by order dated 28.10.1998 asked the Tender Committee to carry out the detailed techno economic study and also to ensure reasonable companyt of the land through a Government approved valuer.
The report submitted by Sri I.Sharma was fictitious and misconceived as the land being hilly, rocky and undeveloped was recommended to be suitable for the outlet.
In all the three charges, the respondent has been found to be guilty for number assessing the reasonable price in his report submitted by him where the price indicated by the owner of the land was Rs.30 lakhs.
Thereafter, the Director Commercial by order dated 27.1.1999 directed the respondent to appoint one surveyor of civil engineering firm to companyduct soil testing and survey on top priority.
On the basis of these charges a regular inquiry was initiated against the respondent and Shri N.C.Barua, retired District Sessions Judge, Bongaigaon was appointed as Inquiring Authority.
It is number the respondent alone can be held responsible when the decision was taken by the companymittees.
However, from a land acquisition case in 1993, the land in that area was termed as wasteland which was assessed at Rs.
10.22 per sq.
Aggrieved against the order of reversion passed in a disciplinary proceeding on 20.9.2002, the respondent filed a writ petition in the Guwahati High Court and submitted that the domestic inquiry which had been companyducted against him and which has found him guilty was perverse and totally illegal.
K. MATHUR, J. This appeal is directed against the order passed by the Division Bench of the Guwahati High Court in Writ Appeal No.248 of 2005 whereby the Division Bench has set aside the order of learned Single Judge dismissing the writ petition and allowed the writ petition of the respondent and set aside the order of reversion passed against the respondent reverting him from his grade of Deputy General Manager to Grade F, Chief Manager in a lower pay scale of Rs.19000 24570/ for a period of five years or till he is found fit by the companypetent authority to restore him in the higher grade and post from the post of Deputy General Manager POL Marketing .
