Pradeep Sharma Writ Petition

SYNOPSIS This Hon’ble Court in a catena of decisions has held that “Right to Free and Fair Trail ” is not only an important fundamental

right,

emanating

from

Article

21

of

the

Constitution, available to all citizens of this country, but also a constitutional imperative which has to be enforced without exceptions. In order to assure and protect this pre-eminent fundamental right, this Hon’ble Court, in a number of appropriate cases, deemed it necessary to have investigations and trial conducted through the specialized agency like the CBI. This Hon’ble Court In “R.S. Sodhi v. State of U.P” 1994 (Suppl – I) SCC 142 observed: “We have perused the events that have taken place since the incidents but we are refraining from entering upon the details thereof lest it may prejudice any party but we think that since the accusations are directed against the local police personnel it would be desirable to entrust the investigation to an independent agency like the Central Bureau of Investigation so that all concerned including the relatives of the deceased may feel assured that an independent agency is looking into the matter and that would lend the final outcome of the investigation credibility. However faithfully the local police may carry out the investigation, the same will lack credibility since the allegations are against them. It is only with that in mind that we having thought it both advisable and desirable as well as in the interest of justice, to entrust the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation.”

In (2010) 2 SCC 200- “Rubabuddin Sheikh V State of Gujarat and Ors”, this Hon’ble Court observed “…….. but on the other hand in order to make sure that justice is not only done, but also is seen to be done and considering the involvement of the State police authorities and particularly the high officials of the State of Gujarat, we are compelled even at this stage to direct the CBI Authorities to investigate into the matter. Since the high police officials of the State of Gujarat are involved and some of them had already been in custody, we are also of the view that it would not be sufficient to instill confidence in the minds of the victims as well as of the public that still the State Police Authorities would be allowed to continue with the investigation when allegations and offences were mostly against them. In the present circumstances and in view of the involvement of the police officials of the State in this crime, we cannot shut our eyes and direct the State Police authorities to continue with the investigation and the charge sheet and for a proper and fair investigation, we also feel that the CBI should be requested to take up the investigation and submit a report in this Court within six months from the date of handing over a copy of this judgment and the records relating to this crime to them.”

It is most humbly submitted that the law as laid down by this Hon’ble Court in transfer of cases to the CBI would squarely apply to the facts and circumstances of the present case, which starkly depicts political victimization of an upright senior IAS officer of impeccable credentials, at the hands of a pliant administrative state machinery headed by a vindictive Chief Minister of the State of Gujarat – Shri Narendra Modi.

BACKGROUND AND IMPECCABLE CREDENTIALS OF THE PETITONER HEREIN The Petitioner is an IAS officer belonging to the Gujarat cadre, with an unblemished record of outstanding performance throughout his career. He has received numerous accolades for his work including (i)

the Cavalier’s Cross from the President of the Republic of Poland, for proactive international collaboration on joint urban infrastructure development projects in Jamnagar, Gujarat, between 2001 and 2003 when the Petitioner served there as the Municipal Commissioner.

(ii)

The Petitioner has earned two separate Master’s degrees from abroad – a Master’s in Development Management (1990) as an Asian Development Bank scholar in Manila, Philippines; and a second Master’s in Economic Policy and Planning (1994) from Boston, USA, as well as an Executive Diploma in Rural Development Policy and Planning (1989) from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex in the U.K.

(iii)

His seminal contribution to rebuilding Bhuj city and the rest of Kutch district after the devastating 2001 earthquake in that region has been applauded both nationally and internationally, by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the BBC as well as the domestic media including India Today and Indian Express; as recently as

this past January 2011, in a 10-year anniversary documentary entitled “Gujarat’s Astonishing Rise from Rubble of 2001 Quake,”. (iv)

The Petitioner has also received complimentary citations from senior State Government officials on numerous occasions over the past 30 years in public service.

Despite such an impressive array of achievments and service record, the Petitioner is currently languishing in jail due to his implication in a number of criminal cases at the behest of the Shri Modi-led State Government. A perusal of the relevant facts which has led the Chief Minister and State Government to implicate and victimize the present Petitioner will reveal that it is impossible to hold an impartial investigation/trial as the Chief Minister himself is personally or directly interested in the outcome of the investigations which are more in the nature of a witch-hunt launched against the present Petitioner.

At the outset, the Petitioner most respectfully submits that vide the instant petition he is not seeking quashing of the false cases foisted on him. He is also not seeking to escape nor circumvent the legal process and procedure. However it is respectfully submitted that as per the oft repeated legal maxim – “Justice must not only be done but also appear to be done” – the Petitioner prays that in view of the contents of the instant

petition and the allegations against the Chief Minister and the State Machinery, it cannot be held, by any reasonable man, that there would not be bias and prejudice against the Petitioner herein in the cases fabricated against him by the state machinery and, on this ground alone, the cases currently investigate/tried by the State Police ought to be transferred to the CBI. The persecution personally unleashed by the State Chief Minister, – Shri Narendra Modi, against the Petitioner herein is due to two major reasons, apart from a host of other supporting factors: -

I.

Firstly, the Petitioner happens to be the younger brother of Kuldip Sharma, a highly-decorated and currently the seniormost IPS officer in the Gujarat state cadre, who has unmasked many misdeeds of Narendra Modi since the 2002 Godhra riots and also of his henchman Shri Amit Shah, the ex-Home Minister of State, Gujarat. The two siblings have very close to each other right from childhood and share very strong fraternal bonds.

II.

Secondly, and more immediately, the Petitioner is suspected of having stumbled upon some intimate secrets of Narendra Modi’s illicit escapades with a woman named Ms. Mansi Soni. Shri Modi verily believes that this information of his amorous and illicit liaison with Ms. Soni, if revealed in the public

domain, will render incalculable and grave damage to his public image and his future political prospects. Mr Modi suspects that the information regarding his liason with Ms Soni would be revealed in the public domain through the petitioner herein and hence as a pre-emptive measure sought to incarcerate the petitioner herein implicating him in false cases. The peittoner, faced with siustaned nad constant victimization is forced to disclose these facts, which were not revealed earlier by him, as he is left nho other option.

I.

VICTIMIZATION DUE TO THE PROXIMITY OF THE PETITONER WITH HIS BROTHER - SHRI KULDIP SHARMA, IPS:

Shri Kuldip Sharma, the brother of the Petitioner herein is the senior most IPS officer of the State of Gujarat, belonging to the 1976 batch. He has functioned as Additional Director General of Police, CID (Crime) from 28.4.2003 to 01.8.2005. Shri Kuldip Sharma, after taking over the above post, came across various pending cases in which Shri Modi and the then Home Minister of the State Shri. Amit Shah were interested. (a)

SOHRABUDDIN CASE:One of them was the Soharabuddin Case which is a

matter pertaining to death of one Shri Soharabuddin in a fake police encounter. In the said case, the Petitioner’s brother approved a report to be sent to this Hon’ble Court. Till that time,

only the file of the preliminary inquiry conducted by Police Inspector, Shri Solanki of the State CID (Crime), had existed, which prima facie established the fact that Soharabuddin was killed in a fake encounter. Shri Narendra Modi held a grudge against the Petitioner’s brother since he ordered the said interim report to be sent to this Hon’ble Court, which ultimately lead to the arrest of his confidante Shri. Amit Shah, causing Shri Narendra Modi a tremendous loss of public face and political embarrassment. (b)

MALLIKA SARABHAI CASE :In yet another incident, an offence was registered against

Ms. Mallika Sarabhai, which pertains to the danseuse’s plan to take a troop to USA and South America and the allegation was that she was using her organization to take people illegally to USA and indulging in human trafficking. It is pertinent to note here that Ms. Sarabhai was also a Petitioner before this Hon’ble Court in a petition filed against the Chief Minister and others with regard to post-Godhra communal riots in Gujarat during 2002. The CID (Crime) took over the case on 20.9.2004. However, investigation by the State CID (Crime) revealed that no offence as alleged could be made out against Ms. Sarabhai. Despite this, Shri Amit Shah, the then MOS (Home), at the behest of Shri Modi, was bringing pressure to arrest and charge-sheet Ms. Sarabhai. However, Shri Kuldip Sharma

directed the closure of the case, as it was baseless. This also angered Mr Modi. (c)

KAMLESH TRIPATHI EXTORTION CASE :In another instance, in a writ petition filed before the

Hon’ble High Court of Gujarat, allegation of extortion of money was made against Shri Kamlesh Tripathi, a close associate and a political ally of Shri Amit Shah, MOS (Home), Gujarat. The Hon’ble High Court directed the DGP to have the matter inquired into, who, in turn, entrusted the same to the State CID (Crime). After perusal of the case, the Petitioner’s brother directed the concerned Superintendent of Police in CID (Crime) to get an offence registered as necessary and appropriate under the law. Immense political pressure was brought on the concerned SP, Shri Anil Pratham not to do so. Eventually the complaint came to be registered much against the wishes of Shri Amit Shah. (d)

MADHAVPURA (MMCB) FRAUD CASE :In yet another serious case, when Shri Kuldip Sharma

was up in arms against the personal interests of Shri Modi and Shri Amit Shah upon an inquiry, in which allegations were made that Amit Shah had received an amount of Rs. 2.5 crores, through an intermediary Shri Girish Dani, in the matter of a case about financial fraud in Madhavpura Mercantile Co-

operative Bank Limited, Ahmedabad, by Shri Ketan Parikh who was the prime accused in this offence; the Rs. 2.5 crores was alleged paid by Shri Girish Dani to Shri Amit Shah to intervene on behalf of Shri Ketan Parikh and spare him any legal or criminal action. Shri Kuldip Sharma felt that a proper investigation was necessary in the interest of Shri Amit Shah, so as to clear Shri Amit Shah’s name of any false allegations of having take the Rs. 2.5 crores of bribe if he were indeed not involved, and had recommended that since the original investigation pertaining to Shri Ketan Parikh was done by CBI, the application leveling charges against Shri Amit Shah also be sent to CBI. Meanwhile Shri Kuldip Sharma went to attend a conference outside the State and upon his return he was informed that he had been transferred from CID (Crime). (e)

OTHER VINDICTIVE ACTS :The Petitioner’s brother, Shri Kuldip Sharma, too has

suffered at the hands of the CM Shri Modi. His ACR’s for last 5 years (2003-2004 to 2007-2008) were downgraded by Shri Modi, without assigning any reasons and in brazen and direct violation of the statutory rules and administrative instruction of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). The Chief Minister downgraded the ACRs of Shri Kuldip Sharma with the malafide intention of denying him promotion to the next higher rank as at least three outstanding ACRs are required out of last

10 years to qualify for the next promotion. The Principal Bench of the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) vide final order and judgment dated 07.04.2011 has set aside the downgrading of the ACR’s of Shri Kuldip Sharma on grounds of it being arbitrary and illegal. It is submitted that the Petitioner has been harassed by the Chief Minister in order to settle personal scores with Shri Kuldip Sharma, the brother of the Petitioner. The State machinery is being abused by those at the helm of power, primarily Shri Narendra Modi and Shri Amit Shah, for their personal vendetta.

II.

THE CHIEF MINISTER’S ILLICIT LIASON WITH MS MANSI SONI: It was in between 2003 to 2006 that the Petitioner, in the

capacity of District Collector of Kutch, commissioned a series of projects toward the beautification of Bhuj city and overall development of Kutch district. A site was selected for developing a hill garden in 2005, for which Ms. Mansi Soni from Bangalore was selected as the Landscape Architect. The Chief Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, visited Kutch to inaugurate the hill garden project upon its completion, and was at this time introduced to Ms. Soni. Thereafter, Ms. Soni communicated to the Petitioner her decision to return to Bangalore as well as

shared her ongoing interaction with the Chief Minister. The fact of the intimacy between Shri Modi and Ms. Soni was confirmed when the Petitioner was in close proximity of the two and overheard their conversation during one of the official functions. Subsequently, Ms. Soni further revealed to the Petitioner that when she called Shri Modi in his office, he would freely interrupt scheduled meetings, walking out of his office on senior officials in order to speak to her privately. During the second week of March 2006 at approximately 5:00 PM, Ms. Soni called the Petitioner and conveyed that she had just landed in Ahmedabad city and was planning to visit Bhuj. Shortly thereafter, when the Petitioner attempted to telephone her, Ms. Soni’s cell phone was switched off and remained so for the next 48 hours. Two days later at approximately 11:00 AM, Ms. Soni called the Petitioner and conveyed that she was at the residence of Shri Modi, and had spent the duration of the previous two days at his residence. Subsequently, she met the Petitioner in Bhuj and described in detail her stay with Shri Modi. Ms. Soni described that the next day being Holi, many people visited Shri Modi for the festival and played with colour. Shri Modi attended to them briefly and returned to his quarters. In the meantime, Ms. Soni had developed fever and requested a physician, but Shri Modi conveyed that calling a physician

was impossible, given the peculiarity of their situation. The following morning she left for Vadodara in a car sent for by Shri Modi. In November 2008, while the Petitioner was posted as Municipal Commissioner, Bhavnagar, Ms. Soni contacted the Petitioner to inform him that Shri Modi had asked her to do a project on Alang Shipyard for which she would like to come to Bhavnagar. She came to Bhavnagar and, during that time, the Petitioner observed that she was constantly in touch with Shri Modi, who was abroad and probably in South Africa. She also conveyed to the Petitioner that Shri Modi had asked her about the Petitioner and whether the Petitioner knew about her intimate relationship with Shri Modi. In one conversation, Ms. Soni showed the Petitioner a text message that the Chief Minister had sent to her from abroad. The Petitioner made a note of the cell phone number from which it had originated. The number was 9909923400. It is submitted that the Petitioner had two cell phones at the time, with Nos. 99251 99799 and 98240 01729. On one of these, the Petitioner had saved the aforesaid number from which Ms. Soni had received personal message from Shri Modi. Once, the Petitioner accidentally dialed Shri Modi’s number, thinking that he was actually calling someone else, but the Petitioner got no reply on Shri Modi’s phone. The Petitioner

realized his mistake and promptly disconnected. The Petitioner verily believes that Shri Modi must have found out the address of the holder of the SIM card from which his personal number was [accidentally] dialed, and placed it under observation either with the help of State CID (Intelligence) or illegal phone tapping methods involving the use of electronic equipment through unauthorized collaboration. Shri Modi could then have found that Ms. Soni was speaking to the Petitioner often over phone. Around this time, the Petitioner received an anonymous letter conveying that a video of sexual activity between Ms. Soni and one person, was available on an internet website, and the letter advised the Petitioner to desist from contacting Ms. Soni, as her character and actions were not befitting of her company with Gujarat State officials. The Petitioner did indeed come across such a video clipping and it now appears to the Petitioner that Shri Modi, who was monitoring the Petitioner’s cell phone calls, started believing that videos involving Ms. Soni perhaps included him i.e. Shri Modi.

DETAILS OF FALSE CASES FOISTED ON THE PETITONER HEREIN:-

It is submitted that the first case was registered against the District Magistrate and Collector of Kutch District on 20.02.2008 in which the Petitioner was not named as the

accused but thereafter, in order to frame the Petitioner, various cases were registered. The details of these cases are: (i)

M. Case no. 1/2008: registered on dated 20.2.2008 with the CID (Crime) Rajkot zone.

(ii)

CASE NO. 3/2010 registered with CID (CRIME) Rajkot Zone.

(iii)

CASE NO. 9/2010 registered with CID (CRIME) Rajkot Zone.

(iv)

CID (Crime) Rajkot Zone No. 1/2011 Offence registered under section 217, 409, 120(B) of IPC, registered on 22.2.2011.

It is submitted that the aforesaid cases are being investigated by the State CID (Crime) Branch and the proceedings

being

orchestrated

under

keen

personal

supervision of the Chief Minister of the State who, as narrated above, has more than one reason to be prejudiced and biased against the Petitioner. The said cases have been filed only to malign and torture the Petitioner since he is the brother of Shri Kuldip Sharma and because the Chief Minister is convinced that the information of his liaisons with Ms. Soni in the Petitioner’s possession is a potential threat to his image. The Petitioner has addressed letters to the Chief Secretary and the Investigating officers highlighting his fears that the investigations will not be free and fair but to no avail, as he has received no response yet to any of these letters. The

petitioner has also expressed his fears about danger to his personal safety and life, publicly during recent district court hearings.

In the light of the above, the Petitioner has filed the present petition for enforcement and protection of his fundamental right to life as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

LIST OF DATES 28.05.2003

The Petitioner assumed charge as the District Magistrate and Collector of Kutch, Gujarat. As part of the rehabilitation of the traders of the area, the Petitioner in his official capacity allotted land under the State Government policy. In 2005, in the capacity of District Collector of Kachchh, the Petitioner commissioned a series of projects toward the beautification of Bhuj city and overall development of Kachchh district. A site was selected developing a hill garden, for which Ms. Mansi Soni was the Landscape Architect.

2004-2005

The Chief Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, visited Kutch to inaugurate the hill garden project upon

its completion, and was at this time introduced to Ms. Soni and thus their relationship and intimacy begins to develop. 05.11.2007

Pursuant to an order of the Ld. Chief Judicial Magistrate, the Ld. CJM directed investigation under Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C. to be conducted by C.I.D. (Crime), Rajkot Zone. A First Information Report being F.I.R. No.01/2008 (M. Case No.1/2008) was registered under Section 200, 203, 217, 465, 466, 467, 468, 471, 472, 474, 457, 484 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. The said case pertained to allotment of land in Kutch. The Petitioner was not named in the FIR.

Nov., 2008

While the Petitioner was posted as Municipal Commissioner, Bhavnagar, Ms. Mansi Soni contacted the Petitioner to inform him that Shri Modi had asked her to do a project on Alang Shipyard for which she would like to come to Bhavnagar.

Nov- Dec, 08 Ms. Soni came to Bhavnagar and, during that time, the Petitioner found that she was constantly in touch with Shri Modi, who was abroad and probably in South Africa at the time. She also

conveyed to the Petitioner that Shri Modi asked her about the Petitioner’s office routine and habits, and whether the Petitioner knew about their intimate relationship. In one conversation, Ms. Soni showed the Petitioner a text message that the Chief Minister had sent to her from abroad. The Petitioner made a note of the cell phone number from which it had originated. The number was 9909923400. 06.01.2010

The Petitioner was illegally picked up by the police from his house at about 5.30 a.m. in connection with FIR No.1/2008.

31.03.2010

A second FIR being I-CR No.3/2010 was registered against the Petitioner for the offences under sections 7, 11, 13(1)(b) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at State CID (Crime) Rajkot Police Station which related to two SIM cards which the Petitioner possessed but were registered under the names of persons other than the Petitioner.

25.09.2010

The same Investigating Agency registered a third FIR vide I-CR No.9/2010 State CID Crime, Rajkot Zone Police Station under sections 217, 409,

465, 467, 468, 471, 120-B etc. of IPC against the Petitioner and others which related to the allotment of land to the Welspun Group of companies (Welspun). 11.12.2010

The Petitioner addressed a letter to Shri K.P. Gajipara, the investigating officer of the I-Cr No.09/2010, disclosing the facts as to the circumstances under which the said land was allotted to Welspun and that this allotment was made on specific instructions from the Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

19.01.2011

The Petitioner addressed a communication to the Chief Secretary, Govt. of Gujarat, stating that, in view of the specific allegations against the Chief Minister, the investigation may be transferred to the CBI.

26.04.2011

Since no action has been taken and the Petitioner apprehends that there will be no fair and impartial investigation, the Petitioner prefers the present petition.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CRIMINAL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION (Crl) No.

/2011

IN THE MATTER OF:Pradeep N. Sharma Aged about 55 years, Plot No. 465/A-2, Sector 1-C, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. (Presently in Jail) Through his Pairokar Shri. Mukesh Sharma

…Petitioner

Versus 1.

2. 3.

4.

5.

The State of Gujarat Through its Secretary, Department of Home, Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Respondent No. 1

Additional DGP, CID Crime, Police Bhavan, Gandhinagar.

Respondent No. 2

Shri Narendra Modi, Residing at Chief Minister Niwas, Sector-20, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Respondent No. 3

Union of India, Through its Secretary, Ministry of Personnel, Pension and Public Grievances, Department of Personnel, New Delhi.

Respondent No. 4

Central Bureau of Investigation, Through, its Director, Scope Complex, CGO, Lodhi Road, New Delhi

Respondent No. 5

WRIT PETITION UNDER ARTICLE 32 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA To

THE HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA AND HIS COMPANION JUSTICES OF THE HON’BLE SUPREME COURT THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE PETITIONER ABOVE NAMED MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH: 1.

That the present petition has been filed by the Petitioner seeking the transfer of the cases lodged against him with the State Crime branch to an independent investigative agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), since the said cases have been lodged simply to falsely implicate the Petitioner at the behest of the Chief Minister of the State.

2.

That the Petitioner is an IAS officer in the Gujarat cadre, with an unblemished record of outstanding performance throughout his career; has received numerous accolades for his work including the Cavalier Cross from the President of the Republic of Poland for proactive collaboration on joint urban development projects in Jamnagar, Gujarat, between 2001 and 2003 when the Petitioner served there as the Municipal Commissioner.

3.

That it would be pertinent to take note of the fact that the Petitioner is the younger brother of Shri Kuldip Sharma, presently the senior-most IPS Officer in the State and functioned as Additional Director General of Police, CID

(Crime) from 28.4.2003 to 1.8.2005. On taking over the charge, Shri. Kuldip Sharma (IPS) set about improving the systems and making the process robust so that all investigations pending with the State CID (Crime & Railways) or received thereafter were attended to in an impartial

manner

in

which

the

high

investigation

standards of propriety were followed. 4.

That the Petitioner’s professional credentials as an urban infrastructure development expert include two separate Master’s

degrees

Development

from

abroad

Management

–

(1990)

a as

Master’s an

in

Asian

Development Bank scholar in Manila, Philippines; and a Master’s in Economic Policy and Planning (1994) from Boston, USA, as well as an Executive Diploma in Rural Development Policy and Planning (1989) from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex in the U.K. His seminal contribution to rebuilding Bhuj city and the rest of Kutch district after the devastating 2001 earthquake in that region has been applauded by international entities such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the BBC; as recently as this past January 2011, in a 10-year anniversary documentary entitled “Gujarat’s Astonishing Rise from Rubble of 2001 Quake,” the BBC has

recognized the Petitioner as “the government official widely credited at the time with pushing through the radical plans” [for building a completely new city of Bhuj]. The Petitioner, on several occasions, has received appreciations from the State Government for the remarkable service rendered by the Petitioner during the troubled times of earthquake towards the rehabilitation of affected people of Kutch. Copies of letters of appreciation and articles are annexed herewith and marked as ANNEXURE P-1 (Colly). [Page Nos. 34 – 76] 5.

That Shri G. C. Murmu, present Secretary to the CM called Shri Chittaranjan Singh, then Director, ACB, to the former’s

office

and

gave

him

a

bunch

of

anonymous/pseudonymous applications and asked him to use them to prosecute the petitioner. Shri Chittaranjan Singh on return to his office consulted his deputy, one Shri Tirth Raj, who opined that such anonymous applications couldn’t be inquired into without Govt. orders. Thereupon, a letter was issued to the GAD asking them to issue specific orders if they require the ACB to inquire into anonymous application. This will prove the direct interest of the Chief Minister. However, copy of the letter is unlikely to be obtained since under RTI, ACB is exempted.

6.

That the Petitioner by way of the present petition seeks the indulgence of this Hon’ble Court to transfer the cases to CBI as the cases have been registered at the behest of the Chief Minister of the State in order to falsely implicate the Petitioner and harass him and has thus deprived the Petitioner of his personal life and liberty. The following cases are registered against the Petitioner: i.

M. Case no. 1/2008: registered on dated 20.2.2008 with the CID (Crime) Rajkot zone

ii.

CASE NO. 3/2010 registered with CID (CRIME) Rajkot Zone,

iii.

CASE NO. 9/2010 registered with CID (CRIME) Rajkot Zone,

iv.

CID (Crime) Rajkot Zone No. 1/2011 Offence registered under section 217, 409, 120(B) of IPC, registered on 22.2.2011.

7.

That the Petitioner humbly submits that the these cases are being registered and being investigated by the State machinery at the behest of the Chief Minister of the State who has a personal agenda to ensure that the Petitioner is never able to work or lead a peaceful life. The Petitioner

levels

allegations

with

full

sense

of

responsibility and the facts narrated hereinafter would show that Shri Modi has been using the entire State

machinery for his personal advantage. The reasons for this severe bias and prejudice are: I. Firstly, the Petitioner happens to be the younger brother of Kuldip Sharma, a highly-decorated and currently the senior-most IPS officer in the Gujarat state cadre, who has unmasked many misdeeds of Narendra Modi since the 2002 Godhra riots and also of his henchman Amit Shah, II

Secondly, the Petitioner is suspected of having stumbled upon some intimate secrets of Narendra Modi’s escapades with a woman named Ms. Mansi Soni. Shri Modi’s paranoia about the potential grave damage to his public image and political career.

FACTS IN BRIEF TO SHOW HOW SHRI KULDIP SHARMA DEFIED THE IILEGAL INSTRUCTIONS OF SHRI NARENDRA MODI AND HIS ASSOCIATES: 8.

That when Shri Kuldip Sharma took charge as Additional Director General of Police, CID (Crime), set about improving the systems and making the process robust so that all investigations pending with the State CID (Crime & Railways) or received thereafter were attended to in an impartial

manner

in

which

the

high

investigation

standards of propriety were followed. In doing so, Shri

Kuldip Sharma also issued a manual of 340 pages, which laid down the duties and work procedures for each rank in the organization. Certain pending investigation with the State CID (Crime & Railways) were such cases in which Shri Narendra Modi and Shri Amit Shah were interested, the details whereof are stated hereunder. 9.

That one of such cases which was pending in the State CID (Crime) was the Soharabuddin fake encounter case. This was a reference from this Hon’ble Court, on a letter sent by Soharabuddin’s brother and mother, which letter had been referred to the DGP. The DGP had entrusted the matter to the State CID (Crime). Shri Kuldip Sharma had issued directions to submit an interim report to this Hon’ble Court and to vigorously pursue the inquiry. It appears that Shri Amit Shah and Shri Narendra Modi hold it against Shri Kuldip Sharma that he ordered the interim report to be sent to this Hon’ble Court, which became the starting point of events that eventually not only landed certain police officers in the jail on murder charges but also resulted in the arrest of Shri Amit Shah, a close associate of Shri Modi and the then MOS (Home) on 25.7.2010 by the CBI on charges of murder and extortion.

10.

That, in another case relating to Ms. Mallika Sarabhai also, Shri Kuldip Sharma did not accept the directions issued by Shri Modi and conducted a free and fair investigation that was not to the liking of Shri Modi. An offence was registered vide Ahmedabad City Naranpura Police Station CR No. 647/03 u/s 409, 420, 34, 114, 120B IPC against Ms. Mallika Sarabhai, which pertains to the danseuse’s plan to take a troop to USA and South America and the allegation was that she was using her organization to take people illegally to USA. It is pertinent to note here that Ms. Sarabhai was a Petitioner before the Hon’ble Court against the Chief Minister and others with regard to the post-Godhra communal riots in Gujarat during 2002. The CID (Crime) took over the case on 20.9.2004. However, investigation by the State CID (Crime) revealed that no offence was made out. Despite this, Shri Amit Shah, the then MOS (Home) was bringing pressure on CID (Crime) to arrest and charge-sheet Ms. Sarabhai. However, Shri Kuldip Sharma, as per the evidence, directed the closure of the case. By this action of Shri Kuldip Sharma, not only was Shri Amit Shah resentful, but even Shri Narendra Modi too expressed his displeasure about it later on when Shri Kuldip Sharma had an occasion to meet him in person on 18.8.2006.

11.

That yet another serious case when Shri Kuldip Sharma was up in arms, against the personal interests of Shri Modi and Shri Amit Shah, was an inquiry in which allegations were made that Amit Shah, had received an amount of Rs. 2.5 crores through an intermediary Shri Girish Dani, in the matter of a case about a fraud in Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited, Ahmedabad. Shri Ketan Parikh was accused in this offence, registered vide Ahmedabad City Madhavpura Police Station CR No. 66/2001 u/s 120 (B), 405, 406, 408, 409, 420 of IPC and section 35 of Banking Regulations Act, 1949. The investigation was being conducted by the CBI. Since Shri Amit Shah’s name was also associated, Shri Kuldip Sharma felt that it was also necessary in the interest of Shri Amit Shah, that a proper inquiry be conducted to clear his name, if he were not involved and therefore recommended that since the original investigation pertaining to Shri Ketan Parikh was done by CBI, the application leveling charges against him also be sent to CBI for further necessary investigation. Therefore, a letter was addressed to the Chief Secretary to bring the above facts to the notice of the Chief Minister. Meanwhile, Shri Kuldip Sharma had to go to Mussoorie to attend a National Conference on Women

Police. Upon his return, he was informed that the Home Department had transferred Shri Kuldip Sharma from CID (Crime). 12.

That another such instance was during the tenure of Shri Kuldip

Sharma

as

ADGP,

CID

(Crime).

One

Superintendent of Police, Ms. Nirja Gotru was deputed to supervise cases involving atrocities against women, including those killed or violated during the riots of 2002. During her visit to Panchmahal District, she came across a case wherein, during the fateful period from 28.2.2002 till the 1st week of March, 2002, human skeletons and bones were discovered by the local SHO. In one case, a total of 17 human skeletons and in another case 6 skeletons had been discovered. The then SHO, on the pretext of determining whether they were human or animal bones, had referred the medical examination of the remains to SSG Hospital, Vadodara for confirmation. The SP Ms. Gotru discovered the medical exam results had been received at the relevant time in 2002 confirming that these were human bone and yet no offence had been registered. The SP, Vadodara (Rural), was officiating as SP of Panchmahal District at this time. He and Ms. Gotru both brought to the notice of the then DGP, mentioning that an offence needs to be registered.

Since Shri Amit Shah and Shri Narendra Modi were also made aware of the incident, there was reluctance at the Police Head Quarters to proceed in the matter as per law. The SP, Ms. Nirja Gotru as well as in-charge SP Panchmahal brought to the notice of Shri Kuldip Sharma that there is reluctance in registering an offence. In his capacity as ADGP, CID (Crime), Shri Kuldip Sharma directed that the offence be registered conveying that he will

take

the

responsibility

regarding

the

same.

Subsequently, telephonically, he informed the DGP that an offence will have to be registered and that he had given instructions to lodge the complaint. The offence came to be registered as Kalol Police Station CR No. 222/03 on 17.12.2003 u/s IPC 143, 147, 148, 149, 302, 201, 155 (A) more than one and a half year after the gruesome incident. Later investigation of this offence had resulted in arrest of people considered important to the organization with which the Chief Minister had political connection. 13.

That in another incident an offence was registered vide Himmatnagar Town Police Station Crime Register No. 336/2001 was pending investigation with the State CID (Crime & Railways). In brief, it pertained to opening of an account in a bank with the help of Shri Jayesh Joshi

under a false name and then siphoning off huge amounts of money. It transpired during the course of investigation that one Shri Jayesh Joshi introduced the person who opened the bank account. Thus, this individual had committed a fraud with the bank by introducing the person under a different name. Shri Kuldip Sharma had received a call from Shri Amrut Patel from the Chief Minister’s office suggesting that Shri Jayesh Joshi was innocent and he had known Shri Narendra Modi, Chief Minister since their younger days for the last many years. Upon investigation, Shri Jayesh Joshi’s culpability was clear. Shri Kuldip Sharma had accordingly called up Shri Patel in the Chief Minister’s office and requested him to convey to the Chief Minister that his information about Shri Jayesh Joshi being innocent was false. The said individual was arrested on 14.2.2004. 14.

That Shri Modi in complete violation of the prevailing rules, tried to jeopardize the carrier of Shri Kuldip Sharma. In the State of Gujarat, ACRs of officers of the rank of ADGP are Reported upon by the DGP, Reviewed by the Chief Secretary and Accepted by the Chief Minister.

Further in the case of officers of the rank of

IGP and ADGP, two ACRs have been initiated, one by the DGP and another one by the ACS (Home). There is a

time bound frame work within which the Reporting, Reviewing and Accepting Authorities have to complete the remarks they have to enter into ACR. There is also a mandatory statutory direction of the Department of Personnel & Training, Govt. of India that no ACR should be entered upon after 31st December of the previous calendar year if the same has not done before that date. It may be noted that the Chief Minister in brazen and direct violation of the statutory rule as also administrative instruction of the DoPT entered his remarks of four years ACRs altogether on 20.12.2007 as per his own admission, 2005-2006

i.e. for the years 2003-2004, 2004-2005, and

2006-2007,

downgraded

from

“Outstanding” to “Very Good” without assigning any reasons. He also deliberately did not put a date. However for the reasons given above wherein Shri Kuldip Sharma did not agree to illegal instructions of the Chief Minister and the MOS (Home), the Chief Minister downgraded the ACRs with the malafide intention of denying him promotion to the next higher rank as at least three outstanding ACRs are required out of last 10 years to qualify for the next promotion. The Chief Minister similarly downgraded subsequent ACR for the year 2007-2008 from “Outstanding” to “Very Good”. The stand of Shri

Kuldip Sharma has been vindicated by the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal in OA No. 49 of 2010 wherein the action of Shri Narendra Modi have been held to be arbitrary and illegal. A copy of the order dated 07.04.2011

passed in OA. No. 49 of 2010 is annexed

herewith and marked as ANNEXURE P-2. [Page Nos. 77 – 130]

PETITIONER’s KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SHRI NARENDRA MODI AND MS MANSI SONI. 15.

That two years after the earth quake in the entire district of Bhuj in 2001, the Petitioner assumed charge as the District Magistrate and Collector of Kutch on 28.05.2003. As part of the rehabilitation of the traders of the area, the Petitioner in his official capacity allotted land under the State Government policy. In 2005, in the capacity of District Collector of Kutch, the Petitioner commissioned a series of projects toward the beautification of Bhuj city and overall development of Kutch district. A site was selected developing a hill garden, for which Ms. Mansi Soni was the Landscape Architect.

16.

That the Chief Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, visited Kachchh to inaugurate the hill garden project upon its completion, and was at this time introduced to Ms. Soni. Shri Modi invited Ms. Soni to email any other suggestions

she might have, giving Ms. Soni his personal email address. Ms. Soni subsequently wrote to Shri Modi thanking him for the visit to hill garden. A series of emails was exchanged until Sharad Utsav in October 2005. Ms. Soni communicated to the Petitioner her decision to return to Bangalore as well as shared her ongoing interaction with the Chief Minister. 17.

That at this time, Ms. Soni had approached the Collectorate to participate in the event and had been assigned a role of organizing reception of guests; she was provided the appropriate monetary fees in exchange for her services. Concurrently, Shri Modi and Ms. Soni had begun to exchange text messages (SMS), which she communicated to the Petitioner. She further mentioned that she was planning to meet the Chief Minister. Skeptical of her claims, and under the impression that Ms. Soni was prevaricating to embellish her stature, the Petitioner suggested to Ms. Soni that she contact the Chief Minister’s security in this regard.

18.

That the following morning at the site of Sharad Utsav at approximately 7:00 AM, the Petitioner was in the presence of Shri Modi when Ms. Soni arrived and the conversation between them assured the Petitioner that Shri Modi and Ms. Mansi Soni were in fact exchanging

personal

text

messages,

e-mails,

and/or

direct

conversations. Subsequently, Ms. Soni further revealed to the Petitioner that when she called Shri Modi in his office, he would freely interrupt scheduled meetings, walking out of his office on senior officials in order to speak to her privately. Ms. Soni communicated that she was pleased with the extent and promptness of attention she received from Shri Modi. 19.

That during the second week of March 2006, at approximately 5:00 PM, Ms. Soni called the Petitioner and conveyed that she had just landed in Ahmedabad city and was planning to visit Bhuj. Shortly thereafter, when the Petitioner attempted to telephone her, Ms. Soni’s cell phone was switched off and remained so for the next two days. Two days later, at approximately 11:00 AM, Ms. Soni called the Petitioner and conveyed that she was at the residence of Shri Modi, and had spent the duration of the previous two days at his residence. Subsequently, she met the Petitioner in Bhuj and described in detail her stay with Shri Modi. She narrated that when she landed at the Ahmedabad airport, she was received by Shri O. P. Singh, Shri Modi’s deputy, and was escorted in a vehicle to the Chief Minister’s residence. She was advised to switch off her cell phone

and entered the Chief Minister’s residence through rear door. She was taken to first floor and given a room across the Chief Minister’s bedroom. 20.

That Ms. Mansi Soni also informed that the next day of her stay at Shri Modi’s residence was the festival of Holi, many people including Anandiben Patel visited Shri Modi for the festival and played with colour. Shri Modi attended to them briefly and returned to his quarters. In the meantime, Ms. Soni had developed a fever and requested a physician, but Shri Modi conveyed that calling a physician was impossible, given the peculiarity of their situation. According to Ms. Soni, Shri Modi spoke about the philosophy and insisted she listen to the story of his life. The following morning she left for Vadodara in a car sent for by Shri Modi.

21.

That on 05.11.2007 pursuant to an order of the Ld. Chief Judicial Magistrate directed investigation under Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C. to be conducted by C.I.D. (Crime), Rajkot Zone. A First Information Report being F.I.R. No.01/2008 (M. Case No.1/2008) was registered under Section 200, 203, 217, 465, 466, 467, 468, 471, 472, 474, 457, 484 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. The Petitioner is not named as an accused in the First Information Report. The said FIR pertains to allotment of

land to certain wholesale grain merchants of Bhuj who had lost their shops when the existing market in the old city was destroyed beyond repair in the 2001 earthquake. The said FIR alleges that certain members of the wholesale grain merchants’ association were ineligible to be allotted the shops and yet got away with allotments by producing forged/false certificates issued in the name of third persons; however, not a single forged certificate A copy of the FIR No. 1/2008 is annexed herewith and marked as ANNEXURE P-3. [Page Nos. 131 – 146] 22.

That in November 2008, while the Petitioner was posted as Municipal Commissioner, Bhavnagar, Ms. Soni contacted the Petitioner to inform him that Shri Modi had asked her to do a project on Alang Shipyard for which she would like to come to Bhavnagar. She came to Bhavnagar and during that time, the Petitioner found that she was constantly in touch with Shri Modi, who was abroad and probably in South Africa at the time. She also conveyed to the Petitioner that Shri Modi asked her about the Petitioner’s office routine and habits, and whether the Petitioner knew about the relationship they shared. In one conversation, Ms. Soni showed the Petitioner a text message that the Chief Minister had sent to her from abroad. The Petitioner made a note of the cell phone

number from which it had originated. This number was 9909923400. 23.

That the Petitioner submits that there exists in the State of Gujarat a general impression amongst civil servants, top industrialists and senior leaders of political parties that an unprecedented degree of illegal telephone interceptions is being conducted in the upper echelons of the State Government. This may be why nearly everyone keeps in addition to an official or known mobile number one or more alternate cell phones. The Petitioner had two cell phones, with Nos. 99251 99799 and 98240 01729. On one of these, the Petitioner saved the cell phone number from which Shri Modi had sent a text message to Ms. Soni. The Petitioner further submits that he once accidentally dialed Shri Modi’s number, thinking that he was calling someone else. When there was no reply on Shri Modi’s phone, the Petitioner realized his mistake and disconnected. The Petitioner submits his strong belief that Shri Modi must have found out the address of the holder of the SIM card from which the call to his personal number had originated, and placed it under observation either with the help of State CID (Intelligence) or illegal phone

tapping

methods

involving

the

electronic

equipment through unauthorized collaboration. Shri Modi

could then have found out that Ms. Soni was speaking to the Petitioner often over the phone. 24.

That the Petitioner received an anonymous letter around this time conveying that a video of sexual activity between Ms. Soni and one person was available on an internet website, and the letter advised the Petitioner to desist from contacting Ms. Soni, as her character and actions were not befitting of her company with Gujarat State officials. The veracity of the letter’s allegations was subsequently established since the Petitioner did indeed come across such a video clipping. Ms. Soni’s previous contact with the Petitioner, in conjunction with Ms. Soni’s indiscretions, came to be discussed by the Petitioner on both of his two phones mentioned above. It now appears to the Petitioner that Shri Modi started believing that the videos involving Ms. Soni perhaps included Shri Modi himself.

25.

That on 06.01.2010 the Petitioner was illegally picked up by the police from his house at about 5.30 a.m. in connection with FIR No.1/2008. It is submitted that appropriate state authorities had neither issued any show-cause nor sought any explanation from him, nor was he even summoned by CID (Crime) in the said case

and suddenly on 06.01.2010 morning he was illegally arrested. 26.

That on 31.03.2010 second FIR being I-CR No.3/2010 was registered against the Petitioner for the offences under sections 7, 11, 13(1)(b) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at State CID (Crime) Rajkot Police Station. The allegation pertains to the use of two mobile telephones by the Petitioner belonging to third parties. It is pertinent to note that neither the cellular telephones nor the SIM cards have been recovered from the Petitioner in the said case. The Petitioner is a Senior IAS Officer who was entitled to official telephones from the Government for making even personal phone calls within reasonable limits.

In the said matter, the Petitioner is currently

protected after an interim order granting anticipatory bail was passed by the Hon’ble High Court of Gujarat. A copy of the FIR being I-CR No.3/2010 dated 31.03.2010 is being annexed herewith and marked as ANNEXURE-P4. [Page Nos. 147 – 151] 27.

That on 25.09.2010 the same Investigating Agency registered a third FIR vide I-CR No.9/2010 State CID Crime, Rajkot Zone Police Station under sections 217, 409, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120-B etc. of IPC against the Petitioner and others. This case pertains to allotment of

land to Welspun, a known public limited company. The allotments to Welspun and other eligible business entities were made at the time when it was a declared state government policy to allot land to industrial houses willing to set up industrial units especially within the a Special Economic Zones (SEZ) with incentives that included tax holiday, the policy aim being rapid reconstruction and industrial development of Kachchh that had historically been a less-developed, remote region of the state and, in addition, had suffered catastrophic damage during the 2001 earthquake. A copy of the said FIR being I-CR No.9/2010 is being annexed herewith and marked as ANNEXURE-P5. [Page Nos. 152 – 162] 28.

That on 11.12.2010 the Petitioner addressed a letter to Shri K.P. Gajipara, the investigating officer of the I-Cr No.09/2010 disclosing the facts about the circumstances under which and on the instructions of the Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi himself that the allotments were made to the Welspun. A copy of the said letter dated 11.12.2010, addressed to Shri K.P. Gajipara, the investigating officer is being annexed herewith and marked as ANNEXURE-P6. [Page Nos. 162 – 174]

29.

That

on

19.01.2011,

the

Petitioner

addressed

a

communication to the Chief Secretary, Govt. of Gujarat,

stating that, in view of the specific allegations against the Chief Minister, the investigation may be transferred to the CBI. A copy of said letter dated 19.01.11 addressed to the Chief Secretary, Govt. of Gujarat is being annexed herewith and marked as ANNEXURE-P7. [Page Nos. 175 – 180] 30.

That when the Petitioner was in Delhi on his way to Bhuj, he was arrested on 14.2.2011 by the State CID (Crime) in FIR No. 9 of 2010. Thereafter on 22.2.2011 the State CID (Crime) registered a fourth case being CID Crime No. 1 of 2011 under section 409, 217, 120 B IPC which is regarding allotment of land in Mundra Taluka of Kachchh District.

FIR was registered on 22.02.2011 as Rajkot

Zone, CID Crime No.1/2011 under Sections 409, 217, 120B of the IPC. Like in the previous case, there are similar allegations of allotment of land by the Petitioner to one Saw Pipes Ltd. in Mundra in excess of his powers and without obtaining requisite approval. In this FIR also, wrongly characterized lapses if any, on part of the lower functionaries, have been sought to be imposed on the Petitioner. A copy of the said FIR being CID Crime No. 1 of 2011, is being annexed here with and marked as ANNEXURE: P8. [Page Nos. 181 – 190] While the Petitioner was in judicial custody in connection with FIR

No. 9 of 2010, he was taken on transfer warrant and arrested in connection with FIR No. 1 of 2011 on 03.03.2011. 31.

That the aforesaid facts and circumstances would go to show that the Petitioner is a victim of the personal vendetta of Shri Narendra Modi and there is remote chance of the investigation being conducted in a fair and transparent manner since the Petitioner feels that the cases have been lodged at the behest of Shri Modi. In this backdrop of circumstances the Petitioner seeks the indulgence of this Hon’ble Court to transfer the cases to an independently investigative agency, CBI.

32.

That the present petition is preferred amongst others on the following grounds: GROUNDS

a.

Because there is a reasonable apprehension on the part of the Petitioner in view of the circumstances narrated in the petition that justice will not be done. It is submitted that a Petitioner is not required to demonstrate that justice will inevitably fail. The circumstances very clearly demonstrate that apprehension is reasonable and there is all likelihood that the Petitioner will be embroiled in rigmarole of false charges and inquiries.

b.

Because the brother of the Petitioner has refused to buckle down under the pressure of those in power and invited the wrath of the Shri Narendra Modi and the Petitioner is also being targeted so as to create circumstances wherein Shri Kuldip Sharma breaks down. It is submitted that this is a case where the Petitioner has reasonable apprehension that justice will not be done.

c.

Because assurance of a fair trial is the first imperative of the dispensation of justice and the central criterion for the court to consider before transferring a case to an independent investigative agency. In the present case since the cases have been registered at the behest of those in power and the State machinery is being used to settle personal vendetta, the Petitioner will never be assured of a fair investigation at the hands of State machinery.

d.

Because the confidence of the Petitioner in the fairness of a trial is seriously undermined since the State investigative machinery takes instructions from those at whose behest the false cases and charges have been leveled against the Petitioner.

e.

Because the apprehension of not getting a fair and impartial inquiry or trial is not imaginary, based upon

conjectures and surmises but is reasonable. It is submitted that Shri Narendra Modi is aware that the Petitioner has knowledge of his secret liaisons with Ms. Mansi Soni and if the same comes to public knowledge it would seriously hamper his political aspirations. Thus it appears that the dispensation of criminal justice is not possible impartially and objectively and without any bias. f.

Because all these FIRs and complaints against the Petitioner which have been made ostensibly for alleged acts of the Petitioner long before 2008 are solely for the purpose of the personal vendetta of the respondent No.1 against the Petitioner herein for the suspicion that the Petitioner is having direct knowledge of the personal life of Shri Narendra Modi which has, till date, been hidden from the public. It is respectfully submitted that for the same reason there has been a sudden spurt of cases/complaints being filed against the Petitioner’s brother also who is an IPS Officer and against whom till about the same time there was no complaint.

g.

Because, the present case discloses a situation where it cannot be expected of either the CID Crime Branch or any other State investigating agency to arrive at, or conduct an impartial investigation, because the Chief Minister of the State is personally hell-bent in having the

investigation carrying out in a manner that suits him and suits his ends of destroying the Petitioner’s credibility as well as his professional career.

It is respectfully

submitted that the facts and circumstances of the present case fall within the rarest of the rare cases, where it can be safely presumed that the Petitioner will not get any justice within the State of Gujarat and therefore, the entire investigation and/or the trial if so required deserves to be shifted out of the State of Gujarat, the failure so to do would result in the gravest travesty of justice. h.

Because the accusations leveled in the present Petition which are substantiated in the “Grounds” unequivocally point towards menace in law and in fact of the respondent State led by the Chief Minister. Given the nature of the controversies, it is impossible to hold otherwise that after the investigation of the F.I.R.s in question against the Petitioner are allowed to be conducted by either the State Police or even the CID Crime of the Gujarat State, it is impossible that an impartial investigation would result therein inasmuch as the Supreme Commander of the investigating agencies and the State Police is personally or directly interested in the outcome of the investigations which are more in the

nature of witch-hunt launched against the present Writ Petitioner. i.

Thus, when cogent allegations have been made against high officials and the Chief Minister of the State in his personal capacity, this Hon’ble Court, following the decision in Rubabuddin’s case, reported in (2010) 2 SCC 200, ought to hand over the investigation of the four F.I.R.s referred to in this petition, to the CBI since the allegations leveled against Shri Modi are not based upon conjectures and surmises but upon substantial facts which

led

to

reasonable

apprehension

that

the

investigative machinery is bound to be prejudiced and biased. j.

Because it is respectfully submitted the facts of the FIR itself will reveal that (1) the FIR is misconceived, (2) a matter specific to revenue has been inexplicably converted into a criminal case, and (3) the registration of the FIR is motivated by malice at the behest of the Chief Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, for the aforementioned reasons.

k.

Because the Petitioner’s brother, currently the seniormost IPS Officer in the State Government, has also become a victim of the wrath of the Chief Minister and he has also been sought to be arrested and prosecuted. The

Annual Confidential Reports of the Petitioner's brother have been illegally downgraded from 'outstanding' to 'very good' at the behest of the Chief Minister for which the Petitioner's brother has filed an application before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and the stand of the Petitioner stands vindicated by the findings arrived at by this CAT wherein the actions of Shri Narendra Modi have been held to be arbitrary and illegal. l.

Because the Petitioner’s fundamental right to liberty has been repeatedly and comprehensively violated time and again, without the due process of law, by the persecution launched against the Petitioner and his family, by the most powerful man in the recent history of the State.

m.

Because the Petitioner is in judicial custody since 06.01.2010 except for a few months between September 2010 and January 2011, during which time he was on bail and charge-sheet has already been filed.

There are

about 400 witnesses cited in the charge-sheet and further investigation is still going on with respect to other accused persons.

The charge for offence under the

Prevention of Corruption Act has been dropped and all other offences are triable by Magistrate. The Petitioner has been an outstanding Administrative Officer with unblemished

career

in

the

past

30

years

since

15.01.1981 when he joined the Services as probationer. His arrest is actuated with malice in law as well as malice in fact. n.

Because in an appropriate case, particularly when the Court feels that the investigation by the State police authorities is not in the proper direction as the high police officials are involved, in order to do complete justice, it is always open to the Court to hand over the investigation to an independent and specialized agency like the CBI.

33.

Because of paucity of time the present petition has been

filed in a great hurry and thus the Petitioner seeks leave of this Hon’ble Court to place on record additional documents and also for adding facts and grounds in the present petition. 34.

That the Petitioner has not filed any other petition before

this Hon’ble Court or any other court for the same purpose. PRAYER In view of the submissions made hereinabove, the Petitioner most respectfully prays that this Hon’ble Court may graciously be pleased to: A)

an appropriate writ of madamus or any other appropriate writ order or direction to the respondents herein allowing

the present petition and directing the transfer of the following four cases from the State CID to the CBI :-

C).

(i)

M. Case no. 1/2008: registered on dated 20.2.2008 with the CID (Crime) Rajkot zone,

(ii)

CASE NO. 3/2010 registered with CID (CRIME) Rajkot Zone,

(iii)

CASE NO. 9/2010 registered with CID (CRIME) Rajkot Zone

(iv)

CID (Crime) Rajkot Zone No. 1/2011 Offence registered under section 217, 409, 120(B) of IPC;

Pass any other order as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and appropriate in the facts and circumstances of the present case.

AND FOR THIS ACT OF KINDNESS YOUR HUMBLE PETITIONER AS IN DUTY BOUND SHALL EVER PRAY. DRAWN & FILED BY

(SUNIL FERNANDES) Advocate for the Petitioner NEW DELHI DRAWN ON: FILED ON:

21.04.2011 26.04.2011

ANNEXURE P-1 SURAT URBAN DEVELOMENT AUTHORITY N. Bijlani, IAS Chairman

Multistoreyed Building ‘A’ block, 5 th Floor Nanpur, SURAT 395001

D.O. No. SUDA/Election/5807

Dt 21.03.1985

My dear Pradip Sharma As an observer of the Election Commission of India I had an opportunity to visit

the 164-vyara (S.T.)

Assembly

Constituency (for which you were appointed as Returning Officer) and to see the arrangements made for conduct of poll as also for counting of votes. In this regard I would like to keep on record my appreciations of the excellent arrangements made by you for conduct poll and for continuing of votes in accordance with instructions and guidelines of the election commission of India. This was mainly due to the interest and care taken by you personally at all stages. I hope you will endeavour to keep up the level of performance in your future career. With best wishes. Yours Sincerely N.M. Bijlani Shri Pradip Sharma Prant Officer Vyara, Taluka: vyara District: Surat cc. collector, surat for information. //TRUE TYPED COPY//

From: P. N. Roychowdhary

No. SSS/Target/ 84-85 Office of the Collector Nanpura, Surat

Collector and District Magistrate Surat

Dt. 22.04. 1985

Dear Shri Sharma I take great pleasure in placing on record my appreciation of the excellent work you have done during the crash drive for net small savings collection by the end of March 1985. I am happy to inform you that due to your all out efforts our district has been able to collect Rs. 28.36 crores. Although we could not achieve the target of Rs. 32.20 crores, none the less fact that we had collected such a huge amount inspite of two general elections have been conducted during the period indicates the tremendous efforts you and your staff have made.

Accept my congratulations and please convey my congratulations to your staff also. Yours sincerely (P.N. Roychowudhury) To Shri Pradeep Sharma Dy. Collector, Vyara Prant Vyara //TRUE TYPED COPY//

V.R.S Cowlagi, I.A.S Secretary to Government D.O. No. CRO/LORS/34/3883/88 May 5, 1988 Dear Shri Pradip Sharma 1.

I write to convey my appreciation for excellent work done by you in various programmes relating to rural development. I find that you have exceeded the target in two or more programmes under implementation in your district.

2.

This has been possible due to very competent planning, hard work and the inspiration you have provided to all the functionaries working under your charge.

3.

Please accept my good wishes on this account for continued success of your efforts in the coming year also. Yours Sincerely (VRS Cowlagi) Sri Pradip Sharma Director, District Rural Development Agency.

//TRUE TYPED COPY//

BAIF BAIF DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH FOUNDATION, KAMDHENU SENAPATI BAPAT MARG, PUNE- 411016 INDIA TELE: 52621, TELEX: 0145-283 GRAM: BATFON DATE 18 th May, 1989

REF NO BARF/89/T2 Dear Mr . Pradeep Sharma,

This is to appreciate with sense of gratitude your valuable cooperation and administrative support to BAIF in executing Socio-economic Rehabilitation programme of Tribals in Vansda and Dharampur talukas of Valsad District. The Government of India

channalises

development

funds

to

district

rural

development agencies in India through the Department of Rural Development, New Delhi. Under this system the programme of the rural poor can be successful only if the DRDA comes forward whole heartedly with co-operation and support to the operating agency, such as BAIF. As a project Director of Valsad, DRDA your spontaneous co-operation has proved to be most valuable. I can say you have set a good example how a committed administrator can play the key role in development programme specially designed for the upliftment of the rural poor in India. Young,

enthusiastic,

committed

and

qualified

administrator like you should try to join training programmes which are conducted outside India to get wider vision, exposure

and proper perspective of wholestic approach which can help in keeping the focus of the programme on the rural family. I wish you a successful career and in getting support for training abroad. With Best Wishes Yours Sincerely

MANIBHAI DESAI PRESIDENT Mr. Pradeep Sharma, I.A.S., D.R.D.A Surat

//TRUE TYPED COPY// Gram:URBANDEV

PROFESSIONAL DYNAMICS IN HEALTH CARE A TERM PAPER IN GRADUATE LEVEL CORE COURSE AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY (BOSTON, USA) APRIL, 1994 By: Sharma Shyamal Imagine in your mind's eye a swamp-v ery murlcy,d ark, dank, and unstable, full of mud, water, weeds, even quicksand. You see insects skidding about on the surface of the swamp. You also see crocodiles, alligators, bugs, spiders, snakes, and other animals suited to that environment. The water is stagnant; no fresh water is coming in or going out. You can see the fungus growth and moss, and the stench is very offensive. The water is putrid , stale, filled with disease and decaying vegetation. Now imagine the gradual transformation of that murlq swamp into a magnificent oasis. See the swamp being drained of the old water. The swamp begins to dry up; fresh water is introduced with inlets and outlets, so that the water is gradually purified. The ground becomes more stable; the stench is gone; vegetation begins to grow again; lovely blossoms and flowers create an entirely new fragrance, the aroma of which is soothing and satisfying. You see beautiful vegetation, trees , Iagoons.

Finally the swamp becomes a true oasis- one that has shade under beautiful trees from the sun and pooling areas and clear, pure water.You could even drink the water, it is so clean. The oasis is now an attractive place to rest and to work and to relate with others. If you were to describe it in quality terms, you would say that it was beautiful, lovely, excellent, attractive, enchanting , resplendent, magnificent, peaceful.1 Stephen

Covey,

in

his

book

"Principle-Centered

Leadership" presents this metaphor to demonstrate how he visualizes the concept of Transformational Leadership. The goal of transformational leadership is to " transform" people and organizations in a literal sense-t o change them in mind and heart; enlarge vision, insight, and understanding; clarify purposes; make behavior congruent with beliefs, principles, or values; and bring about changes that are permanent, selfperpetuating, and momentum building. Dr. Covey goes on to add: “I am personally convinced that one person can be a change catalyst, a " transformer," in any situation, any organization. Such an individual is yeast that can leaven an entire loaf. It requires vision, initiative, patience, respect, persistence, courage and faith to be a transforming leader."1 Reflecting on my association with such a leader and having seen him so perform over past several years, I can very 1

vividly relate to Dr. Covey's metaphor, of ' a swamp being turned into an oasis', for transformative leadership. I shall take you several thousand miles across from here to the Indian subcontinent to elaborate my claim. India, the world's most populous democracy, espouses the philosophy of welfare state for domestic economic policy and administers a broad range of poverty alleviation programs for the deprived and the downtrodden at the grassroots level. The target population is defined as people who reside in rural areas and whose per capita incomes fall below the official poverty line. District Rural Development Agencies in every state are the government's vehicles for implementing poverty alleviation and rural development programs.

The DRDAs are headed by senior (normally so by virtue of official rank rather than length of service) civil servants, designated as Project Directors of the respective DRDAs. The Project Director is assisted by several assistant project officers (APOs) responsible for different specialty divisions such as agriculture, animal husbandry, irrigation, social forestry, rural housing, rural youth training, cooperatives finance, and banking; as well as a network of about 300 employees and village-level workers.

Funds are allocated to every DRDA annually to correspond with the

district's

physical

size

and

degree

of

economic

backwardness, the latter computed on the basis of the percentage of the district's population living below the poverty line. The project director and his team are responsible for investing these resources in a myriad of developmental projects so as to generate employment among eligible target population and

initiate

sustained

economic

growth

of

the

rural

communities. Although the agencies generally manage to meet their annual targets for subsidy disbursements, they often fail to generate sustainable employment and growth; and end up being massive charity institutions at the expense of the public exchequer rather than playing their part as change agents in the country's economic turnaround. This failure is largely attributable to the failure of the project directors as leaders of their organizations. Pradeep, already recognized by his peers and his superiors in the government as a dynamic executive and an outstanding team leader, was barely thirty when he took office as Project Director, DRDA of Valsad in the state of Gujarat in Western India. Valsad district is spread over approximately 2100 sq. miles, and has a predominantly tribal population of l.I2 millions out of a total rural population of 1.64

millions. I do not have the statistics for the magnitude of rural people eligible to receive aid from the DRDA. The district's total urban and rural population is 2.I7 millions.3 In the year when Pradeep took office, his DRDA had an annual budget of about 120 million Indian rupees, or about 8 million U.S. dollars at that time; this allocation is subject to revision, normally in the upward direction, every year. I would like to put Pradeep's leadership behavior into perspective for the reader, by employing some characteristics of transformational leaders derived from " The Transformational Leader " by Noel Tichy and Mary Anne Devanna.2

They identifv themselves as Change Agents: Pradeep's professional and personal image has always been to make a difference and transform the organization that he has assumed responsibility for. He clearly identifies himself as the change agent. His zeal to transform is manifest in his actions from the day he assumes office; in his immaculate attire, in his brisk manners, in the immediate physical changes he brings about in his office premises as well as in his residential quarters, in expressing to his team certain basic minimum standards of decency and discipline he expects of them before they get down to more serious business.

His office staff perceived these initial changes as precursors to more important, impending changes in their organization. They were excited at the prospect of working under a progressive executive who would rise above the mundane and bring essentially new order to their organization. Little had they realized then, however, that they would not be "working under" him; rather he would be "working with" them to give a new meaning to their collective efforts.

They believe in people: According to Abraham Maslow, all of us have basic kinds of needs: physiological, safety, social, ego, and what he calls self-actualization. These needs are in a hierarchy from lower needs; physiological - to the highest and the most complex- self-actualization. Some people never have a chance to fulfil their higher needs, such as, relating to others, having satisfying, meaningful contact with others, having a sense of inclusion and affection and response. We never allow these needs to be satisfied because we deal situationally with needs at the lowest level possible. In our motivation system, we often create conditions that satisfy one level and never allow people to move on up. We create work that does not allow people to satisfy ego needs, to feel that "I'm doing something worthwhile" or that "I have the esteem of people". We do not

create conditions wherein people achieve the best that is possible for them to achieve (self-actualization).3 Transformational leaders are not dictators. They are powerful yet sensitive of other people, and ultimately they work toward the empowerment of others. In a feudal culture like India's, Pradeep could easily have assumed dictatorial attitude toward his staff. However, he believes that ordinary people have a lot more to offer than they are usually either allowed or encouraged to offer. Having redefined the DRDA's goal of creating viable means of livelihood for the target population and having communicated the same to his team, Pradeep encouraged them to share with him information about the local population and their culture, so vital for him to understand the social and economic needs of the people he intended to serve. He consulted with his APOs and immediate office staff about what changes/improvements they considered desirable, based on their experiences and/or frustrations within the organization as well as with the State Secretariat. He toured extensively throughout the district and met with village-level workers and other stakeholders to reinforce their morale and communicate his vision. In this process of self education, he toured the remotest areas of his jurisdiction, some accessible only on foot during monsoon season, and listened to the tribals. He talked with them overnight in their

humble dwellings, shared their meagre meals and reassured them that he and his team were there not to deprive them of their cultural heritage, but to understand their needs and enable them to fulfil those needs. He aroused people's interest in special programs for rural youth, and women and children. He enlisted

the

support

of

bankers,

Non

Governmental

Organizations (NGOs) and Spanish missionaries operating in the district toward a concerted effort for achieving sustained, self perpetuating economic growth in the area. An essential ingredient in organizational leadership is pulling rather than pushing people toward a goal. A "pull" style of influence attracts and energizes people to enroll in an exciting vision of the future. It motivates through identification, rather than through rewards and punishments. Leaders articulate and embody the ideals toward which the organization strives.4 Pradeep's enthusiasm spread like contagion and radiated in his surroundings. His genuine involvement with his organization's goals provided a great impetus to his staff. They felt motivated to go "the extra mile". Employee morale ran high at all levels; people found themselves significant and empowered, and their work stimulating, challenging, fascinating and fun. They rose up to meet continuous challenges of

excellence and even higher standards of excellence provided by their leader. Pradeep planned beach-side gatherings and informal cricket matches for his staff. This enhanced the process of breaking down barriers and promoted a sense of community among the people. At such times and at times when he and his staff worked long unscheduled hours on a project, they were treated with refreshments from his private kitchen. The leader maintained excellent communications with the Department of Agriculture & Rural Development, and invited the top bosses in the department to periodically visit the district. His team won state honor for excellent, outstanding performance in the first year after he took office. It was a victory for the perfect harmony of vision and purpose between the leader and his extended team.

They are Life Long Learners:

All transformational leaders

how an amazing appetite for continuous self-learning and development. Pradeep did not hesitate from admitting his mistakes, and could barely forgive those who refused to do so. He viewed his mistakes as learning opportunities. He treated his staff similarly and encouraged them to learn from their mistakes.

Pradeep has been a life long learner in another sense, too; i.e., in his continuous commitment to learning and intellectual enrichment. During his tenure in the DRDA, he took a 12-week course in Rural Research & Rural Planning at the Institute of Developmental Studies, University of Sussex in United Kingdom. While in the same office, he initiated, of his own accord, a process that won him Asian Development Bank-Japan Scholarship to study for Masters in Development Management at the Asian Institute of Management in Manila, Philippines. A couple of years after he graduated from there and while he was Comptroller to the Governor of Gujarat state, he again took time and personal initiative to earn Masters in Economic Policy & Planning at Northeastern University in the U.S. These periodic "escapades” in to the world of learning, by themselves do not promote his rank in the Indian bureaucratic setup. He undertakes these adventures driven by his commitment to continuous learning. He provides his staff with similar learning opportunities by enrolling them in programs on local self-government, administrative law, computers in public sector, and other relevant issues. They are value-Drive: Transformational leaders are able to articulate a set of core values and exhibit behavior that is quite congruent with their value positions.5

Pradeep believed that one person with commitment can transform any situation or organization. He also believed, not unlike the moth 9, that it is better to be a part of beauty for one instant and then cease to exist, than to exist forever and never be a part of beauty. His idea of beauty was professional excellence and personal integrity, and exhibited ample evidence of both. His professional and personal character were crystal-clear which continued to reinforce his pride and convictions. He did not buckle under pressure from local political leaders to favor them with undeserved funds spent on their constituencies. He did not fear political transfers, since he did not have vested interest in any office except for giving his best, and was prepared to step down any time with pride and grace. Pradeep ensured that the Accounts branch in his office deduct at source from his private purse any personal use of telephone and/or vehicles by him or his family. The household staff at his residence was treated by even the youngest member of his family with dignity, respect and compassion due to every human being. They are Visionaries: Pradeep has been my closest friend for over fifteen years, and my husband of twelve years. Let me assure the reader, however, that there is no personal bias or exaggeration in whatever I have related so far. Rather, I have

been unable to paint the full richness of his performances in different offices. Since he is a public servant and not a corporate executive, I am unable to quantify his achievements in terms of multiple increases in gross/net profit ratios and financial turnarounds. He deals with people and their lives; teamwork inspired by his leadership has catapulted into prominence offices considered the least lucrative by his peers. His achievements are on record in his dossier maintained by the state government. Like every true visionary, Pradeep is never content with what is already accomplished, or even with what is about to be accomplished. He always has his eyes on the horizons, on the thousand opportunities awaiting his action, on the portents of events to come but unthinkable yet in present times. He is forever searching for stones hitherto unturned; for roads not taken. REFERENCES 1. Stephen Covey, Principle-Centered Leadership ( New York: Fireside, Igg2),p.27g. 2. Stephen Covey, Principle-Centered Leadership ( New York: Fireside, IggZ ), p. 2g7. 3 . Population Census, Government of India. 1991. 4. District Rural Development Agency, valsad (India), Financial year 19g6-g7.

5.

Noel

M.

Tichy

and

Mary

Anne

Devanna,

The

Transformational Leader ( New york: John Wiley & Sons, 1990). 6.Abraham

Maslow,

A

Theory

of

Human

Motivation

(Psychology Review,1943); so quoted by William G. Dyer in " The Sensitive Manipulator ", ( Utah: Brigham young Univ. Press,1 972),p . 96. 7. Warren G. Bennis, An Invented Life ( Reading, MA: Addisonwesley, 1993 ), p.g4. 8.

Noel

M.

Tichy

and

Mary

Anne

Devanna,

The

Transformational Leader( New york: John Wiley & Sons, 1990 ), p.274. 9 . Don Marquis, The Lesson of the Moth ( New York: Pushcart press, 1976 ),pp.167-6g; so quoted by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus in "Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge ( New York: Harper Perennial, 1985 ), pp.53-4.

//TRUE TYPED COPY//

THREE YEARS LATER, BHUJ IS ON THE ROAD TO PROGRESS INDIAN EXPRESS JANUARY 26, 2004 MILIND GHATWAJ BHUJ, JANUARY 25 BUT for the remnants of Debris on the roadside and a couple of stones they use as stumps, a group of boys playing cricket in the middle of the road near Nagar Chakla, a walled city area of this quake-hit town, would not catch anyone’s attention on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Their only worry, vehicular movement that forces them to take unscheduled, irritating breaks.

This, when the broad road

doubles up as their pitch did not exist till a few days ago. A narrow lane passed from near it till January 26, 2001 when houses collapsed blocking movement of rescuers and victims. “We are happy with this inner ring road, Bhuj will develop into a big planned city.” Says Gunit Parmar, a 19 year old student of government polytechnic as he fetches the ball from behind the mound of rubble that is taken as part of land scape in this headquarters of kutch, the second largest district in the country. Like the young cricketers, others too have put the past behind them, relegating bad memories of the quake to the inner layers

of consciousness, and are finding solace in the fast pace of construction and reconstruction that is taking place around them. The bad vibes generated by the Town Planning Schemes still rankle, but the administration has gone the extra mile, bothering to lend a patient hearing. Till a few days ago, it seemed impossible that the TP scheme could be implemented in the walled city, caught up as it was in legalities interests, both genuine and vested and disputes like those between tenants and landlords or simply among brothers. “Not that problems don’t exist, but we have found ways to get around them”, says District Collector Pradeep Sharma, whom most people credit for successful implementation of the scheme, that seemed etched only on paper till he took over in May last year. The local were hostile in the beginning, often petitioned that the authorities were not ready to sacrifice even an inch of land. Frustrated by miseries brought about by the quake and angered by corruption at lower levels of administration, they blocked every move to implement the scheme, and in return delayed the reconstruction of the town.

But given the quick developments in the last few months, the town already looks so different from what it was on January 26, 2001 or even before that. “Their initial resistance has been replaced by the famed kutchi resillence and spirit of cooperation” sharma says, confident that, ‘Bhuj will be clean and breathe free by june.” An outer ring road, a middle ring road and inner roads have changed the towns profile. The whole town looks like a large construction site, debris, both due to the quake and demolition no more incongruous in the setting. “It will be fun living in the town when all developmental activities are over”, says Mahendra Mehta, a 41 year old owner of shop in Saraf Bazaar, that itself has transformed into an orderly trading centre. “We are happy with god”, we lived by the rules and did not suffer in the quake.” Mehta says philosophically, “we never expected this big roads” he says “we started to agree for sacrifice only when we found administration willing and considerate to our demands”, Earlier we thought Bhuj may take atleast 10 years to get back on its feet, now I see it happening sooner, says Hasmukh Soni, who is not complaining much about the loss of Rs. 15, 000 when his cable got disconnected on Sunday.

Even outside the bazaar and walled city, the town has changed a lot. Some of the victims have already moved to three relocation sites in Rawalwadi near ITO office and on Mundhra road where more than 3500 houses will come up. The town already boasts of a Super Speciality quake- recintant hospital funded entirely from the Prime Ministers fund, a 19 km long outer ring road and an airport. Kutch University will take shape over 165 acres of land, while a beautiful Hill garden is emerging on a hillock near Rawalwadi. That’s my dream project says Sharma. One of the few officers who have managed to convince people on either side of the calamity. Spread over 22 acres, the garden will have among other attractions, an amphitheatre, a children’s park, a nursery, a meditation centre. Rotary has already picked up 70 percent expenditure of the Rs. 1 crore project. Chief Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate both the garden and the bazaar on Tuesday. Sharma has got the backing of his subordinates who are still smarting under the Rs. 11.50 crore debris scam spread over five talukas. As many as 727 people, including government officials like deputy Collector, Vidya shayaks, talatis, have been booked so far and more are expected to face the heat. The district jail which collapsed allowing 179 prisoners to escape- but for seven all have returned – is yet to come up.

Given the large quantity of debris lying inside its premises, it will be a miracle if the administration is able to meet its targeting of reopening it in couple of months. The Kutch museum, Oldest in Gujarat , Aina Mahal, famous Chattedis (Memorials) are among the important buildings where construction will take a long time, but residents are not complaining. They say their first priority is to have a roof over their heads and get business moving.

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TOWARDS A BETTER TOMMORROW Monday 26, 2004 Bhuj: We have heard the tale of Raja Bhoj, who is known to go out in changed dress to inspect personally what has been going on in his kingdom. The Kutch District Collector is a person with a difference. People of Bhuj have seen this man almost everywhere, instructing officials and communicating with people. The Town Planning process has been sped, thanks to the personal interest and motivation of some of the top civic officers like Pradip Sharma. This confident man has won the hearts of people of Kutch. Pradip Sharma is keen over a mission to make Bhuj Green in next Twelve months. “I am a very small man nothing could have happen without the support and co-operation of the people of Bhuj.” He modestly explains. The State Chief Minister and other ministers have been taking interest in rebuilding Kutch and

the

other

earthquake

effected

areas.

The

government has spent over Rs. 366.06 Crore on as many as 56 works of infrastructure development in this district.

The

support

of

various

NGOs

is

also

impressive.

“Our

thrust

will

now

also

be

on

beautification of town. Two decorated traffic circles have been constructed while a musical fountain will be placed near the Hamirsar talao of Bhuj. One more circle will be constructed near the RTO”, he explains. Parking zones will also be developed at various places. Pradip Sharma also said that various plots have been allotted to various NGOs at three relocation sites of Bhuj, namely the Rawalwadi, Mundra relocation site and

the

RTO

relocation

for

beautification

and

community purpose. Sharma said that 147 kms long new roads will be constructed in Bhuj out of which 48kms road has been completed. Pipe line of over 100 kms have been installed for water supply. It is to recall here that Sharma has been awarded by a prestigious Commanders Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland for his outstanding contribution in Indo Poland relationship. //TRUE TYPED COPY//

Making Fair Progress INDIA TODAY 07 NOVEMBER, 2005 Tradition meets modernity in a cultural extravaganza in arid Kutch as Gujarat packages the region as a tourism hot spot By Uday Mahurkar There is a new buzz on the Indian tourist circuit, and it originates from the unlikeliest of destinations. Kutch in Gujarat is a flat, endless desert that has, till now, been largely known for its population of wild asses and, of course, the earthquake that devastated the region in 2001. Out of the desert, however, emerges a mirage, but one that is very real. Finally, the state Government has woken up to the region's tourism potential and if the Sharad Utsav held from October 16 to 18 is any indication, the Rann of Kutch could soon rival Jaisalmer and Pushkar in neighbouring Rajasthan. For all its perceived desolation, Kutch has some obvious advantages. The salt desert is unique, woven as it is into an ecosystem comprising creeks and mangroves and pristine beaches. Equally saleable are the exquisite handicrafts made by local tribes which have a heritage going back centuries. If ecotourism should be the buzzword, then there are rare wildlife species like the wild ass and the Great Indian Bustard.

What Kutch lacked till now was promotion as a tourist haven by the government as well as travel operators. Last week's festival, organised jointly by the state Government and local citizens, was staged under the light of the full moon on the occasion of Sharad Purnima and represented the biggest attempt as yet to sell the myriad attractions of Kutch to the tourist. Travel operators, including those who regularly participate in the Jaisalmer and Pushkar festivals, and the large number of foreign tourists present at the occasion were charmed by the sheer colour of the event and the zeal of the people -25,000 came for the fair every day-in the middle of nowhere. Thirty kilometres from Bhuj, the festival venue, spread over an expanse of 4 sq km of desert, comprised 400 luxury tents, 150 of them air-conditioned, a typical Kutchi village of 25 huts housing five local tribes and two big exhibitions, a handicraft bazaar and a village fest with 200 stalls showcasing everything from the region's crafts to cuisine. Old-timers say that on Sharad Purnima, Goddess Lakshmi flits across the night sky, showering gifts to those who are not asleep. This time, though, it was the pyrotechnics in the amphitheatre that made sure that many stayed up all night. Kutch Collector Pradip Sharma, one of the architects of the event, offered a potpourri of local ingredients for the novelty-

seeking globetrotter. In a faint replica of the Pushkar mela, there were camel races and horse races. Chief Minister Narendra Modi himself went around in a camel safari and his dream project was well on its way. A show of Mal Kushti, a form of wrestling known as bakh malakho in Kutchi and which is nearly extinct today, was part of the attractions. The wrestling show, jokingly called rural WWF, was staged to the beats of the dholak. The ethnic flavours were matched by a good dose of modern elements: hot-air ballooning and a captivating air show by the Surya Kiran team of the Indian Air Force. While tourists shopped for knick-knacks at the Bhujodi crafts village, a fashion show by young designers of the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Gandhinagar, displayed the best of Kutchi textiles and embroidery. Says Ranjit Singh Muli, a Mumbai-based travel operator, who has done the round of the top tourist festivals in the country: "The Sharad Utsav has the right mix to attract the international tourist. It has the potential to emerge as a popular event on the festival calendar." This year, the event was organised with the help of corporate houses which chipped in Rs 2 crore. However, organisers are optimistic that the event will cut even soon. The feel-good factor has spread to Kutchi artists. Double flute player Musa Ghulam Jat, who has performed in shows abroad, finally got a chance to display his art before an

appreciative home crowd. Says the grateful Jat: "I never imagined that such a show could be organised in this remote area. It can go a long way in helping artists." If the sword dance of the Sodha Rajputs along the Indo-Pak border in Kutch and Rajasthan was novel, the garba dance of the Mer community of Porbandar brought the best of dandiya raas to town. The piece de resistance was 2,000 dancers playing garba under the full moon. As Michelle Decamoncle, a travel writer from Belgium, says, "The Sharad Utsav will give many festivals a run for their money." Mahendra

Singh

Vaghela, the only travel operator who runs an ethnic Kutchi lodge in the area, agrees. "If this festival is made a regular feature, it will change the face of Kutch," he says. Kutch had never been packaged like this.The team of craftsmen which erected a Kutchi village for Aamir Khan's Lagaan raised a similar one showcasing the lifestyle of five tribes of Kutch in 25 huts. The Kumbhars, Muslim Jats, Ahirs, Rabaris and the Sodha Rajputs lived here for three nights, carrying on the activities for which they are known-from embroidery to pottery-making. For the Kutchis, it has been a moonlit sonata. Now only if it would translate into hard cash from tourism. //TRUE TYPED COPY//

Rising from the Ruins INDIA TODAY ON NET 05 June, 2006 Rs 11,000 crore in investments and over a hundred new industrial outfits have resurrected Kutch from the debris of the 2000 earthquake -By Uday Mahurkar Construction that follows destruction is always creative and solid." So goes a Gujarati saying. In case of Kutch, the resurgence following the devastating earthquake of January 26, 2000 has indeed been remarkably extensive, bolstered by investments of Rs 11,000 crore in 150 new industrial ventures. There's more money expected in the coming months. Another Rs 8,000 crore, to be exact. For Kutchi Nensi Shah, chairman of the Mumbai-based Euro Group, the dramatic makeover is nothing short of a miracle. Once a small trader in Bhachau, Shah had moved to Mumbai in 1987. The second morning after the tremors rocked the region, he had flown over his hometown, one of the worst-hit areas, leading a fleet of six choppers carrying relief material. Overcome with grief and despair as hesurveyed the ravaged terrain, he felt certain that the quintessentially decrepit,

desolate town would never be able to tide over this mammoth tragedy that had claimed more than 15,000 lives. Today, Kutch's kaleidoscopically changing skyline never ceases to surprise him. Mushrooming across the once-barren land are giant factories, linked with gleaming, smooth stretches of concrete trafficways. The picture of development and growth makes it almost impossible to believe that a little over six years ago, the place had been all but destroyed by the killer quake. Needless to say, the booming industrial scenario has generated employment opportunities for locals, boosting income and providing a fillip to lifestyles. That real estate is growing proportionately is evident from a huge housing colony, City Square Township, coming up on the outskirts of Bhuj. Opulent bungalows dotting the 100-acre landscape are but one sign of the economic surge. Around 11,000 people have found jobs in new establishments, whose founders were incentivised to set up shop by the excise exemption policy of the Union government and the sales tax exemption policy of the Gujarat government that came into effect in 2001, augmenting the efforts of local Kutch leaders. Among the investors are leading corporates like Essar, Parle, LG, Adani Anchor and Euro Ceramics. Their areas are as diverse as edible oil

processing, steel, ceramics, automobiles, consumer and electronic products,cement, fabric and coke-processing. A part from the tax incentives, the credit for the boom goes largely to the Narmada dam waters being channeled to the region. Of the 200 million litres made available to Kutch daily, nearly one-fourth goes to the industrial outfits. That figure is expected to shoot up once the height of the dam is raised. "The change is going to be more pronounced in the days to come," promises Paresh Shah, a director at Euro Ceramics which has set up a Rs 200-crore luxury tile manufacturing enterprise. "The Kutch era has just begun." Nensi Shah agrees. "After the industrial revolution in Kutch, I expect a green revolution in the next five years," he enthuses.

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THE HIGH ROAD TO RECOVERY

The 2001 earthquake in Gujarat reduced human habitations to rubble. But with efficient planning and implementation of the reconstruction, ravaged towns like Bhuj, are springing back to life. By Uday Mahurkar Just three years ago, it seemed like a giant bulldozer had come and razed cities in Gujarat to the ground. In the eerie silence amid the tumbled walls and cruelly disrupted lives, there was only one thought. Would the cities rise again? Today, the question has an answer. The cities have arisen. And Bhuj leads the way. On January 26, 2001, 6,356 houses in Bhuj were flattened by the quake. Now, people have already moved into 2,000 new houses and another 1,800 will be completed in the next two months. In Anjar town, where 1,771 houses were destroyed, 629 houses have come up and construction of 550 is under way. In Bhachau town, where 5,820 houses had collapsed, 1,430 houses have been built and 950 are coming up. Bhuj has a new look about it. Just 18 months ago there was nothing but fields in areas like Ravalwadi, RTO, Mundra Road and Swaminarayannagar. Today houses have sprung up. Small but planned houses are being made by the quake-affected on

their own but these follow the Government's development plan. As a result an altogether new city is coming up on the outskirts of Bhuj, with wide roads and other facilities like gardens, a town hall and hospitals. Bhuj is set to emerge as a modern town. People, of course, have conflicting views about the priorities of the rehabilitation schemes. Parvatiben Jani, who lived in a rented house before the earthquake, has just moved with her three-member family into a new, 35 sq m house in a colony of 200 houses built for the quake affected by the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan, an NGO, in Bhuj's gidc Nagar. Says Jani: "As somebody who lived in rented quarters, I had a dream of building a house of my own one day. Ironically, the killer quake made it possible." Her happiness is contrasted with the comments of Sunil Anam, a bank official who has moved into a new house in Swaminarayannagar. "Housing and housingrelated infrastructural problems should have taken priority over roads and gardens," he says. "What good are roads if the quake -affected continue to face problems on the housing front?" Yet, the model of rehabilitation in Kutch has won praise from experts

who

have

worked

in

restoring

quake-affected

settlements in Japan, the US, Turkey and Iran. M. Greene, a rehabilitation expert with the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, US, says the Bhuj reconstruction is commendable.

"Even a country like America would have had problems with rehabilitation given the magnitude of the challenge," he says. If an entirely new Bhuj has come up on the outskirts of the town, old Bhuj, a congested, 450-year-old township with narrow lanes and dense population, too has undergone a change. Take, for example, the Saraf Bazaar area where the lane was so narrow that it was difficult for two cycles to cross each other. The authorities convinced 500 odd shop owners that it was necessary to widen the lane keeping in mind the possibility of a quake in the future and they should, therefore, allow their shops to be sliced off. Today the road has been widened. The Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) has emerged as the key body in the rehabilitation of Kutch. It involved leading NGOs and reputed bodies like the IITs and the Centre

for

Environment

Planning

in

the

process

of

rehabilitation. As a result the approach to rehabilitation, unlike at many other places, was systematic and scientific. It was also people-focused, unlike in Latur, where people refused to move into houses built by government contractors. The GSDMA also opted for a public-private partnership. Thanks to this approach, 85 per cent of rural Kutch has got rehabilitated. However, the task for the urban model was Herculean by any yardstick. Over 17,000 families had to be rehabilitated in the four towns of Bhuj, Anjar, Bhachau and Rapar, which had

suffered the maximum damage in the quake. Plus, there was the problem of tenants who had no documents to support their claim for housing compensation. Victims used various pretexts to escape moving to areas demarcated by the Government for rehabilitation. But the Government's organised approach yielded quick results. While it takes 10 years to finalise a town planning scheme in the Indian environment, the blueprint for Bhuj was ready in three years. What helped the rehabilitation process was the posting last year of two official to implement the plansCollector

Pradip

Sharma,

who

is

concentrating

on

infrastructure, and Bhuj Area Development Authority (BHADA) Chief Executive K.B. Thanki, who is focusing on housing, a segment which is still posing some problems. A sum of Rs 4,070 crore has been spent on the rehabilitation of Kutch with over Rs 400 crore going to Bhuj alone. Appreciation of the rehabilitation work is accompanied by criticism. Many quake victims say that the Government's priorities are wrong and that it should have concentrated on housing first and then on infrastructure. But as V. Tiruppugazh, joint CEO, GSDMA, puts it, "On the housing front too we have done well, given the magnitude of the challenge. We made the township plans and development plan for Bhuj in a record time.

A people-driven approach invariably takes time to fall into place but it is always lasting." Another problem is how the Bhuj civic body will maintain this huge, almost five-star infrastructure in a two-star city once the Government withdraws. One way of tackling the problem is to generate revenue from some of the infrastructure projects through prudent taxation. The income of Bhuj's post-quake Hill Garden, an extremely popular hill-top haunt where BHADA charges Rs 2 per person as entry fee does hold out this promise. Another approach is to create a reserve maintenance fund. Then there are cases of wasteful expenditure like the Rs 132 crore hospital in Bhuj which is too big not just for the town but for entire Kutch. Yet there is a flip side to all this. Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi famously said that only Rs 15 of any Rs 100 allocated by the government for development reached the people. But looking at Bhuj, one could just this once smile off the prime ministerial remark as irrelevant. //TRUE TYPED COPY//

BBC NEWS

SOUTH ASIA 29 January 2011

Last updated at 20:12 ET

Gujarat's astonishing rise from rubble of 2001 quake Ten years on from the huge earthquake that razed swathes of India's western state of Gujarat, the BBC finds the place transformed from a pile of rubble in a neglected backwater into an economic powerhouse. How? Kutch is a remote region in the arid borderlands of north-west India. For centuries life was brutally tough - rains often failed, there were few jobs and the enterprising would emigrate. Then in January 2001 a magnitude seven earthquake struck, devastating a huge area, flattening cities including the district capital, Bhuj, and wrecking over 8,000 villages. Twenty thousand people were killed and more than a million others made homeless. Those who witnessed the devastation at the time must have thought this would set back development by decades. There was an outpouring of sympathy from around the world, much of it from Gujaratis living abroad. Some $130m (£80m) of aid poured in.

The Indian government was spurred into focusing on this muchignored region in a way it had never done before. The army was sent in to help with the emergency and $2bn of reconstruction money was allocated to the region. Contrary to what many feared, aid and government grants were put to good use. In the first two years after the quake, nearly all the damaged villages were rebuilt. Mithapashvaria, near Bhuj, is a small village that was completely destroyed. It was re-built with donations from the UK. Families showed us the ruins of their old dark two-room house, and then took us to the new village. Houses there were light and airy, with four rooms, running water and a toilet. The village also had a medical centre, a temple and communal areas it hadn't enjoyed before. Navin Prasad, of Sewa International, a non-governmental organisation, said that in village after village the reconstruction had produced a leap forward in development. "We have taken people out of the Middle Ages and into the modern world," he said.

This progress was repeated all over Kutch, and it is most noticeable in Bhuj. After the earthquake it was a sea of rubble. Radical plans Shocked and traumatised, residents fled, with many living in temporary accommodation for months. It took several years to implement plans for a completely new city. Houses had to be destroyed to make way for wider roads. Ten years on Bhuj has been reborn. It has two new ring-roads, an airport, parks and thriving shops.Pradeep Sharma was the government official widely credited at the time with pushing through the radical plans. "What you see is a new Bhuj," he says. "We have widened the roads, laid down water supply systems and underground drainage systems." The success of the reconstruction effort could never have been sustained without economic recovery.

This was triggered by the Indian government creating new taxfree zones, which sparked a boom in private investment. It is thought $10bn has come into the region, with £7bn more to come. Business boom Some 300 companies have established their businesses in Kutch and many more are queuing up to follow suit. Mundra is a microcosm of the scale of development. It was a small fishing port in the middle of a salt marsh before the earthquake. Now it's an industrial hub, handling hundreds of tonnes of goods every day. The Adani group which owns the port is now worth $7bn. They've also bought a coal mine in Australia and container ships to bring the coal back to India to feed the country's biggest power station. Mundra is expected soon to be bigger than the port at Mumbai. They are drawing on the ample supply of land and cheap labour. In nearby villages, the only work used to be in traditional crafts.

Now there are thousands of new jobs and Adani is taking over the work of aid agencies. Sushma Oza is a former aid worker who now heads the Adani Foundation. Jobs revolution "Our own budget for social development in this region is $6m a year, so you can imagine how we are trying to change the lives of people to live in better way," she says. Near Anjar, a city that was devastated by the earthquake, the biggest towel factory in the world was set up by Welspun in just nine months. Its vast mechanised looms weave 250,000 towels a day. It has taken over the British company, Christy's, the official towel-maker of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship. The chairman of Welspun, Balkrishan Goenka, says good local governance was key in choosing Kutch. "There were no local taxes for the first five years and no excise duties. Nor were there indirect taxes to government - they were exempted for five years," he says.

"Those were the primary benefits. More than that there was huge support from the local government so industry can come faster." Beside the towel factory, the jaws of the Welspun steel plant's furnace spit out great slabs of metal. Since the earthquake, over 110,000 new jobs have been created in Kutch, and there are thought to be hundred of thousands more on the way. With two years of good rainfall and with the 400-km (250-mile) water pipeline from the Narmada River, the population is now increasing as the job opportunities increase. The region is now a cornerstone of the Indian economy, a fact almost unthinkable 10 years ago.

//TRUE TYPED COPY//

ANNEXURE P-2 CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI Original Application No.49/2011 This the 7th day of April, 2011 HONBLE SHRI JUSTICE V. K. BALI, CHAIRMAN HONBLE SHRI L. K. JOSHI, VICE-CHAIRMAN (A) Dr. Kuldip N. Sharma, IPS, Managing Director, Gujarat Sheep and Wool Development Corporation Limited, Block No.18, 5th Floor, Udyog Bhawan, Gandhinagar-382011.

Applicant

( By Shri I. H. Syed with Shri Varinder Kumar Sharma, Advocates ) Versus 1.

State of Gujarat through Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat, Home Department, Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar-382010.

2.

Shri Amit Anilchandra Shah, Minister of State (Home), Government of Gujarat, Home Department, Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar-382010.

3.

Shri Narendra Damordas Modi, Chief Minister, Government of Gujarat, Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar-382010.

4.

Director General of Police,

Gujarat State, Police Bhawan, Gandhinagar-382010. 5.

The Union of India through Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, North Block, New Delhi-110001.

Respondents

(By Shri Tushar Mehta, Additional Advocate General with Shri Arun Bhardwah for Respondents 1 & 4; Shri Bhupender Yadav for Respondents 2 & 3, Advocates) ORDER Justice V. K. Bali, Chairman: Dr. Kuldip N. Sharma, an officer of the Indian Police Service of Gujarat Cadre (1976 batch), the applicant herein, through present Original Application filed by him takes strong exception to downgrading of his Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) for consecutive four years from 2003-04 to 2007-08 from outstanding to very goodon one single day by his accepting authority, who happens to be the Chief Minister of the State. Before we may advert to the pleadings made by the parties in the Original Application and the counter replies filed on behalf of the respondents, we may briefly mention the background of the case and the reason why it came to be transferred from the Bench in Gujarat at Ahmedabad to the Principal Bench. 2.

The applicant filed Original Application No.45 of 2010 in

the Bench at Ahmedabad seeking multifarious reliefs.

He

complained of his posting as Managing Director, Gujarat Sheep and Wool Development Corporation Limited, Gandhi Nagar, taking him from the main stream and posting him out of his cadre.

He also called in question the departmental enquiry

initiated against him vide memorandum dated 14.12.2009, and in the process denying him vigilance clearance for Central deputation. He also challenged the downgrading of the overall assessment in his ACRs for the period from 2003-04 to 200708.

An objection came to be raised by the respondents as

regards maintainability of one petition with multifarious reliefs unconnected with each other. This objection prevailed with the Tribunal. Aggrieved, the applicant filed a writ petition, which was dismissed with the observation that the OA could be confined to one relief, whereas, as regards other reliefs, he could file separate OAs. That being so, the applicant confined OA No.45/2010 to challenge to the charge memo dated 14.12.2009, whereas with regard to downgrading of his ACRs for the period aforesaid he filed OA No.331/2010 in the bench at Ahmedabad.

One of the Members, i.e., Administrative

Member, and there being only one at the relevant time available, recused himself from dealing with the cases filed by the applicant.

Justice Wajahat Ali Shah, Honble Judicial

Member presiding over the Bench, vide order dated 24.11.2010 referred the matter to the Chairman for constituting a Bench.

Meanwhile, the counsel representing the applicant, Shri I. H. Syed, addressed a letter to one of us (V. K. Bali, Chairman) to hear the matter in the Principal Bench at Delhi, as the only Administrative Member available in the Bench at Ahmedabad had expressed his inability to hear the matter. The letter was taken on judicial side as a misc. application seeking transfer of the matter from Ahmedabad to the Principal Bench, and after issuing notice to the respondents, an order dated 10.12.2010 came to be passed transferring both the Original Applications from the Bench at Ahmedabad to the Principal Bench. Whereas OA No.45/2010 after transfer to the Principal Bench came to be re-numbered as OA No.48/2011, OA No.331/2010 on such transfer has been re-numbered as OA No.49/2011. Against the order transferring the OAs to the Principal Bench, a writ came to be filed by the respondent State of Gujarat, which was dismissed as withdrawn, with liberty to the State to file representation on administrative side. Such representation was indeed filed but was rejected as an order passed on judicial side could not be changed on administrative side.

The

respondent State thereafter filed an application seeking review of the order transferring the matter to the Principal Bench, which, vide detailed order dated 2.2.2011, came to be dismissed.

3.

The applicant in OA No.49/2011 pleads that he is a

decorated officer of the Indian Police Service of the Gujarat cadre, and for his meritorious and distinguished services, the Government of India has awarded him the Police medal and Presidents Medal.

It is his case that he has an overall

outstanding service record.

A summary of his overall ACR

gradings from 1995-96 to 2007-08 has been placed on records as Annexure A-2, from which it would be seen that almost all his reporting, reviewing and accepting authorities have consistently rated the applicant as an outstanding officer in the overall grading, and since 1995, all his ACRs have been put up to the Chief Minister for assessment. It would be seen that all the Chief Ministers till 2002-03 have rated the applicant as outstanding.

We may not reproduce Annexure A-2 in the

judgment, but would only say that we have gone through the same and that does show that the applicant has been graded as outstanding by all reporting, reviewing and accepting authorities, except for the ACR of 1998-99 wherein he has been assessed as good by the reporting officer, but that was upgraded to outstanding by the reviewing authority, which upgradation was accepted by the Chief Minister, i.e., the accepting authority. The applicant was assessed as very good in 2000-01, but this report could not be assessed by the reviewing and accepting authorities, inasmuch as, whereas the

reviewing authority had retired, the accepting authority had demitted the office. All other ACRs of the applicant are indeed outstanding, of course, except those downgraded in respect of which present OA has been filed. 4.

While giving the background of the case, the applicant

pleads that he found from the website of the Ministry of Home Affairs in September, 2007 that his ACRs for the years 200304, 2004-05 and 2004-06 had not been forwarded, as per rules, to the Government of India by the State Government.

He

addressed a letter dated 19.9.2007 to the Principal Secretary (Home), requesting him to expedite the same.

He also

enclosed a copy of the website of the Ministry, which revealed the status of his pending ACRs. It is pleaded that since the work pertaining to writing of ACRs for the years 2003-04, 200405 and 2005-06 had to be completed as per rules by 31.12.2004, 31.12.2005 and 31.12.2006 respectively, the timelimit stood grossly violated in the case of the applicant, and, therefore, vide letter dated 22.10.2007 the applicant drew attention of the 1st respondent to the directions of the Government of India, Department of Personnel & Training (DOP&T), requesting that his ACRs for the aforesaid years be retrieved from the office of the Chief Minister without his making any remarks as the accepting authority, and the same be forwarded to the Government of India at the earliest. It is the

case of the applicant that he was given to understand that the ACRs of three years mentioned above along with the ACR for the year 2006-07, were all finally received in the Home Department from the CMs office on or about 30/31.12.2007. This was after the previous Government had demitted the office and the new one was sworn in on 25.12.2007. The ACRs were sent to the Government of India in January, 2008 in one bunch. The applicant applied to the State Government under the Right to Information Act asking for copies of his ACRs for the last twelve years. On perusal of the information so received, the applicant found that the 3rd respondent, in one go, had downgraded his overall grading in four ACRs pertaining to the period from 2003-04 to 2007-08 from outstanding to very good. The applicant submitted a representation dated 12.3.2008 to the Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat, pointing out that the downgrading of ACRs by the 3rd respondent was in violation of the All India Services (Confidential Rolls) Rules, 1970 (hereinafter to be referred as the Rules of 1970), as also the directives issued by the DOP&T. In the said representation, the applicant inter alia pointed out that the action of the Chief Minister in downgrading his ACRs would be improper and would deserve to be set aside for the reasons mentioned therein. The representation of the applicant was rejected after keeping the same pending for one year and nine months by the

1st respondent, vide letter/order dated 11.12.2009.

The

applicant had applied on 12.11.2009 under RTI Act to Home Department, Government of Gujarat for information in respect of the timing and the channel of submission of the above mentioned ACRs, besides copies of noting section of the files on which his ACRs were submitted to the Chief Minister, as also the noting section of the file on which his representation dated 12.3.2008 was dealt with. The Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Home Department provided information vide letter dated 11.12.2009. As per the reply of the PIO, the ACRs in question were, in chronological order, put up to the Chief Ministers office on 24.5.2005, 22.8.2005, 27.9.2007 and 11.10.2007. The PIO, however, did not supply to the applicant copy of the note sheet on which his ACRs were submitted to the CMs office, on the ground that ACRs of other officers were also submitted on the same file. It is the case of the applicant that this was not a valid reason for denying to him copies of note sheets because gradings are not recorded on the note sheet, and thus no other officersinterest would be involved, and that it was very important for him for verifying the date of CMs signature on it in view of the rule about demitting office, as well as for checking on discriminatory treatment meted out to him, and this was because (i) the date on which the CM signed the ACRs was not recorded by the CM on the body of the ACRs; (ii)

the information given to the applicant by the PIO that the ACRs were received in the Home Department from the CMs office on 20.12.2007, was found suspicious by the applicant, as no basis for that had been provided; and (iii) the note sheets should have the stamp of the CMs office as to when they had sent it to the Home Department, which would also show whether the CM kept all ACRs put up on the file inordinately pending or the applicant was singled out for it. The applicant again wrote to the 1st respondent vide letter dated 5.1.2010 for providing the above and other relevant information. He, however, received no reply. It is the case of the applicant that copies of note sheet received from the PIO would show that the PS (Home) initiated the note on 2.4.2008 on his representation dated 12.3.2008. It is pleaded that normally, notes are initiated not by the Head of the Department but by the subordinate officers in-charge of the concerned branch, which is the depository of the relevant rules and records in the department, and further in his note the PS (Home) negated the grounds of the applicants representation, viz., that inordinate delay in the CMs office, and no specific fact or reason cited by the CM for downgrading, were such as could be explained or remarked upon by the CM himself. However, the PS (Home) did that by ex post facto applying his mind on behalf of the CM. After a query dated 9.4.2008 of the MoS (H) was answered by the GAD, the Chief Secretary had put up the

file of the applicants representation to the MoS (Home) on 18.4.2008, and the MoS (Home) wrote on the file on 21.4.2008 for discussion with the ACS (GAD) and PS (H). Thereafter, the next note on the file is only after one and a half year on 12.10.2009 by MoS (H) himself, the 2nd respondent, wherein he has recorded that let us agree with the GAD, with nothing else about the discussion that he wanted to hold. The CM had only signed below this note in the month of November, 2009, whereupon the applicants representation was rejected on grounds provided by the PS (H). It is pleaded that this ex post facto justification by the PS(H) of the delay in the CMs office and of the downgrading done by the CM is not permissible, and moreover, it is clear that for no stated reason, on account of motives best known to him, the MoS(H) kept the representation pending for 18 months and activated it only in October, 2009. The timing of it around the applicants posting as MD, GSSWCL and thereafter issuing him with the charge memo would be difficult to brush aside as a mere coincidence because the growing unhappiness of the 2nd and 3rd respondents, is unmistakably palpable in it, further avers the applicant. The applicant sent a memorial dated 20.11.2009 to the President of India through the 1st respondent, with a request to set aside the remarks and grading of the 3rd respondent in his ACRs for the four years as mentioned above. He would not know as to what

has happened to the memorial and believes that the same may still be pending. 5.

The applicant avers that downgrading of his four years

ACRs would deserve to be declared as illegal, arbitrary and mala fide for the reason that the ACRs were remarked upon by the Chief Minister after the prescribed time limit was over, which would be against the mandatory provisions contained in rule 6A of the Rules of 1970, whereby the accepting authority is required to record its remarks within one month of the review of the ACR. The Cabinet Secretary, Government of India, vide his DO letter dated 21.6.2005 addressed to the Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat, had enclosed instructions regarding completion of the ACRs of All India Service officers, which contain a time schedule and the downgrading of ACRs is far beyond the period mentioned in the letter aforesaid, and that the downgrading of ACRs from outstanding to very good was done in violation of DOP&T letter dated 19.4.2005, which states that In any case where an entry is downgraded or upgraded, the authority downgrading or upgrading the remarks and overall grading should state, as part of the entry, the reasons for downgrading or upgrading with adequate justification in accordance with the instructions on writing of the ACR. There also have to be specific reasons for downgrading of the ACRs of the applicant from outstanding to very good. All that has

been mentioned while downgrading the ACRs of the applicant is that In view of the overall performance of the officer, he may be graded Very Good. It is the case of the applicant that for four years his reporting and reviewing authorities were different and all of them have graded him as outstanding and there were no reasons at all to downgrade him to very good, and if that was to be done, there ought to have been reasons for the same. It is also his case that he has reasons to apprehend that the Chief Minister had made the remarks on his ACRs for the four years mentioned above not on 20.12.2007, as informed by the 1st respondent, but has made the same after he demitted the office on 24.12.2007, a function which he could not perform as per rule 6A of the Rules of 1970, vide which he would not be competent as the accepting authority to accept and countersign any such confidential report, and where the accepting authority is a Government servant, after he retires from service, and in other cases, after he demits office.

It is the case of the

applicant that Assembly election results were declared on 23.12.2007. The following day the Chief Minister demitted the office and the Government led by the same very Chief Minister was sworn in on 25.12.2007. The Council of Ministers was formed on 4.1.2008. It is pleaded that the ACRs in question reasonably seem to have been written after the Chief Minister had demitted the office. The reasons as to why the applicant

apprehends as mentioned above, have been given by him as follows: (a)

The ACRs in question were, the applicant believes, received in the Home Department on or around 30/31.12.2007.

(b)

Copies of these ACRs were sent to the Government of India in January, 2008.

(c)

In none of the Annual Confidential Reports the Chief Minister put a date indicating when he accepted them.

(d)

If the Annual Confidential Reports in question were indeed accepted on 20.12.2007, they would have certainly been sent to the Home Department, as the latter had sent several reminders to the Chief Ministers office. Normally files which have been dealt with, are never kept pending in the Chief Ministers office, especially when the tenure of the Government is ending.

Well before the

election, the same are returned to the concerned department.

The applicant also finds it odd that

Respondent No.3, had the time or the mindset to accept ACRs on 20.12.2007 in the atmosphere of general election and forthcoming results.

In any case, the

information and records sought by the applicant vide his letter dated 5.1.2010 will make the things clear.

This

Honble Tribunal may also call for the files and records from Respondent No.1. 6.

From the facts as mentioned above, the applicant pleads

that the same would disclose abuse of power by the 3rd respondent, assisted by the 1st and 2nd respondents, in the manner and substance of the disposal of the representation of the applicant. It is further the case of the applicant that it is quite obvious that the CM could not have reasonably remembered the objective facts of his performance during the last four years when he made his remarks en bloc on his ACRs in the month of December 2007. The applicant also reasonably believes that the CM singled him out by sitting on his ACRs during the entire tenure of the previous Government headed by him, and that he did so to compel the applicant to accept his and 2nd respondents dictates, rather than to follow the law as a senior police officer. The applicant has given details of some investigations made by him, and it is pleaded that as he was not conducting investigations in the criminal matters as per the desires of the respondents, he was victimized. There would be no need to give details of the instances given by the applicant, as during the course of arguments Shri I. H. Syed, learned counsel representing the applicant, states that the applicant would not press at this stage personal mala fides of the

respondents in downgrading his ACRs, even though he would press for legal mala fides. 7.

Pursuant

to

notice

issued

by

this

Tribunal,

the

respondents have entered appearance and filed separate replies. Initially, the reply came to be filed on behalf of the respondents in the OA filed by the applicant containing all reliefs, but after the applicant filed a separate OA calling in question downgrading of his ACRs, separate replies have been filed by the respondents. 8.

In the reply filed on behalf of the 1st respondent, a

preliminary objection has been raised. It is pleaded that the applicant has invoked jurisdiction of this Tribunal under the provisions of the Act of 1985, and that this Tribunal is yet to adjudicate, inquire into and take a decision as to whether the Application contains issues fit for either adjudication or trial, and is yet to admit the same. The Tribunal, it is further pleaded, would have jurisdiction to summarily reject the Application filed under the Act, and that the affidavit in reply is being filed praying for exercise of powers by the Tribunal to summarily reject this Application. Maintainability of the Application is also questioned on the ground that the applicant has filed a statutory memorial before Her Excellency the President of India, and if the OA is admitted, such proceedings would abate.

The

learned

Additional

Advocate

General

representing

the

respondents would contend that when the applicant has filed a memorial, on which comments of the State Government has also been called for, the present OA would not be maintainable, and it would be premature and, therefore, needs to be dismissed. There are objections with regard to maintainability of the OA on the ground of personal mala fides the pleadings having not been supported by proper affidavit, but inasmuch as the applicant has not pressed mala fides in seeking the relief, there would be no need to make any mention of such averments made in the counter reply. reproducing

the

grounds

pleaded

by

On merits, after the

applicant

in

challenging the downgrading of his ACRs, it is inter alia pleaded that the main contention of the applicant on interpretation of statutory rules is with regard to alleged non-compliance with rule 6A of the Rules of 1970. The time limit mentioned in the rule, it is stated, is not mandatory, and that the very object and purpose for which the concept of writing, reviewing and accepting ACRs is evolved, is to ensure that irrespective of the cadre, the performance of each officer is evaluated at three different levels, and that depending upon the remarks made in the ACRs, an officer can take the satisfaction of his good work appreciated or can get an opportunity to improve his performance and can utilize his full potential which is necessary

for efficient governance and administration. It is pleaded that considering the object and purpose for which the ACRs are framed, the time limit stipulated not only in rule 6A of the Rules aforesaid, but the time limit in other rules is more directory than mandatory in nature. Even though, the term used in the rule is shall, but the same would not be mandatory as the consequences of not adhering to the time schedule have not been provided in the rules. It is pleaded that the expression shall by the rule making authority exercising the delegated powers would not, per se, make the provision mandatory, violation whereof renders the proceedings, actions or orders passed non est, and that whenever either a competent legislature or a rule making statutory authority intends to provide for a mandatory provision, with the clear intention for compliance mandatorily and intends the term shall to be interpreted in the mandatory form, such piece of legislation or subordinate legislation provides for consequence of noncompliance of the said provision. The term shall as used in rule 6A, is intended to be understood as a guiding principle and requires to be read as may, not capable of being given a mandatory character resulting into a situation where a delay of one day after thirty days, as stipulated in rule 6A, disentitles the accepting authority to look into the confidential remarks of the reporting authority and the reviewing authority. It is pleaded

that it is an experience not only with respect to the State of Gujarat, but with respect to other State Governments as well as Central Government also that rule 6A, insofar as the prescription of time limit is concerned, has been understood, interpreted, implemented and applied as a directory provision, and in most of the cases the reporting, reviewing and accepting authorities have recorded their respective remarks after the time limit stipulated in the aforesaid rules, and that the delay which has occasioned in the case of the applicant is neither an isolated case nor an action of discrimination even as per the case of the applicant, in view of the fact that along with him, 77 ACRs of other 23 IPS officers were also pending before the accepting authority, i.e., the 3rd respondent, with respect to different years, which were decided after the prescribed period stipulated in the aforesaid provision. As regards demitting of the office by the Chief Minister on 24.12.2007, it is pleaded that 77 ACRs of 23 IPS officers were received from the office of CM in the Home Department on 20.12.2007, including that of the applicant, which fact is contemporaneously recorded in the official records of the State Government. The remarks of the accepting authority in the aforesaid ACRs were, therefore, clearly recorded/made by the 3rd respondent prior to 20.12.2007. The Chief Minister, it is pleaded, after declaration of the results of the elections to the Legislative Assembly, on

23.12.2007 submitted his resignation on 24.12.2007 and formed new Government as per the new mandate and took oath of the office of Chief Minister on 25.12.2007, and, therefore, it would be factually incorrect to contend that the remarks of the accepting authority are made after he demitted the office. A copy of the contemporaneous endorsement made at the time of receiving the ACRs from the office of the Chief Minister on 20.12.2007 has been placed on record and marked as Annexure R-2 to the reply. It is further pleaded that on the same very day and simultaneously, the office of the 1st respondent received ACRs of other 22 senior level IPS officers, and, therefore, the allegations made with reference to the 3rd respondent having made the remarks under rule 6A of the Rules of 1970 after demitting the office, are based on mere surmises and conjectures and would be thus incorrect and false as per the record of the State Government. It is further pleaded that even if the case of the applicant is examined hypothetically accepting it to be true for the sake of argument to the effect that the Chief Minister gave accepting remarks after he demitted office, then also the action would not be contrary to rules, inasmuch as, as per explanation under rule 6A(2) of the Rules of 1970 he cannot be treated as having demitted the office if he continues to be a minister in the council of ministers within a different portfolio or in the council of ministers immediately

reconstituted after the previous council of ministers of which he was minister with the same or a different portfolio. As regards the downgrading of the ACRs and there being no reasons therefor, it is the case of the respondent that it is a question of law, and there is no statutory or other provision which requires the accepting authority to record elaborate reasons; what is statutorily required of the accepting authority is to record its remarks on the confidential reports; and in case of All India Service

officers

holding

senior

positions,

when

the

administrative elected head of the State viz. Chief Minister himself is the accepting authority, he may make his assessment based upon his personal experience and objective overall assessment of the concerned officer and may not give elaborate reasons which may have the potential effect of demoralizing an officer. Secondly, D.O. letter dated 29.4.2005 is neither a statutory provision, being part of any Act of competent legislature, nor is a piece of delegated legislation being part of the Rules. Nonetheless, the said D.O. letter also merely says that the respective authorities should not merely write I agree or I disagree.

The accepting authority in the

instant case, it is pleaded, has considered the overall performance of the applicant based upon which the said authority has recorded its remarks as required under rule 6A(1) of the Rules of 1970, and, therefore, it would not be correct to

contend that no reasons are assigned. It is then pleaded that by changing the remarks from outstanding to very good would not make any difference to the case of the applicant, as for promotion the benchmark is very good.

Receipt of the

representation made by the applicant against the downgrading of his ACRs is accepted, and in that regard, it is pleaded that the same was put up before the 1st respondent who put up a note dated 2.4.2008. After perusing the said note, the Joint Secretary, GAD, made his observations. The MoS (Home) also sought

further

clarification

from

the

GAD

(General

Administration Department), the department which deals with service matters of AIS officers.

GAD thereafter clarified the

points vide its note dated 10.2.2008, and ultimately both 2nd and 3rd respondents, considering the views expressed by the concerned department, concurred with the view of the GAD. As per the Gujarat Government Rules of Business, 1990 and orders of channel of submissions, all matters thereunder affecting the All India Services and posts have to be put up before the Chief Minister through GAD, and the representation of the applicant had to be decided by the Chief Minister as per the doctrine of necessity. The allegation of personal mala fides said to be entertained by respondents 2 and 3 have been denied, but there would be no need to make a mention of the same.

9.

Respondents 2, 3 and 4 have filed separate replies, but

as nothing based thereon has been urged during the course of arguments, there would be no need to make a reference of the pleadings made therein. 10.

We have heard the learned counsel representing the

parties and with their assistance examined the records of the case. Even though, it has been pleaded that the Tribunal would have jurisdiction to summarily reject the Application filed under the Act of 1985, and the same needs to be summarily rejected, no arguments in that regard have been raised during the course of hearing. The preliminary objection as regards maintainability of the present OA, the same being premature, as the memorial filed by the applicant, for which provision exists in the Rules, to the President of India, is yet to be decided, is, however, seriously pressed. Shri Tushar Mehta, learned Addl. Advocate General would contend that this Tribunal may dismiss this OA as the applicant under the statutory rules has availed the remedy of filing memorial against the downgrading of his ACRs, which is pending.

It is urged that this Tribunal may not

entertain the OA and rather dismiss the same for the applicant having exhausted the alternative remedy which has not culminated into any order as yet, and as such the OA would be premature.

11.

We have given our anxious thoughts to the contention

raised by the learned Addl. Advocate General, but find no substance therein. In view of provisions contained in Section 19 of the Act of 1985, a person aggrieved by any order pertaining to any matter within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal may make an application to the Tribunal as to redressal of his grievances. As per sub-section (4) of Section 19, when the application is admitted by the Tribunal, all proceedings under the relevant service rules as to redressal of grievances in relation to the subject-matter of such application pending immediately before such admission shall abate, and save as otherwise directed by the Tribunal, no appeal or representation in relation to such matter shall thereafter be entertained under such rules. Even though, technically, the OA may not have been admitted by specifically so saying, but once the same has not been summarily rejected and notice has been issued, it shall be deemed to have been admitted.

The Tribunal has

jurisdiction to summarily reject an application after recording its reasons, in view of sub-section (3) of Section 19. Surely, the Tribunal has not dismissed the OA summarily and has rather issued notice, which would be admission of the OA, even though not so specifically stated.

Lengthy arguments have

been heard from both sides. The proceedings initiated or taken by the applicant under the relevant service rules as to redressal

of his grievances in relation to subject-matter of the present OA, which would include, memorial to the President as well, immediately pending before the admission, shall, therefore, abate in view of provision contained in sub-section (4).

No

doubt, the Tribunal could direct disposal of the memorial, but it is not necessary to do so. Pendency of the memorial would be of no meaning and consequence, as on admission of the OA, the same shall abate.

In view of provisions contained in

Section 20 of the Act, the Tribunal is not to ordinarily admit an application unless it is satisfied that the applicant had availed of all the remedies available to him under the relevant service rules as to redressal of grievances. There is no bar as such so as not to entertain an application if the applicant may not have exhausted the remedy provided to him under service rules as to redressal of grievances. ordinarily.

The word used in the statute is

That apart, the downgrading of the ACRs of the

applicant was done on 24.12.2007.

The applicant filed the

memorial on 20.11.2009, which has not been decided till date. In view of provisions contained in Section 20(2)(b), a person shall be deemed to have availed all remedies available to him under the relevant service rules as to redressal of his grievances, if he has filed an appeal or made a representation and the same has not been decided for a period of six months. Indeed, the memorial filed by the applicant has not been

decided for a period of six months and, therefore, he can well be said to have exhausted all alternative remedies before approaching this Tribunal by filing the OA. In view of provisions contained in Section 21, if the applicant was not to prefer the present OA within a year of expiry of six months from the date he made the memorial, the same would have been barred by limitation. The memorial, as mentioned above was preferred by the applicant on 20.11.2009. The same, as mentioned above, has not been decided till date. If the applicant was to await the decision of the memorial and then to file the OA, the respondents would have raised an objection that the same would be barred by time. In view of provisions contained in the Act of 1985, as mentioned above, and in the facts and circumstances of the case, present OA cannot be dismissed for the applicant not to have exhausted alternative remedies available to him, or for the reason that it is premature. 12.

Before we may touch upon the core controversy in issue,

we may mention that Shri Mehta, the learned Addl. Advocate General, urged that the applicant cannot be an aggrieved person so as to knock at the doors of this Tribunal, as, at the most, his ACRs have been downgraded from outstanding to very good, and inasmuch as, there cannot be any embargo for the applicant in the matter of his further promotion, as even the very good ACRs would entitle him to any promotion, and,

therefore, he is not adversely affected, the OA needs to be summarily rejected. The fact that the ACRs of the applicant have been downgraded from outstanding to very good is not in dispute.

Learned counsel representing the applicant would

dispute the benchmark for promotion as only very good. In that regard, reference is made to a representation dated 29.7.2009 made by one Vinod K. Mall, Secretary, IPS Association, which is addressed to the Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Government of Gujarat, wherein it is inter alia mentioned that by convention, the requirement has now become to obtain at least three outstanding ACRs for promotion of IPS officers. On the basis of the representation aforesaid, it is said that the requirement for promotion of IPS officers is now to obtain at least three outstanding ACRs, whereas others may be only very good. We would not like to go into this question for lack of adequate material before us.

However, the

contention of Shri Mehta as noted above, in our considered view, has no merit. It is indeed true that the first anxiety of every Government employee is to get promotions in time and supersession by junior becomes a matter of great heart burning, the pangs of which may not go for the rest of the life of the employee. However, promotion is not the only desire of a Government servant. Since we are dealing with the case of an IPS officer, we will make a mention of avenues open to them, in

addition to their promotion in the ordinary channel. Before we may, however, do that, we may mention that in the case of the applicant himself, the Central Government had informed the State

Government

that

he

was

being

considered

for

appointment at the level of Joint Secretary in the Government of India. If the applicant was to go to the Centre, he would have gone on deputation. The state Government wrote a letter to the applicant on 17.3.2008 informing him that he was being considered for Central deputation and asked for his willingness. The applicant intimated to the State Government his willingness to be appointed at the level of Joint Secretary on 13.4.2008. The Principal Secretary (Home) endorsed that the applicant may be considered for Central deputation on 24.4.2008.

A

similar endorsement was made by the Chief Secretary when the file was put up to the MoS(Home) on 30.4.2008.

The

applicant was called by the Principal Secretary (Home) and the then DGP, who, it is the case of the applicant, persuaded him to decline Central deputation, on 10.6.2008.

The applicant,

however, sent a reminder on 16.6.2008 to the State Government to convey his consent to the Central Government. It is thereafter that the applicant received a show cause notice proposing to chargesheet him on 16.6.2008 itself. These facts we have picked up from OA No.48/2011. We may now proceed to mention that an IPS officer may be desirous, and in fact and

indeed, the applicant was desirous of going on Central deputation at Joint Secretary level. That is not the only avenue open to an IPS officer. He can be deputed to organizations like, IB, CBI, RAW etc. as well. Number of IPS officers would desire their deputation in these organizations. Such officers who may come on deputation to RAW are also considered and deputed even against some foreign assignments. Those who come to RAW are even eligible to become First and Second Secretaries in Indian Missions abroad. There are number of assignments within and out of the country where an IPS officer may be eligible and where be may be desirous to go.

For

Central deputation, the same benchmark as may be applicable for promotion, is not the criteria. As per convention in vogue, we are given to understand that out of ten, nine ACRs have to be outstanding.

Further, it is the comparative merit of a

candidate vying for such posts which becomes the deciding factor. Surely and definitely, one with the outstanding record would be preferred over those who may have only very good or good record. The applicant with downgraded ACRs would not be preferred over those who may have better record than him, thus

impeding

his

deputation

to

these

institutions/organizations, or to the Centre.

prestigious An overall

outstanding record would be relevant even after retirement of an IPS officer. We would not know as to in what Commissions

or Tribunals IPS officers are eligible for appointment during or after their retirement. What immediately comes to our notice is that a high ranking IPS officer who may come at the level of Secretary or Additional Secretary would be eligible to be an Administrative Member of the Central Administrative Tribunal. Selection in such Commissions or Tribunals goes by merit by considering the comparative merits of the candidates and not by the benchmark of very good as may be required for promotion in the hierarchy of the posts in the service. Downward service graph of the applicant would be an impediment in his way for Central deputation as also deputation in organizations as mentioned above, as also for foreign assignments, and for selection on prestigious posts in Commissions and Tribunals. It cannot, therefore, be said that the applicant is not aggrieved from downgrading of his ACRs from outstanding to very good. 13.

Downgrading of the ACRs of the applicant for the years

2003-04 to 2007-08 has admittedly been done on the same day, i.e., 24.12.2007. It is not in dispute that the applicant has outstanding service credentials.

All his ACRs from 1995-96

onwards are outstanding, except only one which is very good, recorded only by the reporting officer. The said report never came to be assessed by the reviewing and accepting authorities as already mentioned above.

The ACRs of the

applicant for consecutive four years as mentioned above have been downgraded on the same day, i.e., 24.12.2007. The main plea raised in support of the OA is that the accepting authority as regards the ACRs has necessarily to review and record its remarks

on

the

confidential

report,

which

may

be

accepted/modified, as is considered necessary, and the report has to be countersigned within one month. Rule 6A(1) of the Rules of 1970 reads as follows:

6A. Acceptance of the confidential report(1)

The accepting authority shall within one month of the

review, record his remarks on the confidential report and may accept it, with such modifications as may be considered necessary, and countersign the report. Provided that this requirement may be dispensed with in such cases as may be specified by the Government, by general or special order: Provided further that where the accepting authority has not seen the performance of any member of the Service for at least three months during the period for which the confidential report has been written, it shall not be necessary for the accepting authority to accept any such report. NOTE.An entry to this effect shall be made in the confidential report.

The applicant, in addition to rule 6A of the Rules of 1970, also places reliance upon a letter dated 21.6.2005 written by the Cabinet Secretary, Government of India to the Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat, accompanied by instructions for completion of ACRs of All India Service officers. In the letter aforesaid, it has been mentioned that DOP&T had prescribed a time schedule for furnishing the ACR forms to the members of the Service reported upon, completion of self-assessment and writing of report by the reporting/reviewing and accepting authorities, vide letter dated 26.5.1988, but the ACRs are frequently received considerably late. It is mentioned that there is need for timely completion of ACRs of members of the Services in order to streamline the process of recording of the ACRs, and that the existing instructions have suitably been revised.

We would make a mention of the instructions

hereinafter. 14.

Whereas, the learned counsel representing the applicant

would contend that the provisions contained in rule 6A of the Rules of 1970 followed by instructions dated 26.5.1988 conveyed vide letter dated 21.6.2005 are mandatory, Shri Mehta, the learned Addl. Advocate General representing the respondents, would contend that even though the word

shallmay have been used in the rule, and the instructions may also suggest a time limit, the same would be directory. 15.

The All India Services (Confidential Rolls) Rules, 1970,

came into being in exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (1) of Section 3 of the All India Services Act, 1951. Member of the Servicemeans a member of an All India Service as defined in Section 2 of the Act of 1951, in view of rule 2(d) of the Rules aforesaid. Admittedly, the applicant is a member of an All India Service as defined in Section 2 of the Act of 1951, and, therefore, the Rules of 1970 are applicable to him. These Rules are exclusively as regards maintenance, custody and recording of confidential reports by different authorities. In view of provisions contained in rule 5(1), a confidential report assessing the performances, character, conduct and qualities of every member of the Service shall be written for each financial year, or calendar year, as may be specified by the Central Government ordinarily within two months of the close of the said year. Proviso to the said sub-rule may not be relevant as the same deals with such members of the Service whose confidential reports may not be recorded for the time being. Even in case of a member of the Service who may relinquish the charge of the post, his ACR has to be recorded ordinarily within one month thereafter, as per provisions contained in rule 5(2).

In view of rule 5(5), where the authority writing the

confidential report under sub-rule (2) or sub-rule (4) of rule 5, retires from service, the confidential report shall be written not later than one month of the date of such retirement. In view of provisions contained in rule 6, the reviewing authority shall, within one month of the receipt of the confidential report, record his remarks on the said report. Sub-rules (1), (2) and (5) of rule 5 and rule 6, are reproduced below:

5. Confidential reports (1) A confidential report assessing the performances, character, conduct and qualities of every member of the Service shall be written for each financial year, or calendar year, as may be specified by the Government ordinarily (emphasis supplied) within two months of the close of the said year. 5(2) A confidential report shall also be written when either the reporting authority or the member of the Service reported upon relinquishes charge of the post, and, in such a case, it shall be written at the time of the relinquishment of his charge of the post or ordinarily (emphasis supplied) within one month thereafter: Provided that a confidential report may not be written in such cases as may be specified by the Central Government, by general or special order.

5 (5) Where the authority writing the confidential report under sub-rule (2) or sub-rule (4) of this rule retires from service, the confidential report shall (emphasis supplied) be written not later than one month of the date of such retirement. 6. Review of the confidential report 6(1) The reviewing authority shall (emphasis supplied), within one month of the receipt of the Confidential Report, record his remarks on the said report. Provided that this requirement may be dispensed with in such cases as may be specified by the Government, by general or special order. 6(2) Where the report is written by the reviewing authority under sub-rule (4) of rule 5, or where the reviewing authority has not seen, and the accepting authority has seen, the performance of a member of the Service for at least three months during the period for which the confidential report is written, the confidential report of any such member for any such period shall be reviewed by the accepting authority, ordinarily (emphasis supplied) within one month of its being written. 6(3) It shall not be competent for the reviewing authority, or the accepting authority, as the case may be, to review any such confidential report unless it has seen the performance of the member of the Service for at least three months during the period for which the report has been written, and in every such

case an entry to that effect shall be made in the confidential report. 6(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rules (1) and (2), it shall not be competent for the reviewing authority or the accepting authority, as the case may be, to review any such confidential report(a)

where the authority reviewing the confidential report is a

Government servant, after one month of his retirement from service, and (b)

in other cases, after one month of date on which he

demits office. Explanation:For the purpose of this rule, a Minister shall not be treated as having demitted office if he continues to be a Minister in the council of Ministers with a different portfolio or in the Council of Ministers immediately reconstituted after the previous Council of Ministers of which he was Minister with the same or a different portfolio. 16.

The instructions issued by the Cabinet Secretary vide his

covering letter dated 21.6.2005, which have been sent to all Chief Secretaries, including Chief Secretary of Government of Gujarat, prescribe a time schedule for furnishing ACR forms to the members of the Service reported upon, completion of selfassessment and writing of report by the reporting/reviewing and accepting authorities. The revised instructions accompanying

the letter aforesaid clearly stipulate that if an ACR relating to a financial year is not recorded by 31st December of the following year, no remarks shall be recorded thereafter, and the member of the Service will be assessed based on the overall record and self-assessment of the year concerned, if he had given his selfassessment in time. Suffice it to say at this stage that a timeschedule

for

self-assessment,

reporting,

reviewing

and

acceptance has been specified. 17.

From the provisions of rules it would be made out that

there is a clear distinction in the rules as regards the timeschedule for everything. Different language has been used in different rules as reproduced above. Whereas, with regard to some areas, adherence to the time-schedule is ordinarily, as regards others it is not later than the specified time or have to be or shall be within the prescribed time. Prima facie it may appear from reading of different rules that wherever there is scope for going beyond the stipulated period, the same is mentioned, and that being so, it would appear that wherever the words shall or not later than have been used, there would be no scope to go beyond the stipulated period.

However, the

contention raised by Shri Mehta may yet have merit inasmuch as, there are no consequences provided for not sticking to the time-schedule mentioned in the rules, and, therefore, use of words like shall or not later than may not be treated as

mandatory and be treated as directory. We may also accept the contention of Shri Mehta that the use of words may and shall to be directory or mandatory, is not conclusive, and in the context of the facts and circumstances of the case, the word may may be read as shall and shall may be read as may. In that regard, Shri Mehta places reliance upon some judicial precedents, which may need reference. 18.

The Honble Supreme Court in Madhya Pradesh State

Electricity Board & another v S. K. Yadav [(2009) 1 SCC (L&S) 353] held that it is well settled principle of law that where a public authority is required to pass an order in terms of the statute within a period stipulated therefor, non-compliance would not vitiate the ultimate order.

The facts of the case

reveal that the workman had gone on leave. Para 8(b) of the standing order required order to be passed as regards grant or refusal of leave, which was required to be communicated without delay. Para 8(b) of the standing order reads as follows: 8. (b) An employee who desires to obtain leave of absence shall apply to the manager or the officer authorized by him. It shall be duty of the manager or the officer to pass orders thereon on two days in a week fixed for the purpose; provided that, if the leave asked for is of an urgent nature i.e. commences on the date of the application or within three days

thereof, orders for the grant or refusal of leave shall be communicated without delay. While dealing with para 8(b) of the standing order, it was observed that the application filed by the workman was required to be considered and order thereon should have been passed within

the

period

specified

therein.

There

were

no

consequences provided in the standing order if the order was not to be passed within the stipulated time, and that being so, the time stipulated would be only directory and not mandatory. We may quote the relevant observations made by the Honble Supreme Court, which read as follows: 19.

It is now a well-settled principle of law that where a public

authority is required to pass an order in terms of the statute within a period stipulated therefor, non-compliance wherewith would not vitiate the ultimate order, must be held to be directory in nature and not imperative. In Dinesh Chandra Pandey v High Court of Madhya Pradesh & another [(2010) 11 SCC 500], it was held that the use of the words shall and may not always be decisive; it would depend upon facts of the case, conjunctive reading of the provision with other provisions, purpose sought to be achieved and object behind implementation of the provision. The facts of the case reveal that it was a case of departmental enquiry, where in view

of rule 14(8) of M.P. Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1966, a government servant could take the assistance of any other government servant to present the case on his behalf, but may not engage a legal practitioner for the purpose unless the presenting officer appointed by the disciplinary authority was to be a legal practitioner.

The

expression may, it was held, could not be read as shall. While dealing with the issue, it was observed as follows: 15.

The courts have taken a view that where the expression

shall has been used it would not necessarily mean that it is mandatory. It will always depend upon the facts of a given case, the conjunctive reading of the relevant provisions along with other provisions of the Rules, the purpose sought to be achieved, and the object behind implementation of such a provision. This Court in Sarla Goel v Kishan Chand (2009) 7 SCC 658, took the view that where the word may shall be read as shall would depend upon the intention of the legislature and it is not to be taken that once the word mayis used, it per se would be directory. In other words, it is not merely the use of a particular expression that would render a provision directory or mandatory. It would have to be interpreted in the light of the settled principles, and while ensuring that intent of the Rules is not frustrated.

The Supreme Court while holding so, also took into consideration its judgment in Malaysian Airlines Systems BHD (III) v Stic Travels (P) Ltd. [(2001) 1 SCC 509]. 19.

We have given our thoughtful consideration to the rival

contentions raised by the learned counsel representing the parties. It appears to us that depending upon the facts and circumstances of the case, the language of the statute and the purpose of legislation, whereas, the word may used in the statute may be mandatory, the use of the word shall may be directory.

Normally, when consequences of non-compliance

are not provided in the statute, the word shallmay not be interpreted as mandatory.

Further, as mentioned above, as

also held by the Honble Supreme Court in Dinesh Chandra Pandey (supra), as to whether the use of the word shall in the statute may be directory or not, would depend upon the facts of a given case, conjunctive reading of the provision with other provisions, purpose sought to be achieved and the object behind implementation of the provision. Insofar as, the rules are concerned, the consequences of not adhering to the time schedule for reporting, reviewing and accepting the ACRs have not been provided.

In view of the instructions that have,

however, been issued, adverted to above, CR form is to be given to the officer reported upon by 1st April.

The time

schedule for the officer reported upon for completing part-II of

the CR form has been fixed as 30th April, whereas the said schedule for the reporting officer to complete the CR is 31st May. The time schedule for the reviewing authority to complete the CR is within one month of receipt, whereas the same for the accepting authority is also within one month of its receipt. The completed ACRs have to reach the cadre controlling authority by 31st August. If the same are not received, the said authority would prepare a list of ACRs not received and follow up the matter with the Secretaries of the concerned Ministers and the Chief Secretaries of the respective States. Nodal officers have to be appointed to ensure that the ACRs of the members of Service, duly completed, are sent to the cadre controlling authority within the stipulated time, i.e., 31st August every year. The

State

Governments

Secretary/Secretary

in

are charge

to

designate

of

Principal

Personnel/General

Administration Department as nodal officers. They shall send a list each of the members of Service whose ACRs are to be written/reviewed

and

accepted

to

the

concerned

reporting/reviewing/accepting authorities by 15th April every year to enable them to ensure completion of ACRs within the time schedule. Nodal officers have to also ensure that ACRs of the earlier years, which are presently pending with the reporting/reviewing/accepting authorities, are completed and sent to the cadre controlling authorities by 30th June, 2005

positively. This part of the instructions, i.e., pertaining to earlier ACRs which may not have been completed, would exhaust in the year 2005, as the instructions came into being in the said year. Insofar as the ACRs for the years subsequent to 2005 are concerned, the time schedule has been prescribed as mentioned above. If an ACR relating to a financial year is not recorded by 31st December of the following year, no remarks shall be recorded thereafter, and the member of the Service will be assessed based on the overall record and self-assessment of the year concerned, if he had given his self-assessment in time. The reporting officer has to record his comments in the ACR of the officer reported upon within the stipulated time and send it to the reviewing officer, and in case the reporting officer fails to submit the ACR to the reviewing officer within the stipulated period, the nodal officer shall send a copy of the selfappraisal direct to the reviewing officer authorizing him to initiate the ACR, and shall also keep a note of the failure of the reporting officer to submit the ACR of his subordinate in time for an appropriate entry in the ACR of such reporting officer. If the reviewing officer may also fail to submit the ACR to the next higher authority within the stipulated period, the nodal officer shall send a copy of the self-appraisal alone or the selfappraisal along with the assessment of the reporting officer, as the case may be, to the accepting authority, and will also keep

a note of the failure of the reviewing officer to record his entries in time for the purpose of recording the same in the ACR of the reviewing officer. The nodal officer has to evolve a suitable mechanism to ensure that the remarks of the reporting, reviewing and accepting authorities are recorded without fail by the 31st December of the year following the year of assessment.

If an ACR relating to a financial year is not

recorded by 31st December of the following year, no remarks shall be recorded thereafter, and the member of the Service will be assessed based on the overall record and self-assessment of the year concerned, if he had given his self-assessment in time. 20.

Purposes of recording the ACRs are manifold. Surely,

the first and the most important purpose of recording ACRs is to afford an opportunity to the government servant concerned to make amends to his remissness if any; to reform himself; to mend his conduct and to be disciplined, to do hard work, to bring home the lapses in his integrity and character so that he corrects himself and improves the efficiency in public service. The entries, therefore, require an objective assessment of the work and conduct of a government servant reflecting as accurately

as

possible

his

sagging

inefficiency

and

incompetence. The defects and deficiencies brought home to the officer are means to the end of correcting himself and to

show improvement towards excellence. The confidential report, therefore, would contain the assessment of the work, devotion to duty and integrity of the officer concerned. This is the basic purpose of recording ACRs of an officer. However, the purpose of adhering to the time-schedule would be different. The main purpose of making timely assessment of an officer, as appears to us, would be that if there are some adverse remarks as regards integrity and efficiency of the officer, he must be informed of the same in time so that he may start improving immediately. The other object of recording timely ACRs would be that if there are some adverse remarks or even the overall grading is below benchmark as required for promotion, the officer, if he may be of the view that the same are not justified, may by representation seek expunction of the adverse remarks or upgradation of his ACR, as the case may be. If the ACRs are recorded after years and years, it may not be possible for the officer to make a meaningful representation, nor for the concerned authorities, like reporting, reviewing and accepting authorities, to even remember as to why there were adverse remarks recorded in the ACR of the officer, or why they had assessed his overall grading below benchmark. Yet another, purpose of recording timely ACRs is that the superior officer may not hold his subordinate to ransom by keeping the Democles sword hanging over his head for years to come.

There are indeed some unscrupulous officers who may want their subordinates to dance to their tunes and thus misuse them for their ulterior motives till such time they record their ACRs. Cases are not lacking where this has actually happened. Further, if timely ACRs are not recorded in time or in reasonable time, it may create administrative chaos; timely promotions of officers may become a distant dream, thus thwarting the rightful claim of the employees to go to higher echelons; DPCs may not be able to function for making promotions of the officers to higher echelons without knowledge as to work and performance of the officers; promotions may come about after years, resulting into non manning of the promotional posts. 21.

In consideration of the Rules of 1970, instructions dated

21.6.2005, as also the purpose of recording timely ACRs, we are of the considered view that non-recording of the ACRs by reporting, reviewing and accepting authorities within the time schedule, as mentioned in the rules, may not be fatal, inasmuch as the self-assessment of the applicant shall have to be taken as correct. If, however, the time stipulated for the authorities mentioned in the instructions may travel beyond 31st December of the following year, and there be no reasonable explanation for delaying the matter beyond 31st December, the selfappraisal of the officer shall have to be accepted. Likewise, if

the reviewing officer may not be able to do the duty enjoined upon it under the statutory rules and instructions by 31st December, the ACR recorded by the reporting officer shall have to be accepted, and so shall be true if the accepting authority may not do its part of the duty by 31st December of the following year.

The CR form has to be given to the officer

reported upon by 1st April, and he has to complete part-II by 30th April. Whereas, the reporting authority has to complete his part of duty by 31st May, the reviewing and accepting authorities have to do their duty within a month from receipt of the ACR from reporting and reviewing authorities respectively. If the ACR is recorded by all the authorities within the stipulated time, one months margin thereafter has been given for receipt of the ACR by the cadre controlling authority, the stipulated time being 31st August every year.

The instructions clearly

stipulate that if the ACR relating to a financial year is not recorded by 31st December of the following year, no remarks shall be recorded thereafter. If for instance, therefore, the ACR for the year 2006-07, which is required to be sent to the cadre controlling authority by 31st August, 2007, is not even received by 31st December, 2007, no remarks are to be recorded thereafter. The play in time for the upper limit is provided under instructions itself, and the consequences of the same are also provided. Despite this, considering the purpose of recording

the ACRs, as mentioned above, one may still say that consequences of not adhering strictly to the instructions may not be fatal, but surely and definitely, if there be a delay beyond 31st December of the following year, there has to be cause for the same, and if there be no reasonable explanation, the consequences mentioned in the instructions shall have to follow. If the respondents may be unable to state reasons what caused the delay in finalizing the ACRs despite the time stipulated under the instructions, they must come up with causes of the delay, and such causes have to be made justiciable. 22.

If the stand taken by the learned Addl. Advocate General

is to be accepted, reporting, reviewing and acceptance may be done at any time, like in the present case, for four years, three years and two years respectively, then the Rules of 1970 and instructions issued thereunder shall become nugatory, as if they do not exist at all. In the present case, no reason other than that the Chief Minister being a busy person, has been given. We appreciate that the Chief Minister of a State is indeed a busy person, but once, statutory duty has been enjoined upon him, he cannot abdicate it for years to come, and that he is a busy person would also not be a ground to clothe him with the power to report an officer at his discretion and will. On facts, we may only mention that we required the learned Addl.

Advocate General representing the State of Gujarat to state as to when the applicant was reported upon by the Chief Minister, whether other officers were also reported by him on the same day as regards their ACRs for more than a year. The learned counsel sought adjournment, and in all fairness, stated on the basis of a chart prepared by him that 21 officers were reported by the learned Chief Minister on the same day when the applicant was reported upon, but their ACRs were of the year concerned, or, at the most, a year earlier. There was no officer out of the 21 whose ACRs may have been reported upon after four years.

Inasmuch as, the delay in the present case in

reporting upon the applicant is wholly reasonably, downgrading done by the Chief Minister shall have to be ignored, and the ACRs of the applicant for the concerned years shall have to be termed as outstandingas reported both by the reporting and reviewing authorities. 23.

The applicant has yet another grievance. It is his case

that once, downgrading is done, it must contain reasons. Reference

in

this

connection

by

the

learned

counsel

representing the applicant has been made to instructions dated 19.4.2005 issued by DOP&T. These instructions have been specifically issued under the Rules of 1970 with the caption, AIS (CR) Rules-1970 Instructions under Rule 8(2) of AIS (CR) Rules, 1970 regarding adverse remarks.

After making a

mention of rules 8, 9 and 10 of the Rules of 1970, and keeping in view the suggestions and representations received by DOP&T from members of the Service, the Government took a decision to lay down the criteria in regard to writing of confidential reports and communication of adverse remarks under proviso below rule 8(2). The criteria that may be relevant for the purpose of deciding the controversy in issue, as enumerated in clauses (iii) and (iv) of para 2 of the instructions aforesaid, read as follows: (iii)

In any case where an entry is downgraded or upgraded,

the authority downgrading or upgrading the remark and overall grading should state, as part of the entry, the reasons for downgrading or upgrading with adequate justification in accordance with the instructions on the writing of the ACR. (iv)

Where the authority has upgraded/ downgraded the

overall

grading

without

giving

sufficient

reasons,

the

Government shall treat such an exercise as non-est/invalid. General terms, such as I agree or disagree with the Reporting Officer/Reviewing Officerused by the Reviewing/Accepting Authority shall not be construed as sufficient reason for upgrading/downgrading the overall grading given by the Reporting Authority/Reviewing Authority. These instructions are now being followed even by the DPCs while evaluating ACRs of the officers for finding that they are fit

or otherwise for promotion. Wherever the reporting and the reviewing officers may have downgraded ACR of an officer without describing any reasons, the same are being ignored. Number of such cases have come before us from time to time, but we may make a mention of a recent decision recorded by us in OA No.2833/2009 in the matter of Mrs. Parminder v Union of India & Others, decided on 8.3.2011. We observed in the order aforesaid that despite the fact that the reviewing officer in the case of one Shri Sugar Lal Meena had downgraded him, but since there were no reasons for doing so, the DPC had ignored such downgrading and found the officer fit for promotion, and the ACC accepted the recommendation of the DPC. We were dealing with the case of Mrs. Parminder, an Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, in whose case the DPC had found her fit for promotion to the post of Commissioner of Income Tax, but the ACC did not accept the recommendation of the DPC as the DPC had not specifically, in her case, ignored the below benchmark grading given by the reviewing officer. We need not mention as to why relief was given to the applicant as that may not be relevant, but suffice it may to say that the DPC had not gone by the downgrading done by the reviewing officer, which was sans any reasons. 24.

Downgrading has to contain adequate justification and

when the downgrading is done without giving sufficient reasons,

the Government shall treat such exercise as non est/invalid. The alleged justification in the present case is that the overall performance was reviewed by the Chief Minister. The remarks contained in all four ACRs of the applicant while downgrading them from outstanding to very good, read as follows: In view of the overall performance of the officer, he may be graded Very Good. This is too general and cannot be called an adequate justification for downgrading the ACRs of the applicant. If what the Chief Minister has observed is to be accepted as adequate justification for downgrading an officer, then in every case, what has been mentioned with regard to the applicant, would be mentioned.

This general assessment would be against the

instructions as sufficient reasons have to be recorded. Before we may part with this aspect of the case, we may mention that Shri Tushar Mehta has cited some judicial precedents in his endeavour to show that when the grading of an officer may be very good, the same may not be communicated only because other officers may have better gradings. We need not refer to any such judgment because the question that is raised by the applicant is that downgrading of his ACRs is without reasons and for that reason as well it needs to be set aside. Learned counsel representing the applicant has also urged that the Chief Minister downgraded the ACRs of the applicant after

demitting office, but it appears that inasmuch as, from the records the respondents have established that the downgrading was done before the Chief Minister demitted office, and, in any case, once he again came back as Chief Minister after Assembly elections, therefore, he could do it after demitting the office as well, no serious arguments have been raised on this issue. 25.

The applicant, even though has given up, for the time

being and has not pressed factual mala fides, he still insists, for the desired relief, on legal mala fides and arbitrariness. Legal malice, as defined in the Blacks Law Dictionary (Fifth Edition, p.806), would mean, thus: Such consists of either an express intent to kill or inflict bodily harm, or of a wickedness of disposition, hardness of heart (emphasis supplied), cruelty, recklessness of consequences and a mind regardless of social duty which indicates an unjustified disregard or for the likelihood of death or great bodily harm and an extreme indifference to the value of human life (emphasis supplied). Arbitraryhas been defined therein (p.96) to mean as follows: Means in an arbitrarymanner, as fixed or done capriciously or at pleasure. Without adequate determining principle; not founded in the nature of things; non-rational; not done or acting

according to reason or judgment; depending on the will alone; absolutely in power; capriciously; tyrannical; despotic; Corneil v. Swisher County, Tex.Civ.App., 78 S.W.2d 1072, 1074. Without fair, solid, and substantial cause; that is, without cause based upon the law, U.S. v. Lotempio, D.C.N.Y., 58 F.2d 358, 359; not governed by any fixed rules or standard. Ordinarily, arbitraryis synonymous with bad faith or failure to exercise honest judgment and an arbitrary act would be one performed without adequate determination of principle and one not founded in nature of things (emphasis supplied). Huey v. Davis, Tex. Civ. App., 556 S.W. 2d 860, 865. The delay, of course, which in the present case is massive, would still not come within the definition of legal maliceas per Blacks Law Dictionary reproduced above.

The same may,

however, come within the definition of arbitrary, as the accepting authority has to do the exercise as enjoined upon him statutorily within the stipulated time and not at his pleasure. We may not delve on this issue any more and would rather leave it at that, as the applicant would succeed on other grounds raised by him, mentioned above. 26.

For the reasons as mentioned above, downgrading done

by the Chief Minister of the ACRs of the applicant for the years 2003-04 to 2007-08 from outstanding to very good is set aside.

All the ACRs of the applicant, as mentioned above, shall be treated to have graded the applicant as outstanding, and the present Original Application would thus be allowed accordingly. There shall, however, be no order as to costs.

( L. K. Joshi ) Vice-Chairman (A)

( V. K. Bali ) Chairman

//TRUE COPY//

ANNEXURE P-3 FIRST INFORMATION OF COGNIZABLE OFFENCE Under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code given at the Police Station. M.Case No. 1/2008 F.I.R. No. 01/2008 Sub-district: Rajkot Zone, C.I.D., Crime, Rajkot District: Bhuj Date and Time of Crime: From 19/06/2001 to 05/11/2007 1.

Date & time of giving information: On 05/11/2007 Court of the Hounourable Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bhuj, Rajkot Police Station 20/02/2008 at 20:00 hours.

2.

Place of Offence Direction & distance from the Police Station: In Bhuj City

3.

Date of sending to the Police Station: On 20/02/2008

4.

Name & residential Address of the Complainant: Tensi James, Principal of All India Anti Corruption and Crime Prevention Council, Gujarat State, Residing at Vikas Enterprise, Opposite to Kalpataru Apartment, Hospital Road, Bhuj

5.

Name and address of the Bhuj persons against whom the charges are levied

1) Earth quake affected Bazaar Navnirman

Charitable Trust, Bhuj.

Address: Navi Janthabandi Bazaar, Bhujiya Taleti, Bhuj Madhapar road, Bhuj. 2) Along with the president of earth quake affected Bhuj Bazaar Navnirman Charitable Trust, its present as well as

previous Officers, members of executive committee as well as general members. 3) New and old officers and responsible members of the Janthabandi Bazaar Construction Committee made by the members of the above trust very itself for the construction of shops. 4) The then District Collector, Kutch. 5) All those persons that emerges out during the investigation of this case. 6. Brief description of the offence

Offence Under Section 200,

Along with Sections, muddamal Articles seized if any.

203, 217, 465, 466, 467, 468 471, 472, 474, 475, 484

and 120(B) of the IPC committed by the accused of this by planning a conspiracy had made false certificate and in such certificate had placed seal and signatures of fake government officers that does not exist at all case had obtain valuable government land for residential purpose by governmental assistance for the beneficiaries of such G-5 categorized commercial properties owners for which the government had declared the package amounting to Rs. 1,20,000/- for businessmen for obtaining illegal advantage of the same and in spite of knowing the same the government

officers had by not giving complain in this regard had hidden the illegal act and thereby have committed offence and etc. 7. Explanation in respect of delay in registering information, investigation etc. and procedure conducted regarding the investigation. 8. Disposal of the Muddamal Sd/- Illegible, Designation, PSO, K.G. Majipara In charge D.Police Inspector Kutch- Bhuj NOTE:

Registered under first Information and signature or thumb impression shall be taken below it in respect of its correctness besides upon the same the officer registering the complaints shall place his signature. As I was in charge of D. Police Inspector, Kutch-Bhuj besides, today with regard to the investigation of this case hearing ahs been fixed in the court of the Honourable Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court, Bhuj I have remain present today and accordingly had met A.P.P. Shri Bhuj and on informing the A.P.P. that presently the complaint of this case was received with the D. Police Inspector, Bhuj and the complaint was lodged with Rajkot Zone Police Station hence, after registering the office as the investigation of this case was to be carried out by D. Police Inspector Bhuj etc. information was given to the A.P.P. accordingly he had informed the Honourable Court besides, in this regard the Honourable Director General of

Police, Gujarat State had also sent a fax message vide Outward No. 166/2008 and in this regard also discussion were held with the A.P.P. and necessary understanding in that regard has been given to him besides, the order dated 05/11/2007 passed by the Honourable Chief Judicial Magistrate First Class in this regard to the P.I., C.I.D., Bhuj for carrying out investigation under the provisions of Sec. Sec. 156-3 fo Cr.P.C. Order dated 05/11/2007 and all complaints related to this case were obtained from Mr. Govindbhai, A.S.I., Bhuj Office and thereafter had returned back to Rajkot Office and taken over the charge of the investigation of the complaints and thereafter offence in this case was registered besides, the written complaint has also been given by the complainant of this case details thereof are as herein under.

In the aforesaid case the facts of the complaint of me the complainant are as herein under, it is humbly requested to take the same for kind consideration.

1)

I the complainant is residing in the midst of city of

Bhuj and I am giving honorary services as Secretary of All Indian Anti Corruption and Crime Preventive Council, Gujarat State, Kutch Unit and have authority to file the present5 complaint a copy of the writ file before the Honourable High Court of Gujarat is enclosed herewith it is humbly requested to

take the same for your kind consideration, the registration of my above mentioned institute is F. 4282 GUJ-4422.

2)

One Narendra Mansukhlal Resident of Bhuj had

given a complaint to the me the complainant herein above vide his letters dated 19/01/2006 and 07/05/2007 that a huge misappropriation has been adopted by the Bhuj Bazaar Navnirman Charitable Trust and the area that have been declared as prohibited areas by the Army officers in that area even without obtaining N.O.C. from the army officials construction of Bazaar has been carried out and by violating the conditions imposed in the order of the Honourable Collector a huge misappropriation ahs been adopted but in this whole chapter

fraudulent

pertaining

to

valuable

land

of

the

government, government funds and government subsidy of crores of rupees has been carried stated to have been carried out.

3)

In this regard, I the complainant has obtained

information from the Collector Officer under the Right to Information Act and according to this information, a person whose business-profession ahs been completely destroyed in earthquake in i.e., a person who ahs been categorized under G-5 category shall only be given benefit of such scheme and in this regard the government ahs also passed a resolution and

the category of the loss and damage has been prescribed by the General Administration Department of the Government of Gujarat in its book of September, 2001 copy of the same is enclosed herewith, it is humbly requested to take the same for kind consideration.

Besides as per the above mentioned facts and details, a fitness for availing benefit of this scheme was only for those who have been categorized under G-5 category of earth quake hit persons and except them any one was not entitled to avail benefit of this scheme in any way.

Further, the certificates pertaining to the damaged and destroyed commercial properties under G-5 category were produced by the trust before the Collector and after due verification of these certificates produced before the Additional Collector only and according to condition No. 5 and 8 the collector was compulsory suppose to issue certificate to the beneficiaries of the same and thereafter only the beneficiaries were supposed to be fit to posses a qualification for certified member and this responsibility was to be performed only by the then Prevailing District Collector in his capacity of being competent authority but he has failed in doing so.

Besides, land admeasuring Acre 16 out fo land bearing Survey No. 363 wherein the construction work of the shops

have been done was under the prohibited area as declared by the army the above place (Bhujiya Dungar) was reserved as prohibited by the army for storing its arms and ammunitions hence, before starting the construction work N.O.C. was require to be obtained from army authorities by the trust, but till date any N.O.C. has not been obtained by the trust from the army authorities, such kind of crystal clear conditions have been imposed by the Revenue department, Government of Gujarat in its order dated 03/09/2009 wherein it has been clearly mentioned regarding obtaining of N.O.C and in letter dated 06/03/2009 of the then Collector addressed to the trust that without obtaining N.O.C form the military authorities any kind of construction cannot be carried out and in spite of the same without following such important procedures the Construction committee of the Bhuj Jaththabandi trust has done construction work about 400 shops and has started the market thereof.

4)

Over and above the details as mentioned herein

above, we have also come to know during our investigation that in this regard on 02/08/2002 the District Collector had after the certificates of the beneficiaries being checked out for the purpose of construction of Jaththabandhi Market regard called for a special report from Deputy Collector (Earth Quake) Bhuj and with regard to that report on 10/10/2006 under the confidential letter of the Deputy Collector Bhuj had submitted a

detailed report to the Collector, Bhuj and in that it was mentioned that below mentioned offence has been committed.

In that report list of total 401 names has been examined and in that condition of case wise remarks and defect was mentioned in detailed in that out of all the cases in 22 cases residential houses have been handed over. The letters that have been written upon the letter pad of the earthquake affected Navnirma Charitable trust addressed to the Collector are all related to the earth quake affected but in all the them dates have not been mentioned and any signature of any authorized office is also not found in the same. Besides, during the month of April, 2006 with regard to the same question necessary registers were handed over to the Collector and during that time as the aforesaid registers were frequently required by this office (Deputy Collector, earthquake Bhuj) the staff had visited the collector office and at that time it was experienced that the registers were utilized by the non government officials and persons over and above the government

staff,

these

persons

could

possibly

be

direct/indirect legal/illegal beneficiaries of Navnirman Charitable Trust. Besides, out of the above cases in some of the case it was found that some of the beneficiaries were other than those of G-5 category.

Thus, in this way as per the details mentioned therein above, it was informed by the Deputy Collector (Earthquake) Bhuj through his confidential letter that a huge misappropriate is being played. I have obtained copies of this letter of the Collector as well as the confidential letter of the Deputy Collector along with the copy of the statement enclosed with it legally under the right to information act and the same is hereby produced along with its relevant supportive evidences vide list. Thus, as mentioned herein above the Deputy Collector had crystal clear informed the Collector vide his confidential letter dated 10/10/2006 that a huge misappropriation is being played and in spite of the same in spite of the collector being very well versed that the criminal offence has been committed and in spite of it being his foremost duty to take legal steps against the same he has not done so and by doing so he has tried to inspire the accused persons and for the reasons best known to him he ahs tried to hide the whole chapter and thereby has helped the accused in committed offence against the government. 5)

In the aforesaid case I the complainant institute

has obtained the certificates produced by the beneficiaries the Jaththabandhi Bazaar of the Bhuj Bazaar Navnirman Charitable trust and the other documentary evidence under the right to information act and looking tot eh same in this case any

beneficiary has not been certified by the collector, Bhuj- Kutch and out of the conditions of the construction of the market it was one of the first and foremost condition that, the certificate should only be issued by the Collector very itself, but hi this whole case any thing like that has not happened. The certificates that have been stated to be issued to the beneficiaries in those certificates the signatures of the officers are found missing in some of the cases the designations that have been mentioned under the certificate such designations does not exists at all in such departments and in past also any such kind of designations were not existing at all and thus, in this way by mentioning totally fake and implanted designations by impaling false members and offices of the Navnirman Charitable Trust by false beneficiaries being involved with the government officials valuable government land have been illegally obtained.

During

the

investigation

carried

out

by

me

the

complainant institute it has also come to know that not only this but, the signatures placed in these fake certificates it has been found that one signature has been scanned and thereafter properly arranging it on the papers its prints have been taken out. Further in this whole chapter, the Deputy Collector, Bhuj City has vive his letter dated 27/07/2006 addressed to the

collector,

Bhus-Kutch

clearly

informed

him

that,

“the

Jaththabandhi bazaar being constructed in government land admeasuring 17 acres of land bearing Survey No. 363 made by the officers of the Earth Quake affected Bhuj Bazaar Navnirman Charitable trust was illegal, bogus and attempt has been make to transfer the shops in the names of fake beneficiaries of the hence, immediately a “no entry”

order shall be passed and

before the trustees succeed in their such malicious intention in order to illegal grab over the government land such malicious intention on their part shall be

restricted” in spite of such

information being given and the collector having all authorities to take legal steps in this regard in this whole chapter the collector has remain dormant spectator, such an act on his part is intentional hence, the same is an offence. Over and above this, during the investigation carried out by me the complainant institute, the list of the beneficiaries taking benefit of this jaththabandhi market along with the list with the confidential letter dated 10/10/2006 has been obtained by me the complainant from the deputy Collector under the right to information act the same is produced with a separate list. The persons who are included in that list and accused amongst the beneficiaries of the charitable trust are

Sr. No.

Report No.

Name of the Firm

Category

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

114 127 136 141 154 246 249 277 284 295 298

Gayatri Trading Co. Vinodchandra Mohanlal Th. Chhaganlal Madhavji Harsha Traders Savan Trading Co. Nitinkumar &Co. Atul Trading Co. Shah Ravilal Hathibhai Th. Chaganlal Madhavji & Sons Jitendera Maganlal Sheth Kantilal L. Gaur

G-5 G-5 G-5 G-5 G-5 G-5 G-5 G-5 G-5 G-5 G-5

The certificates with respect to the above names and the names as mentioned in the list are proper and as per the belief of the institute and as per the documents produced by them they can be really believed to be beneficiaries and this institute does not have any complaint against them. 6)

Names mentioned over and above the above

names are the offices and members of the earth quake affected Bhjuj Bazaar Navnirman Charitable trust are fake beneficiaries and by making false representations they have entered the valuable government land situated in the area prohibited by the army, besides, the affirmations and affidavits produced by them are also misleading and this whole scandal ahs been raised and implanted by the members and officers of the earth quake affected Bhuj Bazaar Navnirman Charitable trust and in this whole chapter misuse of government fund and subsidy of crores of rupees of government has been shaped up. 7) On us coming up to know in this regard, we had informed the head of police department vide our letter dated 30/05/2007 and

had informed him that as an offence is being committed complaint

shall

be

lodged

by

them

but

the

District

Superintendent of Police had handed over the investigation of our letter along with the documentary evidences enclosed therewith to the Economy Cell and this Economy Cell had also examined the evidences and has also found that in this case prima facie an offence has been committed. Further with reference to my letter the Economic cell had carried out a detailed investigation and had submitted detailed report to the Police Office, the P.S.I. of the Economic Cell who had carried out the whole investigation in this regard as such Shri S.J. Chudasama had informed us vide his letter dated 25/07/2007 that, in this case it seems at the end of the investigation that in the report false certificates have been issued and false signatures have also been placed hence, further proceedings are liable to be carried out by his office or by the Collector office and if his office will file a criminal complaint to the police or before the Hounourable Court then further proceedings can be carried out by the police, the said letter is produced with a separate list it is humbly request to take the same for kind consideration. 8) In this case as the then Collector is an accused, the police, Collector and Deputy Collector etc. are not filing any complaint agsint him as he is under government administration and are

also making excuses to file the complain hence, in this case the damage has been directly caused to the government, and because we the complainant institute are working for prevention of crime and corruption this present complaint has been produced herewith. 9) In this case necessary court fees stamp has been produced on the complaint. 10) The Honourable court has the appropriate jurisdiction to take the cognizance of the offence in this case. 11) It is therefore humbly requested that, The accused of this case have being falsely and illegally involved with each other with the help of each other had formed a conspiracy

and as a part thereof had implant fake

documentary evidences for valuable government land and had obtained the same at a nominal price; inspite of the accused not having fitness for being beneficiary as prescribed by the government funds and for that had placed seals of the government officers that does not have any existence at all besides, in order to obtain advantage illegally had raised earth quake affected Bhuj Navnirman Charitable Trust and had produced false certificates before the government besides, by producing false affidavits, affirmations and on the basis of the

misrepresentations before the government had obtained subsidy from the government for obtaining the valuable government land on nominal prices from the government and thereby have illegally grabbed the government land. By violating the terms and conditions places by the government for obtaining such land the name of the accused no. 1 institute by the accused no. 2 had for his personal interest and use utilized the government funds and subsidy and all the members and officers of the accused no. 2 under the name of accused no. 1 institute had by misusing crores of rupees of government, according to circular dated 19/06/2001 of the Industries department of the government, the businessmen whose business place has been destructed during the earth quake and is possessing certificate for damage under the G-5 category such beneficiaries businessmen shall be given direct financial assistance of Rs. 1,20,000/- through the District Industry center and the same have been obtained by doing such kind of forgery and act on the part of the accused no. 1 and accused no. 2 being illegal any kind of legal complaint have not been filed against them or any legal steps have also not been taken against them on the contrary the accused no. 4 had provided them help, besides, there are very high possibilities that during the investigation involvement of the other accused can also emerged out hence, against all the above mentioned accused it

is our humble request to carry out investigation and file complaint against the provisions of Sec. 200, 203, 217, 465, 466, 467, 468, 471, 472, 474, 475, 484 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and to impose punishment upon them setting an example in the society. Date: Place: Bhuj-Kutch

Sd/- illegible Principal Secretary All India Anti Corruption & Crime Prevention Council, Gujarat State Kutch Unit IDENTIFIED BY ME Sd/- illegible Advocate Dt: 20/02/2008

COPY FORWARDED WITH COMPLIMENTS TO The Honourable Chief Judicial Magistrate, Court, Kutch-Bhuj Sd/- illegible D.Police Inspector, Kutch- Bhuj

ANNEXURE P-4 FIRST INFORMATION REPORT OF COGNIZABLE OFFENCE (Under Section 154 of the code of criminal procedure) Received dt. 01-04-2010 at 12-05 PM. Sd/Special Judge Kachchh-Bhuj District Bhuj

Po. Station CID Crime, Rajkot zone Po.Sta. Year 2010 First Information No. 3/10 Date 31-3-10

2 (1)

Act

(2)

Act 1988

(3)

Other Acts and Sections (A) Date and time of commission From dt. 2004 to 2009 of an offence From hrs. to hrs.

Prevention sections

of

Sections corruption Sections 7,11,13(1) (b) and 13(2)

(B) Offence declared (in Po.Sta.)

(4) (5)

sd/Special Judge Kachchh-Bhuj

Date 31-3-2010 Time 21-00 hrs.

(C) Stations Diary Entry (Registration No. 2010 Time 2100 hrs. How the information was written received Scien of offence (A) Distance At a distance of 260 and direction of scene of offence K.M. on North Bhuj from Po.Sta Custom Collector office Bhuj (Kachchh) unit Name of Beat No/O.P./Choaky (B) Address (C) Name of that Po.Sta. if offence is out of the Po.sta area Distrcit?City

(6)

State Complainant/informant (A) Name Shri V.M. Gohil, D.P.I. Jamnagar for Governemnt Investigation Cell, CID Crime (B) Father’s/Husbands Name C) Date of Birth/Year (D) Nationality (E) Passport No..............Date of Please/address of office issuing passport... (F) Occupation D.Po.Insp. (G) Address CID Crime, Jamnagar, Investigatin Unit.

(7)

(8)

(9)

Names, addresses full details of accused (Information with all details of identified/ suspect/unidentified accused) 1. Pradipkumar Narenkarnath Sharma 2. 3. Reason of late receipt of Fact of crime was information declared during investigation of Rajkot Zone M Case No. 1/08. If that is committed, description of the property stolen

(10) Total value of property stolen (11) Accidental death No. (if any) FIR page No. 2 of Rajkot Zone Po.sta. C.R.No. 29 2/10 u/s 7, 11, 13 (1)B, 13(2) of the prevention of corruption Act. 30 Page No. 3 12.

Details of First Information Dt. 31-3-2010

I, V.M. Gohil, Detective Police Inspector, CID Crime, Jamnagar, Investigation Cell, Jamnagar. The fact of my complaint for the government is such as in my area of operation I ahve to do work relating to CID Crime within the limits of the whole of District Jamnagar. Besides that the head office of the CID crime is situated at Gandhinagar, the work is to be carriedout as per legal orders that may be given by high officials. I have been making investigation of CID Crime Zone, Rajkot Zone Police Station M Case No. 1/08 u/s 200, 203, 217, 465, 466, 467, 471, 468, 484, 406, 409, 120-B of I.P.C. and sections 7,11,13 of the prevention of corruption Act. Shri

A.H.Jadeja,

D.Po.I,

Bhuj,

Investigation

Cell

was

investigation the said case previously, on his transfer to investigation cell, additional charge of Bhuj was entrusted to me, meanwhile, on 19/8/09, I had taken over the said investigation from Shri A.H.Jadeja, meanwhile on 12-11-09 appointment of Shri N.C. Chauhan, D.Po. Ins. made was in Investigation cell, Bhuj, but I am conversant with the said investigation, therefore, it was ordered under the Additional Director Generla of Police CID, Crime, and Railways Guj. State, Gandhinagar to maintain this investigation.

Out of accused in the said case, Shri Pradipkumar Nirankarnath Sharma, accused, who was performing duty a district collector and District Magistrate, Bhuj when the offence took place. The Government had granted land under Resolution dated 3-9-01 to Nav Nirman Charitable Trust, Bhuj, for constructing wholesale market, in which the government had made conditions, he and other accused gathered together, in collusion with the President and other trustees of the said Trust made scheme to violate conditions and to grab government land and as per scheme, to grab the Government land and to mark available illegal benefit to this Trust, made phasewise illegal orders and took actions in its interest, took actions against the interest of the Government, allegations are of cheating. During investigation of crime, evidence of such fact is found that Shri Pradip Sharma was performing duty as a District Collector and District Magistrate, Bhuj (Kachchh) in the year 2004 and 2005 and in this way he was a public servant, he was taking care of charge of Administrative Officer of the whole of Kachchh district and in this way, the geographical area of the whole of Kachchh district was under his area of operation. During the duty wellspun company which is situated in Varsha Medi Village, Taluka Anjar, Dist. Kachchh, Bhuj, Shri Pradip Sharma secured our mobile SIM card No. 99251 99799 from Shri Asim Niranjanbhai Chakravati, Director, without making

payment of any type of money of consideration for his personal use misusing his official position of his duty get paid all bills about that totaling amount of Rs. 2,24,036/- by the wellspun company and it is established that as a public servant he has committed an offence of criminal misconduct. In that way in the year 2005, Ratan Enterprise which is situated in Gandhidham and it is a transport company procured mobile SIM card from Shri Ranjitsinh Lakhtavarsinh Bhat, mobile SIM card Number 98240 01729 without making payment of consideration of any kind or price, misusing his official position, used for his personal work bill the year 2009, get paid the money of bill of utilization amounting to Rs. 46, 554/- by Ratan Enterprise under his jurisdiction, It is established that he has committed an offence of serious criminal misconduct. sd/Signature of Po.Sta. Officer //TRUE TYPED COPY//

ANNEXURE P-5 FIRST INFORMATION REPORT OF COGNIZABLE OFFENCE (Under section 154 of the code of criminal procedure) 1.

Distrcit:

Bhuj Po.Sta. CID Crime, Rajkot Zone, Rajkot Year

2010 First Information No. 9/10 at 25-9-10. 2.

Act

Section

1)

I.P.C. Sections 217, 409, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120B,

2) 3) 4)

3.

A)

Date and time of commission of an offence : from date

to dt. 3-3-2004 from December 2004

to B)

Offence declared (in Po.sta.) date 24-9-2010 time : 23.00

C)

Station Diary Entry (Registration) No.........

Time

23.05 4.

How the information was received written or oral.

5.

Scene of offence. Distance and direction of scene of

offence Moje Varsamedi, Village Anjar and the office of the District Collector, Bhuj. Name Beat number/O.P./chawky. B)

Address:

Bhuj

C)

Name of that Po.Sta.of Offence is out of that Po.Sta. area. Disrcit, City

6.

State.

Complainant, informant: A)

Name:

Smt. Parikshita V. Rathod, Deputy

Superintendent of Police, Gandhinagar Zone. B)

Name of father, husband: Vijaykumar Devantbhai Rathod

C)

Date of birth: year 22-2-19

D)

Nationality: Indian

E)

Passport No.

Date of issue of passport.

Place/address

of

office

issuing

passport

Ahmedabad F)

Occupation:

Deputy Superintendent of Police,

Gandhinagar G) 7.

Address:

Full details of name, address of the accused. (Information with all details of identified/suspect/ unidentified) 1)

Pradipkumar Nirankarnath, I.A.S. the then Collector, Bhuj,

2)

The Then Town Planner, Bhuj.

8)

Reason of giving the information late.

9)

If theft is committed, full description of the property stolen.

10)

Total value of the stolen property

11)

Accidental death number (if any)

12)

Details of First Information

Date 25-9-2010 I, Smt. Parikshita V. Rathod, Deputy Superintendent of Police, D. Crime, Gandhinagar zone, age: 41 years residing at D/27 Government Colony, Vastrapur, Gurukul. My complaint for government is this that I have been discharging duty as a Deputy Superintendent of Police, C.I.D.

Crime Branch, Gandhinagar since 26-2-2008. In my area of operation of Gandhinagar zone there are investigation cells C.I.D. crime of Mahesana, Patan, Palanpur and Sabarkantha. Districts. I have to exercise supervision of these cells. Besides this, I have to make investigation of crimes that may be entrusted to me by the D.G.P., C.I.D. crime and Railways, Gujarat State, Gandhinagar and the preliminary inquiry and also includes legal functions that may be entrusted as per order of the superior officer. On

the

basis

of

the

Home

Department

order

no.

V.1/PRCH/102010/16 dated 16-8-10 the hon’ble D..P., CID crime had entrusted preliminary inquiry to me on 4-9-2010. The inquiry report thereof was sent to the Deputy Director General of Police Cr. 2 CID crime under this office letter No. Ga/zone/Ja-No.719/10 dated 23-9-2010. On the strength of that the ADGP, Crime has, under his letter No. TRB/PT 13-10-749 dated 25-9-10, authorised me to tile complaint. Shri Pradipkumar Nirankarnath Sharma, I.A.S. was performing duty as the Collector and District Magistrate, Bhuj from 2-5-03 to 3-7-2006 and during the tenure of his duty applications were made by 1) M/.s Welspun India Ltd., 2) M/s. Welspun Power and Steel Ltd.,. M/s. Welspun Gujarat Style Rohran Co.Ltd., for establishment of their textile industry at Varsamedi village of

Taluka Anjar, District Bhuj for allotment of lands of survey Nos. 890, 652, 692, 665, 667, 670, 671, 668, 680, 684, etc. for industrial purpose. In pursuance thereof meetings of the Bhuj District Land Valuation Committee was held on dt. 19-5-2003, dt. 20-7-2003, dt. 10-8-2004, dt. 10-8-2004, 1-10-2004 and 2112-2004 under the chairmanship of Shri Sharma, Collector. As members of that committee the Distrcit Development Officer, Bhuj, the Town Planning Officr, Bhuj and a member secretary the Resident Deputy Collector, Bhuj remained present of that on the agenda sr. no. 54 of the Distrcit Valuation Committee held on 20-7-04, the land admeasuring 20,234 sq. mtrs. of s.No.890 of Varsamedi village of Taluka Anjar, was allotted to Welspun India Co. Ltd. Thus, only one application of Welspun India Co.Ltd. was included in the agenda dated 20-7-04 after determing price, were as on inspecting the orders of allotment of made by the office of the Collector, Bhuj for alloting lands at at Varsamedi village of Taluka Anjar, for industrial purpose to M/s. Welspun India Co.Ltd. and M/s. Welspun Power and Steel Ltd. and Welspun Style and Rohran Ltd. It is found that total 9 orders were made in the meeting of the District Land Valuation Committee dated 30-7-2004, which are of 20234 sq. mtr. out of survey no. 890, 2) 20234 sq, mtrs. out of s. No. 890 4) 234 sq. mtrs. out of s. No. 880 5) 12141 sq. mtrs. out of s. No. 652 6) 20234 sq. mtrs. of land out of s. No. 692 respectively. Thus,

approval was accorded to the application in the agenda (minitues) of the District Land Valuation Committee held on 207-04, whereas, in total order of land allotted to various branches of Welspun company for industrial purpose there was mention of the District Land Valuation Committee, in order to obviate that discrepancy, on seeing the agenda file of the meeting of the District Land Valuation Committee held on 20-7-2004, which is prepared by the Town Planner. On ante page of serial number 53, only one application of Welspun India Company Ltd. for total 20234 sq. mtrs. of land of s.no. 890 of Varsamedi is included, wereas on overleaf on serial no. 53, total; 2 applications of 20234 sq. mtrs. of s.no. 890 of village Varsamedi are included and proposal of Rs. 15/- is sanctioned by the Collector. In fact, in point No. 1(B) of the Government Resolution, Revenue Department, No. JMN-392009/kth/M dated 6-6-2003, Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar, limit of 2 hectares, 15 lakh is prescribed for the Collector for allotment for industrial purpose. 2 heactares means 20000 sq. mtrs. According to the provision of the abovesaid resolution as the allotment of land more than two hectores is beyound the powers of the Collector, he should send proposal to the Government for determining its price, instead, he determined the price of Rs. 15/- per sq. mtr. in the District Land Valuation Committee and made allotment orders of land at district level. On the basis of the statement of

Shri Kodarbhai Shanabhai Prajapati, Section Officer, Revenue Department it has become clear that where one applicant had made application, after process of the price etc. of land final orders of allotment of land to him are made, and meanwhile, when the same applicant makes demand for any land for new additional land for the same purpose, action has to be taken connecting both the matters. And on doing so, the case in which the are of land exceeds 2 hectors (20000 sq. mtrs) as well as the price of the land exceeds Rs. 15 lakh, in such case also, the Collector has to send the proposal to the government and when the government takes the decision of allotment of that land government has to allot that land. First, in the agenda of the District Land Valuation Committee held on 20-7-2004 disposed of one application of allotment of land admeasuring 20234 bearing s.no. 890, whereas in the agenda fild of the Deputy Twon Planner on sr. no. 53, he, has determind price of Rs. 15/- per sq. mtr. in total 4 applications of 20234 sq.mtrs. of s.no. 89 and accorded approval to allotment of land. In fact, all the four applications are beyound his powers, it was necessary for him to send for sanction of the government. If this applications had been send to the government, because of proper fixation of price by the government, government would not have suffered economic loss. Therefore, in the agenda file of the Town dated 20-7-2004, disposing total 4 applications

each of 2034 sq. mtrs. showing only one applicationof 20234 sq. mtrs. of s.no. 890 in minutes of the District Land Valuation Committee, criminal intention of the Collector to help illegally to Welspun Company becomes clear. Moreover, out of 12 orders, made by him for allotment of lands to Welspun Company, orders at sr. no.s 5 to 8 are shown in the District Land Valuation Committee dated 20-7-2004 and the procedure of payment of the amount prescribed is stated on the basis of letter dated 21-9-2004 by the company for that In fact, in the agenda of the District Land Valuation Committee dated 110-04, prices of applications of abovesaid serial numbers 5 to 8 have been fixed. Thereupon, instead of initiating process to be carried out with regard to payment after 1-10-2004 by the company, initiated from 21-9-2004, made bogus documents, showed mollified intention of giving economic benefit to Welspun company. The District Collector had made proposal to the government on 13-8-2004 on the basis no. Land/51/udyog/ws/1400/04 on total 12 applications of Welspun company for getting total 242808 sq. mtrs. of s.no. 890, but showing information regarding the orders of land sanctioned in 1) sr. No. 1222/04 dated 10-8-04, 2)

1223/04 dated 13-8-04 respectively by him prior to that,

supressing the fact of the order made by him in the proposal

sent for determining the price of the land allotted to Welspun company on 13-8-04, not bringing to the notice of the government he has indulged in criminal act. In the proposal sent to the government, the government had fixed price of land at Rs. 78 per sq. mtr. on the basis of Govt. Resolution Revenue Department No. JMN/Ihdustries/56040/837/M dated 6-8-05. Shri Pradipkumar Sharma, the then Collector, Bhuj had misused his office during his duty made orders of allotment of lands of different numbers shown in the statement produced by Mahendrasinh Fatesinh Sodha, Officer of Welspun company in the case of preliminary inquiry, which were beyound the limits of his powers, however, going against the policy and rules, in total 11 cases, not sending proposal to the government which was required to be sent and without taking sanction of the government, gave to the private company, calculating price of Rs. 15/- instead of Rs. 78/- per sq. mtrs. causing monetary loss approximately of total Rs. 1,04,61,622/- stamp duty of Rs. 15,69,240/- in all Rs. 1,20,30,842/- and intentionally committed criminal breach of trust. In order to make economic gain available to Welspun company, Pradip Sharma, Collector, had secured mobile card No. 99257 99799 in 2004 from the company without paying any consideration, used for his personal work got the bill of total Rs.

224036 upto 2009 paid by the company, misused his poer and secured economic gain. As regards this crime is registered with Rajkot zone police station I.C.R. No. 9/10 under sections 7, 11, 13(1)(B), 13(2) of the prevention of corruption Act. His intention hereby becomes clear to provide monetary benefit to the company securing economic gain from the Welspun company. Thus, the Welspun company had to pay more money to the government as per law, Pradipkumar Sharma, Collector, saved the company and in collusion with the then Town Planner, Bhuj and the government officer (employee) hatched criminal conspiracy, made bogus documents for company beyound his powers, caused loss of about Rs. 1,20,30,842 to the government, committed criminal breach of trust in respect of property entrusted to him by the government, my complaint is to conduct inquiry against him as per law u/s 267, 409, 465, 468, 471, 120-B of I.P.C. My witnesses are Prajapati, Sodha who were examined in the aforesaid inquiry and that may be found during investigation. This is the fact of my complaint. sd/illegible Parikshita V. Rathod Before me sd/- Parikshita V. Rathod Deputy Superintendent of Police,

C.I.D. Crime, Gandhiangar, Gandhinagar. Copy forwarded to The hon’ble Judicial Magistrate, Bhuj Court, Bhuj sd/- H.P. Agravat Dy. Suptd. of Police, C.I.D., Crime, Rajkot Zone, Rajkot 13)

Details of process after the crime is registered A)

B)

Registered crime and investigation commenced.

Investigation entrusted to H.P.Agravat, designation “B” No. Dy. Suptd. of Police.

C)

Reasons of non-investigation of crime.

D)

Name of Po.Sta. to which investigation of crime is

transferred District

City

on reading over the complaint of the complainant, having understood signed and received copy free of charge. Signature/thumb impression of the sd/illegible complainant. 14)

Signature/thumb impression of informant sd/- illegible Signature of Po.Sta. Official Name: H.P. Agravat Designation: Dy. Suptd. of Police, C.I.D. Crime, Rajkot

15)

Date of the respective honourable court:

dated 25-9-10 time 23.00 hrs. Jawak No. 579/2010 Office of the Dy. Suptd. of Police, C.I.D. Crime, Rajkot zone, Dt. 25-9-2010

//TRUE TYPED COPY//

ANNEXURE P-6 From: Pradip N. Sharma, Plot No. 465/A-2, Sector – 1, Gandhinagar – 15. Date 11-12-2010. To Shri K. P. Gajipara, Deputy Superintendent of Police and Investigation Officer C.I.D. Crime, Rajkot. Sub: Inclusion of Shri Narendra Modi, Chief Minister, Gujarat State, also as an accused in the crime as per C.I.D. Crime Rajkot Zone-I Cr. No.9/10 u/s 217, 409, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of IPC. I have come to know from reliable sources that the crime shown in the above subject is registered against me. This crime is registered against me with false facts and malice. The explanation of that is as under: 1) This crime is registered against me by malice for simple and straight procedure of the Revenue Department. 2) Generally, for alleged malpractices relating to the Revenue Department, on getting preliminary inquiry through any officer of the Revenue Department, Mamlatdar or the Deputy Collector of this department, if criminal fact is found for getting criminal proceeding initiated, the preliminary inquiry officer of the

Revenue Department gets complaint filed. In this case. Parikshita Rathod of CID Crime has given complaint, which is an action contrary to rule. 3) As per F.I.R. admission of Parikshita Rathod this offence has taken place in Kachchh district, however, preliminary inquiry was entrusted for the offence occurred outside of her area of operation. And she has raised the question that the work of getting F.I.R. registered was entrusted to her and she has expressed suspicion as to whether offence has taken place in this case or not? 4) Parikshita Rathod says that such type of inquiry regarding revenue procedure is completed within a short duration of 5(five) weeks, which manifests unnecessary haste and malice. 5) As directed mandatorily in Sr.No.5 of Appendix-B of chapter-1 of the CID crime manual it is inevitable to take statement of the accused. In this case, my statement is not recorded. And efforts are not made to know true facts and false F.I.R. is registered. 6) There is an allegation in F.I.R. that I had got made applications through Welspun Company for enquiring land for organization of my private textile business. But there is no mention or any clarification in remaining paras of F.I.R.

7) As an Investigation Officer you may see that as per para 1(B) of the Government Resolution, Revenue Department, dated 6-62003 that the Collector has power to given any party even without public auction, the land up to 2 hectors if the value is not above Rs. 15,00,000/-. 8) In this case all conditions of the aforesaid resolution are observed.

The

Government

has

also

given

the

land

admeasuring 48 acres to this company i.e. Welspun. It is requested to see as to whether the land granted by this Government is as per rules? 9) During

preliminary

inquiry,

Parikshita

Rathod

recorded

statement of Kodarbhai Shantibhai Prajapati, Section Officer and considered this statement the order of the Government. And it is not taken on record that as to whether any Government Resolution supports his statement. Collector has power to grant 2 hectors of land and 2 hectors are considered 5 hectors in F.I.R. conversion of 1 acre is 4047 sq.mtrs. and in this way conversion of 5 acres is 0.235 sq.mtrs. without seeing the table generally being used in the Revenue Department, the Police Officer giving F.I.R. adhered hector based yard stick. The word hector is used w.e.f. 1998 in Government Resolution. Prior to that acre was being used and in Kachchh district the table which is available as per old practice, in that I hector is

considered equal to 5 acres. Allotment of land is made as per acre. It is good, if 20,000 sq. mtrs. are now considered fro 2 hectors, but as per Kachchh district method, land is considered five acres, which becomes 20,235 sq.mtrs. asper metric systems. I have not done any criminal proceeding, but I have done work as per practice, as per method which has been in vagne. As per metric system. I hector is equal to 10 thousand sq.mtrs. and 1 acre equal to 4747 sq.mtrs. is the measurement in metric system, because of that wrong meaning of so called discrepancies is construed and complaint is filed. 10)

As mentioned in F.I.R. for land allotment in district. District

land Valuation Committee was constituted in which Collector, District Development Officer and Town Planner were members, whereas the Resident Deputy Collector was member secretary. In this F.I.R. my name and designation are shown as an accused whereas names of the District Development Officer and the Resident Deputy Collector are intentionally not written, whereas only the designation of the Town Planner is shown as an accused. This kind of method of writing F.I.R. shows prejudice towards me. 11) As per condition 5 of the above said Resolution the responsibility of determining the price of land is of the Town Planner. Drawing attention towards para-25 of this Resolution I

say that as per condition-8 the District Valuation Committee has to depend only on the opinion of the Town Planner, therefore, no responsibility can be fixed individually on the Collector.

12)

In this case, the District Valuation Committee had fixed

the rate at Rs. 15 (Fifteen), whereas as shown in F.I.R. as per Resolution of Revenue Department dated 6-8-2005, the rate of land is shown at Rs.78/- (seventy eight). It is shown in F.I.R. that the District Valuation Committee was held on 20-4-2004. How the Government Resolution dated 6-8-2006 can be made applicable to the District Valuation Committee dated 20-7-2004 in this way? In this way, grave serious mistake has been committed in F.I.R. During this time I have time and again shown the rate of Rs. 15/- in the Government. But no interference

was

made

by

the

Government.

Had

the

Government found these rate less at the relevant time, it could have made interference as per section 211 of the Land Revenue Code.

13)

I have to further state that generally as per price

determined by every District Land Valuation Committee, Orders regarding land allotted by the Collector are placed before the Government

and

such

orders

are

sanctioned

by

the

Government or changes are effected if required, but the

decisions to file criminal complaint were never taken. I hope that

as

Investigation

Officer,

you

would

inquire

such

precedents. Therefore, you could know that in my case, this F.I.R. is registered exceptionally. In my case, the CID Crime inspected such types of files made interpretation capriciously as per their will, though it does not amount offence, the fact of this allotment of land is given criminal form. Against me, it is alleged in this F.I.R. that the orders of allotment of land dated 10-82004 and 13-8-2004 are not intimated to the Government and committed criminal offence. The complainant of this

case is

not conversant with the procedure of the Revenue Department. In such case, the Collector directly does not write letters to the Revenue Department, but the subordinate in officers perform duties. In whole of India any Collector does not prepare drafts of the letter of such type alleged in F.I.R. 14)

In this F.I.R. it is mentioned that Rajkot Zone, CID Crime

C.R.No.3/2010 which is registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act. As per allegation leveled therein that someone gives SIM Card only to the District Collector so, the allotment of land is made to such party giving SIM Card. Is that idea understandable? As mentioned in the above said F.I.R. 09/2010 in Rajkot Zone, F.I.R. No.3/2010 it is shown that due to receipt of SIM Card by me, this disputed land is allotted. In F.I.R. 03/2010 which is registered on 31-3-2010, motive of this

offence is not shown therein thus, fact of both the F.I.R. interlinks each other and though they are of same duration and of the same place, yet F.I.R. is registered with malice to implicate me wrongfully. In fact, obviating intentionally to show the fact of F.I.R. 09/2010 in F.I.R. 03/2010, separate crime is registered. 15)

F.I.R. 09/2010 that is to say in F.I.R. sections of making

forged documents and their use are applied whereas in detail of F.I.R. there is no clarification or mention as to which document is forged, in which manner or used. Besides these sections other sections are applied to increase gravity of fact. 16)

After

horrible

earthquake

of

the

year

2000,

my

appointment was made as a District Collector, Kachchh. In which industrial units were to be welcomed with the main goal of reconstruction and rehabilitation of the district. The project of Welspun Group was of Rupees Eight thousand Crores and on commencement of this project in Kachchh district soon the prices of land increased very much, when land was given to Welspun in 2004, the rate of that was Rs. 15/- and after one year become Rs. 78/-. 17)

Points behind inclusion of the Chief Minister Shri

Narendra Modi as an accused in conspiracy.

i)

When Shri Narendra Modi and Shri B. K. Goyenka owner of Welspun Company were going to Singapore in a Private Chartered Flight, the Chief Minister gave invitation to Shri B. K. Goyenka for establishment of industry in Kachchh and gave undertaking that all possible assistance would be given.

ii)

Shri B. K. Goyenka had spoken the above said fact, in public on dais is at the time of inauguration of Welspan Company and expressed thank of the Chief Minister, Shri Narendra Modi was also present in this inaugural ceremony.

iii)

The State Government also has allotted 48 acres of land to Welspun Company. You are well aware that big industrialists have direct intimacy with the Chief Minister, Narendra

Modi.

During

foreign

tours

he

goes

accompanied with him in chartered plane. If one thinks with ordinary intelligence, it will become clear that what kind of instructions might have been given by him for mobilizing such industries? As per Indian Evidence Act this is one of the related facts which can be accepted. iv)

It becomes legally necessary to take note that the Chief Minister attends, in presence of the owner of that

company for which crime is registered with regard to grant of land to Welspun Company. v)

During the process of allotment of land, the Chief Minister would time and again give instructions through Video Conference to complete the work of granting land to Welspun Company. Particularly, in January, 2005, he had given instruction that it was necessary to complete all work before Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit.

vi)

Pressure was put by the office of the Chief Minister as well as from the Revenue Department with the object that Welspun Company may get land speedily. Shri Mukesh Modi under Secretary, Revenue Department many times phoned me and the R.D.C. and inquired also about this matter. Barring the above said weekly reports and reports from time to time were called for from our Collectorate, Kachchh such as show much land is given to Welspun Company? What progress is made therein?

vii)

In 2005, the Chief Minister had organized Sharatultsav in Kachchh district. As per instruction of Shri Modi, during my tenure, the company had first deposited a cheque of Rs. 50.00 lakh with the Colletorate for celebration of Kachchh Sharad Utsav. Thereafter, for the arrangement to be made as per expectation of the Chief Minister as this amount fell short for expenditure, another cheque of Rs. 25.00 was

given by them. As per my memory, this cheque was given in the name of any Trust I was present with the Chief Minister at the time of Sharadultsav and I had apprised him about the cheque given by Welspan Company. I know that even after transfer from Kachchh district next year that is to say in 2006, when Sharad Utsav was celebrated, in the time of my successor, the Welspun Company had given a cheque of Rs. 35.00 lakhs to the Collectorate as per the demand of Shri Narendra Modi.

Because of the aforesaid reasons it will be clear to you that during my tenure and thereafter the Chief Minister has, though he is a public servant, not only took interest personally for granting land to Welspun Company, but also he accepted money by cheque for spending for his work. The personal motive Shri Modi for doing this was to get advantage by individual and political publicity. I believe that you have applied section 120B in F.I.R. taking that into account the main accused and wire-puller is Shri Narendra Modi.

In order to be helpful in investigation by you, I am ready to bear witness as per section 164 of the Cr. P.C. on the above said fact. I will give detailed information at that time.

I firmly believe that in this case, as shown above, though there was much pressure by the Chief Minister, I have done work as per rules and law. The matters on which you have registered crime, if you inquire in any district of Gujarat, lands are granted to industrialist for such purpose. I reiterate that the responsibility of fixing price was solely of the town planner, which becomes clear from para 10 and 25 of the Resolution dated 6-6-2003. However, deciding this work as criminal one sections of Indian Penal Code are applied against me. According to that the main culprit is Shri Narendra Modi and it is your duty to take legal actions against him.

viii)

As stated in Rule 137, Part III of the Gujarat Police Manual the Police inquiry should be always impartial and the investigation officer has to make all out possible efforts to find out truth evidence which is shown as an accused has to be taken into account carefully and decision has not to be taken with unnecessary haste on any point.

I hope that as an Investigation Officer, you will make impartial investigation taking my above said submission into account. (Pradip Sharma)

Copy forwarded w/c: 1) The Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Shahibaug, Dafnala, Ahmedabad. As per provision of the theory laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in case of Shri Abdul Raheman Antule, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, 1992-SCC-225 and other judgments on the same case along-with that, though Shri Modi is a public servant, it is requested to conduct preliminary inquiry in respect of malpractice committed by him. 2) The Additional Director General of Police, C.I.D. Crime, Police Bhavan, Gandhinagar.

//TRUE COPY//

ANNEXURE P-7 PRADEEP SHARMA, IAS Plot 465 A/2, Sector 1 Gandhinagar, Gujarat 19.1.2011 To Shri A K Joti, IAS, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Gujarat, Schivalaya Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Sub:

Request to transfer Investigation to CBI to Prevent Grave Bias in Rajkot Zone CID(Crime) CR No. 9 of 2010. Sir, I am writing to register an urgent request for transferring to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the ongoing criminal investigation against me, to prevent what has by now been undoubtedly a prolonged exercise of wanton persecuton by the highest political leadership, i.e., Mr. Narendra Modi, the current Chief Minister (CM) of the state of Gujarat. The following facts may help you understand my claim as to why the CM would continue to jeopardize due process, as he has over the past one year, in order to inflict grave damage to both my professional career and my fundamental rights. It may also shed light on reasons why the criminal case was framed against me in the first place. You are aware that I was arrested on 6.1.2000 in connection with M Case No. 1/2008. Despite being a senior IAS

Officer, having served as the District Magistrate of two districts in the past, I was summarily arrested from my official residence in Bhavnagar at 05.30 hours in the early morning, in a manner of surprise, without any prior intimation of cause or explanation and without affording me a single opportunity to convey my defense in the matter. The Government opposed my bail plea in the Sessions Court, the Hon. High Court and the Hon. Supreme Court. In the Hon. High Court, the state Advocate General and the Additional Advocate General appeared for the State and in the Hon. Supreme Court, a senior Supreme Court advocate charging hefty legal fees was engaged by the state Government to oppose my bail. My bail pleas were denied repeatedly by the courts within the state system over an extended period of eight months. Such was the intensity of personal interest taken by the CM, abusing the powers entrusted to him in his official capacity. Finally, however, the Hon. Supreme Court of India was pleased to allow my Special Leave Petition in the said case on 6.9.2010. Also as you are aware, the initial case has since been unbundled into an ongoing series of individual cases and arrest warrants. While I was in judicial custody, in violation of all legal norms and judicial propriety, a second case was filed against

me under the Prevention of Corruption Act. This pertains to use of mobile phone SIM cards allegedly given to me. On this matter, I am before the Hon. High Court and the Ho. Supreme Court.

While the intention of keeping me behind bards indefinitely, undoubtedly at the behest of the CM for reasons given in the succeeding paragraph/s, the State CID(Crine) has imposed a third case, on 25.9.2010, that being Rajkot Zone CID(Crime) CR No. 9 of 2010 and pertaining to land allotment to the Welspun Group of companies within the SEZ in Kachchh in my capacity as the Collector and District Magistrate at the time. I have since addressed a communication to the Investigating Officer, Dy. S.P. Shri K.P. Gajipara, placing on record facts about two cheques worth Rs. 50.00 lakhs and Rs. 25.00 lakhs from the same Welspun Group, given for use toward the Shared Utsav organized in 2005 in Kachchh at the behest of and for personal and political gain of the CM. The letter goes on to mention that, even after I was transferred out of Kachchh district, sum of Rs. 35.00 lakhs from Welspun was received by my successor in office, Shri Dhananjay Dwivedi towards the same cause the following year. Thus, Welspun was a major donor toward the CM’s political propaganda at the time and has remained so over the years. While these checks were

received initially in the Kachchh Collector Office, a Kachchh Sharad Utsav Trust was set up; through the medium of this Trust, the CM accepted pecuniary befits for his own personal, political advantages. I am enclosing a copy fo the said letter for your ready reference. A plain reading of the enclosed letter will reveal to you that no offence has been committed by me and yet an FIR has been lodged specifically against me in this matter although, in light of the facts mentioned in the enclosed letter, it should be the CM who should be tried as the Chief conspirator and the main accused. In the representations that I have made before various judicial forms and in the petitions filed before the Hon. High Court and the Hon. Supreme Court, I have given plausible explanations for the grievous persecuation by the state authorities, but have refrained from divulging one important reason for the Chief Minister’s desperate attempts to keep me behind bars. The cause of the Chief Minister’s malicious and vindictive actions against me stem from his special interest in a woman and that I had stumbled upon certain facts about his relationship with her. With the objective of not washing dirty linen in public and as an aspect of civilized behavior, keeping in mind a lady’s reputation and the sanctity of high offices, I have refrained from mentioning any detail about this sordid episode in any of my petitions and kept it out of the public domain.

However, if you so desire, I can convey the details to an appropriate statutory authority, provided a formal inquiry is ordered in this regard and provided further that such statutory authority is not constituted or controlled by the State Government, it will now b e clear to you that the arrival of police at my residence at 05.30 hours in the morning on 6.1.2000 was with the intention of seizing laptop, computers and mobile phones not only those belonging to me but also of the staff available at the bungalow. I believe that the motivation behind and the execution of the arrest are consistent with confirming the fears of Shri Narendra Modi that I may be in possession of incriminating evidence against the Chief Minister. My arrest was a manifestation of Mr. Narender Modi’s personal and political agenda. In view of the above, no policy agency in the state og Gujarat will investigate the above-mentioned offence registered against me in a fair and free manner. It is therefore requested that the offence registered against me vide Rajkot Zone CID(CRIME) CR No. 9/2010 be transferred without delay to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for further investigation. In view of the grave bias on the part of the CM and inv ie3w of the specific allegation contained in my enclosed letter to the Investigating Officer and having regard to his questionable

relationship with a certain woman referred to above, it is requested that this matter may not be placed before the Chief Minister or any member of his Council of Ministers, but may be put up to any other Constitutional authority for orders. Thanking you, Yours sincerely, Sd/(Pradeep Sharma, IAS) Encl: Copy of Letter dated 11.12.2010 to Dy. S.P. Shri K.P. Gajipara Copy with compliments to: 1.

Director General of Police, Gujarat State, Police Bhavan, Gandhinagar

2.

The additional Director General of Police, CID(Crime), Gujarat State, Police Bhavan, Gandhinagar.

//TRUE TYPED COPY//

ANNEXURE P-8 FIRST INFORMATION REPORT OF THE COGNIZABLE OFFENCE (under section 154 of the code of criminal procedure) 1.

District Po.Station Year: 2011 Bhuj

CID crime

First Information No. 1/11

date: 22/02/2011

Rajkot 2

Act

Sections

(1)

IPC

Sections 217, 409, 120-B

(2)

......

..............

(3)

.....

..............

(4)

Other Acts and sections

3 (A) Date and time of From date 21/01/2004 to date April, 2005 commission of an offence

from

hrs. to hrs.

(B)

Offence declared (in Po.sta.) Date 22/02/2011 Time: 23/00

(C)

Station Diary Entry (Registration) No. 2

4.

Time: 23/05

How the information was received: written or oral : complaint is received in writing in person.

5.

Scene of offence :

(A)

Distance and direction of

scene of offence from Po.sta. Moje Samaghogha, Tal. Mundra and office of the District Collector, Bhuj (Kachchh) Name of Beat Number/O.Po./chawky (B)

Address

(C)

Name of that po.sta. if offence is out of .............

that po.sta.

District/city .......................

6.

Complainant/Informant:

(A)

Name:

State ...........

Investigation cell, Bhavnagar

K.M. Raval, Detective Police Inspector, CID

crime (B)

Name of father: Dr. Markandray Bhalchandra Raval

(C)

Date of birth/year17/07/1974

(D) Nationality: India

(E)

Passport number...........

Date of Issue of

passport Place/address of office issuing passport ............... (F)

Occupation:

Detective Police Inspector

(G)

Address: Plot No. 773/B, “Triveni”, In Khancha of Dr. Nilu

Vaishnav, Tilaknagar, Bhavnagar 7.

Name, address, full details of accused/information with all details of indentified/suspect/unidentified accused)

1.

Shri Pradipkumar Nirankarnath Sharma, IAS, the then Collector, Kachchh-Bhuj.

2.

The then Town Planner, Kachchh-Bhuj etc.

8.

Reason of giving information late

9.

If theft is committed full description of the property stolen......................................................................

10.

Total value of the property stolen

11.

Accidental death number (if any). Date 22/02/2011

I, K.M. Raval, Detective Police Inspector, CID Crime, Investigation Cell, Bhavnagar, age: 36 years residence Plot No. 773/B, “Triveni”, In Khancha of Dr. Nilu Vaishnav, Tilaknagar, Bhavnagar, Mobile No. 9714146000. The fact of my complaint for the government is such as I have been performing duty from 22/9/2010 as a Detective Police Inspector, CID Crime, Investigation Cell, Bhavnagar, duties of my function includes investigations of crimes and preliminary investigations/investigation of application that may be entrusted to me by the A.D.G.P. C.I.D. Crime and Railways, Gujarat State, Gandhinagar and legal work that may be entrusted as per orders of the superior officers. On the strength of the Government order, Home Department No. V-i/KSV/ 102010/11811 dated 4-9-10 and under his office letter No. Te-2B/pra.t./ja-No.767/10 dated 29-9-2010, the hon’ble A.D.G.P. C.I.D. Crime and Railways, Gujarat State, had entrusted investigation of preliminary inquiry No. 15/2010. On

the basis of this preliminary report under Government letter, Home

Department

No.

V-i/KAV/

102010/11811

dated

22/2/2011, the Adal. D.G.P. C.I.D. crime and Railways, Gujarat state, Gandhinagar has authorised me to file this complaint under his letter No. Te.2/B/Inqu/108/2011 dated 22/2/2011. Shri Pradipkumar Nirankarnath Sharma, IAS, had been performing duty from 2/05/2003 to dt. 3/6/2006 as a Collector and District Magistrate Kachchh-Bhuj. During his tenure of duty applications were made by Shri SOW pipes Limited company to allot lands abutting survey Nos. 336/3, 336/2, 326, 300, 301 and 377/294/3 etc. as well as waste lands at moje Samaghogha,

Taluka

Mundra,

Distt.

Kachchh-Bhuj,

for

industrial purpose. In persuance thereof the meeting of the District level district land valuation committee of Kachchh-Bhuj was held on 5/3/2004 under the chairmanship of Shri Pradip Sharma, Collector, the Deputy Resident Collector was as a member secretary of the committee and Shri N.M. Desai, Town Planner remained present as a member. In the agenda of the said District Land Valuation Committee held on 5/3/2004, total 33 chapters were included. In which from Sr. Nos. 11 to 14, out of survey nos. (1) 336/3 (2) 336/2 (3) out of 326 (4) out of tra.No. 326 (out of road) of moje Samaghogha Tal. Mundra total 4 chapters of lands demanded by sow pipes limited company were taken on agenda, price of total 46,098 sq. mtrs. of lands

was determined. At the relevant time, on clarification that instead of 7855 sq. mtrs. out of S.No. 326 mentioned in the abovesaid Sr. No. 4 it was the land of 8,930 sq. mtrs. out of Tra. s. No. 369, order was made accordingly, and in this way, the price of total 47,173 sq. mtrs. of lands was determined in the District Valuation Committee dated 5/3/04 and total 4 separate orders relating to this were made for allotment of government waste land and to the Sow Pipes Limited company and allotment orders of lands out of road were made. On studying the certified files of original chapters of these orders during preliminary inquiry, it was found that in the application dt. 21/1/2004 for demand of land, demand of land of total 6 government survey numbers was made by Shri Sow Pipes Limited, applicant. Getting three photo copies of that application made, making three chapters, keeping one copy each in all the three chapters, showing different in word numbers on the same day that is to say on 23/1/2004 making different orders for 3,854 sq. mtrs. out of survey Nos. 336/3, 13,860 sq. mtrs. out of survey No. 336/2, 20538 sq. mtrs. out of survey no. 326, thus in total three cases, made different orders on the same day i.e. on 25/3/04, total 38,243 sq. mtrs. of land was allotted by Shri Pradipkumar Sharma, the then Collector, to Shri Sow Pipes Limited.

Looking to the orders made to Shri Sow Pipes company out of survey no. 369, the application dated 22/1/2004 of the company, is found to have been presented also in the District Land Valuation Committee on the same date 5/3/04. In the case of allotment of land for industrial purpose as directed under

Government

Resolution,

Revenue

Department,

Resolution No. JMN/392-003/454/A dated 6-6-03, the limit of the power of the Collector is two hectares upto market price of Rupees 15 lakh for allotment of land for industrial purpose. Thus presenting as different chapters in the District Land Valuation Committee dated 5/3/04, the proposal of demand of waste land by Shri Sow Pipes Limited company overriding the limit of power delegated under Government Resolution, Revenue Department, Resolution No. JMN/392-003/454/A dated 6-6-03,alloted total 47,103 sq. mtrs. of land to Shri Sow Pipes Limited company, not sending these proposals to the Government for approval, it is found that Shri Pradipkumar Sharma, the then Collector, caused economic loss to the Government, committed criminal breach of trust in respect of property entrusted to him. During preliminary inquiry it is found that in the said chapters the

opinion

showing

consent

of

the

commissioner

of

Industries/Industry officer was not secured as per condition

specified in the Government Resolution, No. JMN/392003/454/A dated 6-6-03. Shri N.M. Desai, the then Town Planner had presented, in the District Land Valuation Committee dated 5-3-04, the valuation report of survey numbers demanded by the applicant in the said chapter. In which it is found during preliminary inquiry that process was not carried out as per procedure or guide lines for valuation of land mentioned in the Government circular, planning and valuation department, No. valuation/circular/5114 dated 23-9-2002. Thus, Shri Pradipkumar Sharma, the then Collector, KachchhBhuj and Shri N.M. Desai, the then Town Planner, Bhuj with the intention to save company, Sow Pipes Limited company moje Samaghogha, Tal. Mundra, which was under encumbrance as per rules, however, disregarding the legal directions as to how he should behave in the capacity of a public servant, in collusion with the company and other officers/ employees of the government, causing economic loss to the government, committing criminal breach of trust in respect of property entrusted to him, as the said company was liable for encumbrance, however, the order of the law was disregarded, my complaint is for taking action as per rules, as per sections 217, 409, 120-B of IPC against him.

My witnesses are Shri K.L. Makwana, Chitnis to Collector, Shri Haroon Sama, T.C. Mantri, Samahogha, Shri S.V. Dave who were examined during preliminary inquiry and other witnessees evidence etc. that may be found during investigation. This is fact of my complaint 13.

Details of process after the crime is registered.

(A)

Crime registered and investigation started

(B)

Investigation entrusted to Shri ..............designation/B.No.

(C)

Reasons of not investigating the crime ......

(D)

Name of Po.sta. .......... district ......... (city) to which investigation of crime is transferred on reading over the complaint of the complainant having understood the same, signed and received copy free of charge Signature/thumb impression of the complainant

14.

Signature/thumb impression of the information Signature of the Po.Sta. Officer Name Designation ............... B.No.

15.

Date of sending to the hon’ble court concerned date ...............

time

This is fact of my complaint.

sd/-

Before me sd/- Raval (K.M. Raval) Detective Police Inspector CID crime, Investigation Cell,

Bhavnagar Copy forwarded with compliment To The hon’ble Judicial Magistrate, Bhuj Corutm, Bhuj Raval (K.M. Raval) Detective Police Inspector CID crime, Investigation Cell, Bhavnagar Jawak Number 1226/2011 Office of the Dy. Superintendent of Police C.I.D. crime, Rajkot, Dt. 23/2/2011. B.

Details of process after crime is registered.

(A)

Crime registered and investigation started

(B)

(Investigation entrusted to Shri V.K. Pandya......Designation/B.No. D.Pl Ins.

(C)

Reasons of not investigating the crime

(D)

Name of Po.sta........... District ................ city ..........

on reading over the complaint of the complainant, hav ing understood the same, signed and received copy free of charge. Signature of the complainant

14.

sd/Raval

Signature of the informant

sd/Raval sd/Raval

Signature of the Po.Sta. Officer Name : K.M. Raval Designation : D.Po.Ins. 15.

Date of sending to the Hon’ble court concerned date : 22/02/2011

//TRUE TYPED COPY//

Time : 23.00

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA (Criminal Original Jurisdiction) Crl. M. P. No.

of 2011

IN W.P. (Crl.) No.________ of 2011 IN THE MATTER OF Pradeep N. Sharma

…Petitioner

Vs. State of Gujarat & Ors.

…Respondents

APPLICATION SEEKING EXEMPTION FROM FILING THE OFFICIAL TRANSLATION OF THE ANNEXURE P3 – P6 & P8 To THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA HIS COMPANION JUSTICES OF THE HON’BLE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA THE HUMBLE APPLICATION OF THE PETITIONER ABOVE NAMED MOST RESPECTFULLY SHEWETH: 1.

That the present petition has been filed by the Petitioner

seeking the transfer of the cases lodged against him with the State Crime branch to an independent investigative agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), since the said cases have been lodged simply to falsely implicate the Petitioner at the behest of the Chief Minister of the State. 2.

The

facts

and

circumstances

giving

rise

to

the

accompanying Petition are set out therein in detail and are not repeated here for the sake of brevity. The Petitioner craves leave of this Hon’ble Court to treat the same as an integral part of the present application as well.

3.

That the documents/Annexures P3 - P6 & P8 filed by the

applicants along with the Writ Petition are in Gujarati language and could not be officially translated due to paucity of time. The Applicant herein craves leave of this Hon’ble Court to be exempted from filing official translations of the same and to file the English translation of the said documents. 4.

That the Applicants have a prima facie case in his favour

and the balance of convenience is in favour of the applicants and against the Respondents. That the applicants would be greatly prejudiced if the present application is not allowed. PRAYER In the facts and circumstances the Applicants above named most respectfully prays that this Hon’ble Court may be graciously pleased to: (a)

exempt

the Petitioner from

filing the official

translation of Hindi Annexure P3 to P6 & P8 (b)

pass such other and further order(s) as may deem fit in the circumstances of the case.

AND FOR THIS ACT OF KINDNESS THE APPLICANTS AS IN DUTY BOUND SHALL EVER PRAY FILED BY

NEW DELHI

(SUNIL FERNANDES)

DATE: 26.4.2011

Advocate for the

Applicant IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA (Criminal Original Jurisdiction) Crl. M. P. No.

of 2011

IN W.P. (Crl.) No.________ of 2011 IN THE MATTER OF Pradeep N. Sharma

…Petitioner

Vs. State of Gujarat & Ors.

…Respondents

APPLICATION FOR EX-PARTE INTERIM DIRECTIONS TO, THE HON’BLE CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA AND HIS COMPANION JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA. THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE ABOVE NAMED PETITIONER. MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH: 1.

That the present petition has been filed by the Petitioner seeking the transfer of the cases lodged against him with the State Crime branch to an independent investigative agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), since the said cases have been lodged simply to falsely implicate the Petitioner at the behest of the Chief Minister of the State.

1.

The facts of the case have been stated in detail in the accompanying petition and the same are not repeated herein for the sake of brevity and may be treated as part and parcel of this application for directions.

2.

The Petitioner is an IAS officer belonging to the Gujarat cadre, with an unblemished record of outstanding performance throughout his career. He has received numerous

accolades

for

his

work

for

proactive

international collaboration on joint urban infrastructure development projects in Jamnagar, Gujarat, between 2001 and 2003 when the Petitioner served there as the Municipal Commissioner and has been applauded for his efforts in rebuilding Kutch after the earthquake. 3.

Despite such an impressive array of achievments and service record, the Petitioner is currently languishing in jail due to his implication in a number of criminal cases at the behest of the Shri Modi-led State Government. A perusal of the relevant facts which has led the Chief Minister and State Government to implicate and victimize the present Petitioner will reveal that it is impossible to hold an impartial investigation/trial as the Chief Minister himself is personally or directly interested in the outcome of the investigations which are more in the nature of a witch-hunt launched against the present Petitioner.

4.

This Hon’ble Court in a catena of decisions has held that “Right to Free and Fair Trail ” is not only an important fundamental right, emanating from Article 21 of the Constitution, available to all citizens of this country, but also a constitutional imperative which has to be enforced without exceptions. In order to assure and protect this pre-eminent fundamental right, this Hon’ble Court, in a number of appropriate cases, deemed it necessary to have investigations and trial conducted through the specialized agency like the CBI.

5.

It is most humbly submitted that the law as laid down by this Hon’ble Court in transfer of cases to the CBI would squarely apply to the facts and circumstances of the present case, which starkly depicts political victimization of an upright senior IAS officer of impeccable credentials, at the hands of a pliant administrative state machinery headed by a vindictive Chief Minister of the State of Gujarat – Shri Narendra Modi.

6.

At the outset, the Petitioner most respectfully submits that vide the instant petition he is not seeking quashing of the false cases foisted on him. He is also not seeking to escape nor circumvent the legal process and procedure. However it is respectfully submitted that as per the oft repeated legal maxim – “Justice must not only be done

but also appear to be done” – the Petitioner prays that in view of the contents of the instant petition and the allegations against the Chief Minister and the State Machinery, it cannot be held, by any reasonable man, that there would not be bias and prejudice against the Petitioner herein in the cases fabricated against him by the state machinery and, on this ground alone, the cases currently investigate/tried by the State Police ought to be transferred to the CBI. 7.

The persecution personally unleashed by the State Chief Minister, – Shri Narendra Modi, against the Petitioner herein is due to two major reasons, apart from a host of other supporting factors: -

(i). Firstly, the Petitioner happens to be the younger brother of Kuldip Sharma, a highly-decorated and currently the senior-most IPS officer in the Gujarat state cadre, who has unmasked many misdeeds of Narendra Modi since the 2002 Godhra riots and also of his henchman Shri Amit Shah, the ex-Home Minister of State, Gujarat. The two siblings have very close to each other right from childhood and share very strong fraternal bonds. (ii). Secondly, and more immediately, the Petitioner is suspected of having stumbled upon some intimate

secrets of Narendra Modi’s illicit escapades with a woman named Ms. Mansi Soni. Shri Modi verily believes that this information of his amorous and illicit liaison with Ms. Soni, if revealed in the public domain, will render incalculable and grave damage to his public image and his future political prospects. Mr Modi suspects that the information regarding his liason with Ms Soni would be revealed in the public domain through the petitioner herein and hence as a pre-emptive measure sought to incarcerate the petitioner herein implicating him in false cases. The petitioner, faced with sustained and constant victimization is forced to disclose these facts, which were not revealed earlier by him, as he is left nho other option.

I.

VICTIMIZATION DUE TO THE PROXIMITY OF THE PETITONER WITH HIS BROTHER - SHRI KULDIP SHARMA, IPS:

8. Shri Kuldip Sharma, the brother of the Petitioner herein is the senior most IPS officer of the State of Gujarat, belonging to the 1976 batch. He has functioned as Additional Director General of Police, CID (Crime) from 28.4.2003 to 01.8.2005. Shri Kuldip Sharma, after taking over the above post, came across various pending cases

in which Shri Modi and the then Home Minister of the State Shri. Amit Shah were interested. 9. One of them was the Soharabuddin Case which is a matter pertaining to death of one Shri Soharabuddin in a fake police encounter. In the said case, the Petitioner’s brother approved a report to be sent to this Hon’ble Court. Till that time, only the file of the preliminary inquiry conducted by Police Inspector, Shri Solanki of the State CID (Crime), had existed, which prima facie established the fact that Soharabuddin was killed in a fake encounter. Shri Narendra Modi held a grudge against the Petitioner’s brother since he ordered the said interim report to be sent to this Hon’ble Court, which ultimately lead to the arrest of his confidante Shri. Amit Shah, causing Shri Narendra Modi a tremendous loss of public face and political embarrassment. 10. In yet another incident, an offence was registered against Ms. Mallika Sarabhai, which pertains to the danseuse’s plan to take a troop to USA and South America and the allegation was that she was using her organization to take people illegally to USA and indulging in human trafficking. It is pertinent to note here that Ms. Sarabhai was also a Petitioner before this Hon’ble Court in a petition filed against the Chief Minister and others with

regard to post-Godhra communal riots in Gujarat during 2002. The CID (Crime) took over the case on 20.9.2004. However, investigation by the State CID (Crime) revealed that no offence as alleged could be made out against Ms. Sarabhai. Despite this, Shri Amit Shah, the then MOS (Home), at the behest of Shri Modi, was bringing pressure to arrest and charge-sheet Ms. Sarabhai. However, Shri Kuldip Sharma directed the closure of the case, as it was baseless. This also angered Mr Modi. 11.

In another instance, in a writ petition filed before the Hon’ble High Court of Gujarat, allegation of extortion of money was made against Shri Kamlesh Tripathi, a close associate and a political ally of Shri Amit Shah, MOS (Home), Gujarat. The Hon’ble High Court directed the DGP to have the matter inquired into, who, in turn, entrusted the same to the State CID (Crime). After perusal of the case, the Petitioner’s brother directed the concerned Superintendent of Police in CID (Crime) to get an offence registered as necessary and appropriate under the law. Immense political pressure was brought on the concerned SP, Shri Anil Pratham not to do so. Eventually the complaint came to be registered much against the wishes of Shri Amit Shah.

12.

In yet another serious case, when Shri Kuldip

Sharma was up in arms against the personal interests of Shri Modi and Shri Amit Shah upon an inquiry, in which allegations were made that Amit Shah had received an amount of Rs. 2.5 crores, through an intermediary Shri Girish Dani, in the matter of a case about financial fraud in Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited, Ahmedabad, by Shri Ketan Parikh who was the prime accused in this offence; the Rs. 2.5 crores was alleged paid by Shri Girish Dani to Shri Amit Shah to intervene on behalf of Shri Ketan Parikh and spare him any legal or criminal action. Shri Kuldip Sharma felt that a proper investigation was necessary in the interest of Shri Amit Shah, so as to clear Shri Amit Shah’s name of any false allegations of having take the Rs. 2.5 crores of bribe if he were indeed not involved, and had recommended that since the original investigation pertaining to Shri Ketan Parikh was done by CBI, the application leveling charges against Shri Amit Shah also be sent to CBI. Meanwhile Shri Kuldip Sharma went to attend a conference outside the State and upon his return he was informed that he had been transferred from CID (Crime). 13.

The Petitioner’s brother, Shri Kuldip Sharma, too has suffered at the hands of the CM Shri Modi. His ACR’s for

last 5 years (2003-2004 to 2007-2008) were downgraded by Shri Modi, without assigning any reasons and in brazen and direct violation of the statutory rules and administrative instruction of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). The Chief Minister downgraded the ACRs of Shri Kuldip Sharma with the malafide intention of denying him promotion to the next higher rank as at least three outstanding ACRs are required out of last 10 years to qualify for the next promotion. The Principal Bench of the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) vide final order and judgment dated 07.04.2011 has set aside the downgrading of the ACR’s of Shri Kuldip Sharma on grounds of it being arbitrary and illegal. 14.

It is submitted that the Petitioner has been harassed by the Chief Minister in order to settle personal scores with Shri Kuldip Sharma, the brother of the Petitioner. The State machinery is being abused by those at the helm of power, primarily Shri Narendra Modi and Shri Amit Shah, for their personal vendetta.

II.

THE CHIEF MINISTER’S ILLICIT LIASON WITH MS MANSI SONI:

15. It was in between 2003 to 2006 that the Petitioner, in the capacity of District Collector of Kutch, commissioned a series of projects toward the beautification of Bhuj city and overall development of Kutch district. A site was selected for developing a hill garden in 2005, for which Ms. Mansi Soni from Bangalore was selected as the Landscape Architect. The Chief Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, visited Kutch to inaugurate the hill garden project upon its completion, and was at this time introduced to Ms. Soni. Thereafter, Ms. Soni communicated to the Petitioner her decision to return to Bangalore as well as shared her ongoing interaction with the Chief Minister. The fact of the intimacy between Shri Modi and Ms. Soni was confirmed when the Petitioner was in close proximity of the two and overheard their conversation during one of the official functions. Subsequently, Ms. Soni further revealed to the Petitioner that when she called Shri Modi in his office, he would freely interrupt scheduled meetings, walking out of his office on senior officials in order to speak to her privately. 16.

During the second week of March 2006 at approximately 5:00 PM, Ms. Soni called the Petitioner and conveyed that she had just landed in Ahmedabad city and was planning to visit Bhuj. Shortly thereafter, when the

Petitioner attempted to telephone her, Ms. Soni’s cell phone was switched off and remained so for the next 48 hours. Two days later at approximately 11:00 AM, Ms. Soni called the Petitioner and conveyed that she was at the residence of Shri Modi, and had spent the duration of the previous two days at his residence. Subsequently, she met the Petitioner in Bhuj and described in detail her stay with Shri Modi. 17.

Thereafter, Ms. Soni described that the next day being Holi, many people visited Shri Modi for the festival and played with colour. Shri Modi attended to them briefly and returned to his quarters. In the meantime, Ms. Soni had developed fever and requested a physician, but Shri Modi conveyed that calling a physician was impossible, given the peculiarity of their situation. The following morning she left for Vadodara in a car sent for by Shri Modi.

18.

In November 2008, while the Petitioner was posted as Municipal Commissioner, Bhavnagar, Ms. Soni contacted the Petitioner to inform him that Shri Modi had asked her to do a project on Alang Shipyard for which she would like to come to Bhavnagar. She came to Bhavnagar and, during that time, the Petitioner observed that she was constantly in touch with Shri Modi, who was abroad and probably in South Africa. She also conveyed to the

Petitioner that Shri Modi had asked her about the Petitioner and whether the Petitioner knew about her intimate relationship with Shri Modi. In one conversation, Ms. Soni showed the Petitioner a text message that the Chief Minister had sent to her from abroad. The Petitioner made a note of the cell phone number from which it had originated. The number was 9909923400. 19.

It is submitted that the Petitioner had two cell phones at the time, with Nos. 99251 99799 and 98240 01729. On one of these, the Petitioner had saved the aforesaid number from which Ms. Soni had received personal message

from

Shri

Modi.

Once,

the

Petitioner

accidentally dialed Shri Modi’s number, thinking that he was actually calling someone else, but the Petitioner got no reply on Shri Modi’s phone. The Petitioner realized his mistake and promptly disconnected. The Petitioner verily believes that Shri Modi must have found out the address of the holder of the SIM card from which his personal number was [accidentally] dialed, and placed it under observation

either

with

the

help

of

State

CID

(Intelligence) or illegal phone tapping methods involving the use of electronic equipment through unauthorized collaboration. Shri Modi could then have found that Ms. Soni was speaking to the Petitioner often over phone.

20. Around this time, the Petitioner received an anonymous letter conveying that a video of sexual activity between Ms. Soni and one person, was available on an internet website, and the letter advised the Petitioner to desist from contacting Ms. Soni, as her character and actions were not befitting of her company with Gujarat State officials. The Petitioner did indeed come across such a video clipping and it now appears to the Petitioner that Shri Modi, who was monitoring the Petitioner’s cell phone calls, started believing that videos involving Ms. Soni perhaps included him i.e. Shri Modi. 21. It is submitted that the first case was registered against the District Magistrate and Collector of Kutch

District on

20.02.2008 in which the Petitioner was not named as the accused but thereafter, in order to frame the Petitioner, various cases were registered. The details of these cases are: (v)

M. Case no. 1/2008: registered on dated 20.2.2008 with the CID (Crime) Rajkot zone.

(vi)

CASE NO. 3/2010 registered with CID (CRIME) Rajkot Zone.

(vii)

CASE NO. 9/2010 registered with CID (CRIME) Rajkot Zone.

(viii)

CID (Crime) Rajkot Zone No. 1/2011 Offence registered under section 217, 409, 120(B) of IPC, registered on 22.2.2011.

22.

It is submitted that the aforesaid cases are being investigated by the State CID (Crime) Branch and the proceedings being orchestrated under keen personal supervision of the Chief Minister of the State who, as narrated above, has more than one reason to be prejudiced and biased against the Petitioner. The said cases have been filed only to malign and torture the Petitioner since he is the brother of Shri Kuldip Sharma and because the Chief Minister is convinced that the information of his liaisons with Ms. Soni in the Petitioner’s possession is a potential threat to his image.

23. It is, therefore, submitted that it would be in the interest of justice that this Hon’ble Court be pleased to direct the State CID to restrain from going ahead with the investigation being conducted in the aforementioned FIRs pending the hearing of the present petition. PRAYER In the premises, it is most respectfully prayed that this Hon’ble Court may graciously be pleased to:-

(a)

Pass suitable orders/directions to the State of Gujarat and/or its instrumentalities including the State CID restraining from conducting further investigation/trial in the following FIRs namely :(i).

M. Case no. 1/2008: registered on dated 20.2.2008 with the CID (Crime) Rajkot zone.

(ii).

CASE NO. 3/2010 registered with CID (CRIME) Rajkot Zone.

(iii).

CASE NO. 9/2010 registered with CID (CRIME) Rajkot Zone.

(iv). CID (Crime) Rajkot Zone No. 1/2011 Offence registered under section 217, 409, 120(B) of IPC, registered on 22.2.2011.

(b)

pass such further order or orders as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.

AND FOR THIS ACT OF KINDNESS THE APPLICANTS AS IN DUTY BOUND SHALL EVER PRAY FILED BY

NEW DELHI DATE: 26.4.2011 Applicant

(SUNIL FERNANDES) Advocate for the

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA (Criminal Original Jurisdiction) W.P. (Crl.) No.________ of 2011 (Writ Petition Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India)

IN THE MATTER OF Pradeep N. Sharma

…Petitioner

Vs. State of Gujarat & Ors.

…Respondents

Crl. M. P. No.

/2011

An Application for Exemption from filing Official Translation of Annexure P3 – P6 & P8

Crl. M. P. No.

/2011

An Application for Ad Interim ExParte Directions.

PAPER-BOOK (For Index, please see inside)

ADVOCATE FOR THE PETITIONER : SUNIL FERNANDES

INDEX Sl. No.

PARTICULARS

1.

Listing Proforma

2.

Synopsis and List of Dates

3.

Writ Petition with Affidavit

4.

ANNEXURE P – 1 (Colly):

Page No.

A

1 - 33

i) Copy of the letter dated 21.3.1985

34

ii) Copy of the letter dated 22.4.1985

35

iii) Copy of the letter dated 5.5.1988

36

iv) Copy of the letter dated 18.5.1989

37 - 38

v) Copy of the Professional Dynamics in

39 - 51

Health Care dated April, 1994

5.

vi) Copy of the Indian Express Portion dated 26.1.2004

52 - 56

vii) Copy of the Towards a Better Tomorrow dated 26.3.2004

57 - 58

viii) Copy of the India Today Portion dated 7.11.2005

59 – 62

ix) Copy of the India Today Portion dated 5.06.2006

63 – 65

x) Copy of the Article

66 – 70

xi) Copy of the BBC News Portion

71 – 76

ANNEXURE P – 2 Copy of the order dated 07.04.2011 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal Gujarat in OA. No. 49 of 2010

77 – 130

6.

ANNEXURE P - 3: Copy of the FIR No. 1/2008 dated 20.2.2008 District-Bhuj, Rajkot, Gujarat.

131 - 146

7.

ANNEXURE P - 4: Copy of the FIR being I-CR No.3/2010 dated 31.03.2010 istrict-Bhuj, Rajkot, Gujarat.

147 - 151

8.

ANNEXURE P - 5: Copy of the said FIR being I-CR No.9/2010 dated 25.9.2010, istrict-Bhuj, Rajkot, Gujarat.

152 - 162

9.

ANNEXURE P - 6: Copy of the said letter dated 11.12.2010, addressed to Shri K.P. Gajipara, the investigating officer.

163 – 174

10.

ANNEXURE P - 7: Copy of said letter dated 19.01.11 addressed to the Chief Secretary, Govt. of Gujarat

175 – 180

11.

ANNEXURE P - 8: Copy of the said FIR being CID Crime No. 1 of 2011 dated 22.2.2011, istrict-Bhuj, Rajkot, Gujarat.

181 – 190

12.

Application for exemption from filing the official translations.

191 - 192

13.

Application for Direction.

193 - 207