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| Court discharges former Director Floriculture | | Major Set-back to SVO | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
Jammu, March-30:- In a major setback to State Vigilance Organization who had registered a case in the year 2006 against then Incharge Director Floriculture J&K Kulbushan Kumar Sharma and his section officer Abdul Rashid Mir, Special Judge Anticorruption Jammu AK Koul discharged at the stage of framing charges and took serious note of the mode of investigation by the SVO.
According to the Vigilance Case, purchase of Machinery equipments on highly exorbitant rates resulting in loss to the state exchequer, it is alleged in the FIR that Govt order dated October 28, 2004 a State Level Purchase Committee headed by Mr. Kulbushan Sharma then Incharge Director Floriculture J&K was constituted for purchase of machinery equipments. According to the challan Mr. Sharma in furtherance of criminal conspiracy with other purchased machinery items on exorbitant rate of Rs 40, 95, 925 as against actual cost of Rs 32, 34, 506/- and CST, Freight etc have purchase for Rs 33, 78, 489/- as against the purchased rate Rs 40, 95, 925 in this manner the accused public servant were found to have conferred undue benefit of Rs 7, 17, 436 to the supplier firm. It is further submitted in the challan the accused KK Sharma received faxed price list marked to Section Officer Abdul Rashid Mir was not shared with the members of SLPC.
The court after hearing the parties observed that Court need to concentrate on the facts whether accused No 1 Director has any unholy nexus with his SO and did they really suppress the price list from other SLP Members. Before replying this question Court would like to put on record that there is a process for purchase of stores in Govt Offices.
Court further observed that it is not the case of SVO that accused received any pecuniary benefit out of the deal. So the reply to the question is that SLPC was not legally obliged to cross check the rates offered by the lowest tenderers. If it was done by asking the principal supplier to fax the rates, it was simply not required by procedure and would not cast on obligation on Director, to place the price list before SLPC. The other dimension is that the price list was not suppressed at all. Rather it is manifest that member/secretary Mr. Anoop Koul and other members of SLPC also seen the said price list. This is evident from the statement of witnesses.
The court further observed that it would be abuse of legal process to assume that every lapse committee by a public servant is an outcome of malafide intention unless some ulterior motive is manifest. No public servant would every be safe, or able to discharge the function of his office effectively if every benefit accruing to another in normal course of business would amount to an offence, inspite of its being without criminal intention. That would put the public servants under immense pressure and would resultantly hinder all departments and progress.
Court further observed that an honest mistake of unintentional lapse cannot be construed as abuse of official position. The expression abuse of power cannot be construed to use of power which may appears to be simply unreasonable or inappropriate. The law is concerned about willful abuse of power and an intentional wrong. An honest though erroneous course are an in-decision would not amount of misuse of powers or abuse of position. In this case only assertion put up against the accused is that there acts/omissions, resulted in undue advantage to the beneficiaries, the lower tenderers but Court regret to say that Court do not have any thing to suggest that there was an intentional wrong committed by the accused and so that ever is attributed to accused would not in the view of Court amounts to criminal misconduct and discharged the Director & SO at the stage of framing charge and the case filed by the SVO is dismissed.
JNF/MARCH/30/2011/1
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