Case: Bongaigaon Refinery &amp; P.C. Ltd Vs. Girish Chandra Sarmah

Deputy General Manager; Shri T.V.John, CM/DGM (Finance) and Shri P.K.Gogoi, SM/CM (Project-Civil) were the members along with the respondent. All these three Committees have processed the deal and it is only the respondent has been made a scapegoat. After going through the report and the finding recorded by the Division Bench of the High Court, we are of opinion that in fact the Division Bench correctly assessed the situation that the respondent alone was made a scapegoat whereas the decision by all three committees was unanimous decision by all these members participating in the negotiations and the price was finalized accordingly. It is not the respondent alone can be held responsible when the decision was taken by the committees. If the decision of the Committee stinks, it cannot be said that the respondent was alone stink, it will be arbitrary. If all fish stink, pick one and say it stinks only is unfair in the matter of unanimous decision of the Committee. In all the three charges, the respondent has been found to be guilty for not assessing the reasonable price in his report submitted by him where the price indicated by the owner of the land was Rs.30 lakhs. The appointment of Shri I.Sharma as a valuer for land valuation was not also the decision of the respondent alone and the exploration of soil and rock strata given to the company, M/s. ESS Pvt. Ltd. was also not the decision of the respondent alone. Therefore, all the three charges which have been framed against the respondent as if he is alone responsible for the deal is not the correct approach. It is also not necessary that the land owner who has given the offer at one point of time at Rs.30 lakhs to stick to that. Instead she has intimated the appellant company by her letter quoting the price at Rs.61 lakhs and that was subsequently negotiated and brought out to Rs.50.01 lakhs. The preliminary report submitted by the respondent to the Director (Commercial) was after discussion with the land owner at the cost of Rs.30 lakhs yet this cannot work as an estoppel against the land owner. May be the land owner at one point of time might have offered the land at Rs.30 lakhs but that report cannot operate as estoppel against the land owner that she cannot jag up the price for the land. In fact when the Price Negotiating Committee asked for written proposal from the land owner, she quoted at Rs.61 lakhs and ultimately the Price Negotiating Committee after taking into consideration all the factors negotiated at Rs.50.01 lakhs for 5 acres of land. This was the joint decision of the Price Negotiating Committee which was headed by Shri S.C.Goswami, General Manager (Marketing) as the Chairman. Therefore, from the above discussion, we are of opinion that the view taken in these set of facts by the Division Bench cannot be said to be wrong. 8. So far as the legal proposition as contended by learned Additional Solicitor General with regard to appreciation of evidence is concerned, there is no quarrel that the Courts cannot sit as appellate authority over the domestic enquiries but in the present case what appears us is that the respondent has become a scapegoat in order to make someone responsible for no fault of his. He alone was targeted for the simple reason that he submitted preliminary report where the price of the land proposed by the land owner was Rs.30 lakhs. But this was tentative price given by the land owner and the authorities negotiated with the land owner and she quoted the price at Rs.61 lakhs and thereafter they again negotiated with her. The background was fully known to Shri S.C.Goswami, General Manager (Marketing) who was the Chairman of the Tender Negotiating Committee and even otherwise also just because that one of the Officers has submitted a preliminary report intimating the price given by the landowner as Rs.30 lakhs for 7 acres of land, that does not bind the land owner to sell the land for similar price, later on if she wriggles out, for which the officer of the appellant company who had inquired from the land owner cannot be found guilty. The respondent cannot be held responsible for the same and more so in the present case the price has been negotiated by the Price Negotiating Committee. Therefore, simply because a preliminary report was submitted by the respondent and all the three Committees in which he was a member along with others cannot disown their liability. If the respondent is targeted then all the members of the Committees are equally responsible. Therefore, such finding given by the enquiring authority cannot be countenanced. Similarly, so far as the appointment of Shri I.Sharma is concerned, the respondent alone was not responsible. 9. Learned Additional Solicitor General has submitted that since learned counsel for the respondent-writ petitioner has already abandoned the plea of perversity i.e. that the finding is perverse, the same is not open for learned counsel for the respondent writ petitioner to press again before the Division Bench of the High Court. Since the writ appeal is in continuation of the original order passed in the writ jurisdiction by learned Single Judge, it cannot operate as an estoppel against learned counsel for the respondent to press the same. If the finding recorded by the Inquiring Officer is not sound and it relates to perversity then the appellate court in writ appeal cannot estop the counsel from raising the same. More so, the Division Bench after considering the matter has found that the whole approach was perverse because the respondent alone has been made a scapegoat. When the decision of all the three committees was unanimous, then to take one and put the entire blame on him is definitely perverse approach and the Court cannot stand to the technicalities so as to defeat the ends of justice. Thus, the submission of learned Additional Solicitor General has no merit.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 0

Explanation:
0[ds]9. Learned Additional Solicitor General has submitted that since learned counsel for thet petitioner has already abandoned the plea of perversity i.e. that the finding is perverse, the same is not open for learned counsel for the respondent writ petitioner to press again before the Division Bench of the High Court. Since the writ appeal is in continuation of the original order passed in the writ jurisdiction by learned Single Judge, it cannot operate as an estoppel against learned counsel for the respondent to press the same. If the finding recorded by the Inquiring Officer is not sound and it relates to perversity then the appellate court in writ appeal cannot estop the counsel from raising the same. More so, the Division Bench after considering the matter has found that the whole approach was perverse because the respondent alone has been made a scapegoat. When the decision of all the three committees was unanimous, then to take one and put the entire blame on him is definitely perverse approach and the Court cannot stand to the technicalities so as to defeat the ends of justice. Thus, the submission of learned Additional Solicitor General has no merit.