Qamaruddin Mansoori vs State of U.P.& Anr.

Ashok A. Desai and Onkareshwar Bhatt, JJ.—Sometimes in the year 1995 the petitioner was elected as a President of Municipal Council. On 761999, show cause notice purported to be under Clause (vi) and (vii) of subsection (2) of Section 48 of the U.P. Municipalities Act, 1916 was served on him. In sum and substance, the allegation there in was, certain appointments were made contrary to the Government Orders and there were certain irregularities. By communication dated 2461999 the President asked certain documents to file reply to the show cause notice. They were denied and by the impugned order dated 1381999 the petitioner was removed from the office of the President.

To support the order, the learned standing Counsel for the State urged before us that the petitioner at the relevant time temporarily appointed one Junior Engineer as a Chief Officer and by influencing him got about 48 appointments regularised. According to learned Counsel, there was no sanction to these posts. Moreover, requisition was not sent to the Employment Exchange. The President has thus acted with a flagrant disregard to the provisions and wilfully committed irregularities in giving these appointments. It was further added that all these appointments since w.ere made by the petitioner, he was not justified in demanding the copies of the documents.

With the assistance of the learned Counsel for the parties, we have perused the show cause notice, which is at page 38 of the paperbook. The show cases notice does not say in any manner about the appointment of Chief Officer and influencing him or manipulating the appointment through him of the various posts. Furthermore, even though the appointments were during the regime of the petitioner he is entitled to peruse the relevant documents. The denial of those documents is certainly violation of principle of natural justice. Moreover, we see that imputation in the show cause notice is ambiguous and completely vague. The order of removal pursuant to the said show cause notice, therefore, cannot be sustained. We, therefore, quash and set aside the impugned order dated 1381999. However, we clarify rhat the Government is at liberty to take action after issuing appropriate show cause notice incorporating the charges in clear terms and granting necessary opportunity to the petitioner to defend himself. The petition is accordingly allowed.