TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1996 (9) TMI 646
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....s Reign, Petrol and Patronage Flow Together". The solicitor general who was present in Court, took notice of the news item and stated that he would have the matter examined in the Ministry concerned and file an affidavit giving Ministry's response to the news item. The news item, inter alia, stated as under: Not only the relatives of most of the officials working for Captain Satish Sharma but even his own driver and the driver of his additional Private Secretary have been allotted a petrol pump and a gas agency respectively. The wives of two clerks and a stenographer in the Ministry have similarly been allotted petrol pumps. Some of these allotments have been made from the discretionary quota with the Petroleum Minister while others have been made through an ostensibly objective selection process undertaken by the Oil Selection Boards (OSBs).... A Mr. Poda Rajshekar, a relative of Mr. G. Gurusharan, Private Secretary to Captain Sharma has been allotted a petrol pump at Banjara Hills, Hyderabad out of the Minister's discretionary quota taking pity on the "financial circumstances that the family finds itself in. Ms. Madhuri Safaya, a relation of the....
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....ma (Member OSB, West Bengal), Mr. R.S. Nautiyal (Member OSB, Punjab), and Mr. Harbanslal Gupta (member OSB, Haryana). Two relations of Mrs. Satya Bahen (Member OSB, Haryana)were allotted a gas agency in Etah and a petrol pump at Itmadpur near Tundla, respectively. The son of a former Home Minister who is currently a Cabinet Minister; the son of a present Minister of State from the North East; the brother-in-law of former Janata Dal office-bearer and now a Congressman from Eastern UP; the of a Dalit leader who was with the late H.N. Bahuguna at one time and is now in the Congress; the son of a former Congress Councillor of the Municipal corporation of Delhi; the wife of an ex-Congress MP from the UP hills; the wife of a prominent Dalit leader in the Opposition and several political hacks from Amethi are among the hundreds who have been gifted petrol pumps or gas agencies during the tenure of Captain Satish Sharma as the Petroleum Minister. Mr. Vijay L. Kelkar, Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, filed affidavit dated October 9, 1995. The relevant part of the affidavit is as under: It may be relevant to point out here that....
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.... said Shri Buta Singh. (ii) with reference to the allegation that the son of a present Minister of State from North-East, has been allotted a petrol pump,... It is correct that the said allottee is the son of a Minister namely, Shri K. Hollahan, in the State Government of Nagaland. B. ALLOTTEES SAID TO BE RELATED TO THE MEMBERS OF OSBs OR THE MEMBERS THEMSELVES. (i) With reference to the allegation that Shri Syed Shaukat Hasan Abidi is the son of Justice S.H. Abidi (retd.), who is the Chairman of the OSB for Uttar Pradesh.... Discretionary allotment was made in favour of the applicant in January, 1995. It is correct that the said allottee is the son of the said Chairman of OSB for U.P. (ii) With reference to the allegation that Shri Shiv Balak Passi is a member of the OSB for Madhya Pradesh and he is himself an allottee from discretionary quota,.... A discretionary allotment was sanctioned in his favour in December, 1994. It is correct that Shri Passi is a Member of the OSB for Madhya Pradesh. (iii) With reference to the allegation that the allottee, Shri Pradeep Kumar, is the son of Shri Krishna Swaroop who is a Member of OSB for Delhi ....
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....etary to the Minister of State, it is stated that an application was made by Shri Rajasekhar in July, 1993,.... A retail Outlet Dealership for MS-HSD at Secunderabad was sanctioned to Shri Rajasekhar on compassionate grounds. It has been ascertained that the said allottee is a relative of the said Shri Gurucharan. (iii) With reference to the allegation that Ms. Madhuri Safaya is a relative of Shri B.N. Safaya, Additional Private Secretary to the Minister, to whom a Retail Outlet has been allotted,.... It has been ascertained that she is related to the said Shri B.N. Safaya. (iv) With reference to the allegation that Ms. Monica Malla is also related to Shri B.N. Safaya,.... A Retail Outlet was allotted to her in November, 1994 out of discretionary quota. It has been ascertained that the said Ms. Malla is related to the wife of Shri B.N. Safaya. (v) With reference to the allegation that the allottee, Mrs. Daya Rani, is the wife of Shri H.R. Verma, Personal Assistant to the Additional Private Secretary to the Minister, Shri B.N. Safaya,.... It is correct that the allottee is the wife of Shri H.R. Verma. (vi) With reference to the allegation that Mrs....
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....eserves sympathetic consideration. Therefore, a Retail Outlet for MS-HSD in the National Capital Territory of Delhi is allotted to Shri Sarbjot Singh r/o 16, Ashok Road, New Delhi. Orders may be issued accordingly. Sd/- (Capt. Satish Sharma) Minister of State Thereafter, the matter was processed in the office and in one of the notes by an officer of the Ministry it was mentioned that the allottee "is son of Shri Buta Singh, Minister of Civil Supplies". No one took notice of this fact and the allotment order was issued. 4. In all the cases discussed hereinafter the pattern of allotment and the method and procedure followed was the same as in Sarbjot Singh's case. 5. Benjamin K. Hollohon stated in his application that he was an educated unemployed youth and also active party worker in the area. He belonged to scheduled tribe from Nagaland State. He requested in the application for allotment of petrol pump in Purana Bazar area of Dimapur town, Nagaland. The application was sent to Captain Satish Sharma by Mr. K. Hollohon, Minister, Industry and Commerce, Nagaland (Father of the applicant) along with a d.o. letter which reads as under: ....
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....of my best efforts. I have not been able to get a suitable employment. I have no other source of income and am entirely dependent on my aged parents for survival. My inability to find employment and settle down is causing anxiety to my parents. Hence, I would most humbly request you Sir, to grant me a petrol pump at Fatehpur (80 Km. Mile Stone) in Uttar Pradesh. The Minister passed the following order: Office of the Minister of State (P&NG) ************ Placed below is an application of Shri Syed Hasan Shaukat Abidi for allotment of a Retail Outlet for MS-HSD. The applicant has stated that he has completed his post Graduation in Business Administration and has not been able to find any suitable employment. The applicant has also stated that he has no other source of income and is dependent on his parents for sustenance. Submitted for kind orders. Sd/- (G. Gurucharan) PS to MOS (P&NG) 16/12 Minister I have examined the application carefully. The applicant is a professional qualified man without any regular employment. The applicant has no other source of income and is entirely dependent on his parent....
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....at he was appearing in B.A. (final). He further stated that his father has been an active congress worker since 1952 and has held many important positions in the organisation as well as on the executive side. The following order was made by the Minister: Office of the Minister of State (P&NG) ********** Placed below is an application of Shri Pradeep Kumar for allotment of Retail Outlet for MS-HSD. The applicant has stated that he belongs to a Scheduled Caste Community and also an unemployed Under Graduate. For kind orders. Sd/- (G. Gurucharan) PS to MOS (P&NG) 20/6/94 Minister I have examined the application carefully. The applicant is a young man from Scheduled Caste Community with no source of regular income. The case deserves sympathetic consideration. Therefore, a Retail Outlet for MS-HSD in the Union Territory of Delhi is allotted to Shri Pradeep Kumar, r/o 18/7, Punjabi Bagh Extension, New Delhi - 110 026. Orders may be issued accordingly. Sd/- (Capt. Satish Sharma) Minister of State While processing the order, noting on the file is as under: Refere....
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....to MOS (P&NG) 23/9 Minister I have examined the application carefully. The applicant is an unemployed graduate from Jammu & Kashmir trying to settle in Delhi. The applicant is an active social worker espousing the nationalist cause for which reason he and his family have become a target of militants in the Valley. The applicant has not been able to obtain any suitable employment in Delhi and is finding it difficult to support his immediate family in Delhi and his parents in Jammu. The case deserves sympathetic consideration. Therefore an 'A' site Retail Outlet for MS-HSD in the Union Territory of Delhi is allotted to Shri Ghulam Ahmad Mir S/o Haji Gh. Hassan Mir r/o 71-D, Pocket 'K', Sheikh Sarai-II, New Delhi. Orders may be issued accordingly. Sd/- (Capt. Satish Sharma) Minister of State While processing the Minister's order the office put up the following note on the file: Ref. note above. Sh. G.A. Mir, has furnished his bio-data vide pp 3-4/C. In his bio-data he has stated that he working as Member of Oil Selection Board and is getting Rs. 250 per sitting of the Board as honorarium. ....
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....tion Board, Punjab. 11. Arun Kumar Gupta in his application stated that he passed BSc. in Production Engineering in the year 1970 and worked as Project Engineer in the Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Ltd. at Chandigarh from 1976 to 1989 when he was forced to tender resignation on political considerations when the Haryana Government was headed by Shri Devi Lal. It is further stated that since then he was unemployed and as such the application for grant of petrol pump. The application was directly dealt with by the Minister and his Private Secretary in the following manner: Office of the Minister of State (P&NG) *********** Placed below is an application of Shri Arun K. Gupta for allotment of Retail Outlet. The applicant has stated that he is a professional who has not been able to find a regular employment and is finding it difficult to make ends meet. Submitted for kind orders. Sd/- (G. Gurucharan) PS to MOS (P&NG) 22/X/93 Minister I have examined the application carefully. The applicant is a graduate in Production Engineering and is without any regular employment. The case....
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....t the family in difficult circumstances. Submitted for kind orders. Sd/- (G. Gurucharan) PS. to MOS (P&NG) 9.11. Minister I have examined the application carefully. The applicant is an unemployed youth whose father's as sudden demise had prevented from completing his education. The applicant's mother who had been the sole bread-winner for the family is also afflicted with Cancer which has put the family in straitened circumstances. The applicant has also not been able to obtain suitable employment. The case deserves sympathetic consideration. Therefore, a Retail Outlet for MS-HSD at Ferozabad-Shikohabad Road, near Makhanpur, Uttar Pradesh is allotted to Shri Dharmesh Kumar s/o Late Shri Johari Lal (Amin) r/o H.No. 20, Katra Mohammad Mah, Gandhi Marg, Shikohabad, Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh. Orders may be issued accordingly. Sd/- 9/11 (Capt. Satish Sharma) Minister of State In his affidavit filed before this Court Dharmesh Kumar stated that he is "neither a family member nor dependent on Satya Bahin. The deponent is not closely related to Satya Bahin." 13. Leela Devi in her applicati....
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....ds it difficult to cope with the present circumstances. The Minister allotted the petrol pump by the following order: OFFICE OF THE MINISTER OF STATE (P&NG) ************** Placed below is the application of Shri Poda Rajasekhar r/o. 8-3-897/6 Nagarjuna Nagar, Hyderabad (A.P.). The applicant has stated that he is an educated unemployed person who has the responsibility of looking after his mother as well as a cousin, who is mentally retarded. He has stated that besides his best efforts, he has not been able to settle in any regular employment. He has prayed that a retail outlet dealership for MS-HSD may be allotted to him at Banjara Hills, Secunderabad (A.P.). For kind orders. Sd/- (G. GURUCHARAN) PS TO MOS (P&NG) 23.7.93 Minister I have examined the application carefully. The applicant's case is genuine in view of the adverse financial circumstances that the family finds itself in. It is a fit case for sympathetic consideration. Accordingly a retail outlet dealership for MS-HSD is allotted to Shri Poda Rajasekhar at Banjara Hills, Secunderabad (A.P.). Orders may be issued immediately. ....
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....-HSD. The applicant has stated that she is young lady from Kashmir whose family has been forced to migrate to Delhi due to growing militancy. The applicant has also stated that she has exhausted their family's savings and are finding it difficult to sustain themselves in Delhi. Submitted for kind orders. Sd/- (G. Gurucharan) PS to MOS (P&NG) 12.10 Minister I have examined the application carefully. The applicant is a young lady whose family had migrated to Delhi owing to militant activities of the extremists. The applicant's family has no source of livelihood and she has not been able to obtain any suitable employment. The case deserves sympathetic consideration. Therefore, a Retail Outlet for MS-HSD in the National Capital Territory of Delhi is allotted to Ms. Monica Malla c/o Smt. Labroo r/o. D-1/54, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. Orders may be issued accordingly. Sd/- (Capt. Satish Sharma) Minister of State Mr. Kelkar has stated in his affidavit that Monica Malla is related to the wife of B.N. Safaya, Addl. Private Secretary to the Minister. 17. Daya Rani stated in her appl....
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.... of her husband could not sustain their liabilities. She requested the Minister to allot her a petrol pump which was done by the following order: Office of the Minister of State (P&NG) ***************** Placed below is the application of Smt. Vijaya Nair. The applicant is a young educated unemployed person with the responsibility of looking after a family which has a meagre income. The applicant has stated that despite best efforts she has been unable to obtain suitable job. She has, therefore requested that as a special case she may be allotted a Retail Outlet MS-HSD in the Union Territory of Delhi. For kind orders. Sd/- (G. Gurucharan) PS to MOS (P&NG) 23.7.93 Minister I have examined the application carefully. The applicant is an educated unemployed housewife whose family circumstances is one of considerable financial difficulty. The applicant has also prayed that she has the necessary drive and initiative to run a Retail Outlet. This is a fit case to be considered sympathetically. Accordingly, a Retail Outlet for MSHSD is allotted to Smt. Vijaya Nair, 2213, Lodi Road Complex, New Delhi-110003, in t....
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....the allottees belong to either of these two categories then how the Minister has selected them out of millions of poor and unemployed in this country. As mentioned above no criteria was fixed, no guidelines were kept in view, none knew how many petrol pumps were available for allotment, applications were not invited and the allotments of petrol pumps were made in an arbitrary and discriminatory manner. 21. We may examine these allotments from another angle which has very serious repercussions. Six of the allottees are related to various officials working with the Minister. Leela Devi is the mother of Minister's driver. Poda Rajasekhar is a relation of G. Gurucharan, Private Secretary to the Minister. Madhuri Safaya and Monika Malla are related to B.N. Safaya, Addl. Private Secretary to the Minister. Daya Rani is the wife of H.R. Verma, Personal Assistant to B.N. Safaya and Vijaya Nair is the wife of D.V. Pallai, Addl. Private Secretary. Two of the allottees are related to the politicians. Sarbjot Singh is the son of Buta Singh who was Home Minister and at the relevant time was Cabinet Minister heading the Civil Supplies portfolio. Benjamin K. Hollohan is the son of Shri K. H....
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....of Chairmen and members of the Oil Selection Boards and the members of the Oil Selection Boards themselves. The allotments made by him were wholly mala fide and as such cannot be sustained. 23. We are further of the view that Capt. Satish Sharma acted in a wholly biased manner inasmuch as he unfairly regarded with favour the cases of 15 allottees before him. The relevant circumstances available from record and discussed by us leave no manner of doubt in our mind that Capt. Satish Sharma deliberately acted in a biased manner to favour these allottees and as such the allotment orders are wholly vitiated and are liable to be set aside. 24. The orders of the Minister reproduced above read : "the applicant has no regular income to support herself and her family", "the applicant is an educated lady and belongs to scheduled tribe community", "the applicant is unemployed and has no regular source of income", "the applicant is an uneducated, unemployed scheduled tribe youth without regular source of livelihood", "the applicant is a housewife whose family is facing difficult financial circumstances" etc. etc. There would be literally millions of people in the country having these circu....
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....tc. The Court in that case did not have before it the actual manner of exercise of discretion by the Minister in the allotment of pumps/agencies. The allotment orders which are now before the Court clearly indicate that leaving the authorities to enjoy absolute discretion even within the guidelines would inevitably lead to gross violation of the constitutional norms when the persons for allotment are picked up arbitrarily and discriminatory. 26. This Court as back as in 1979 in Ramana Shetty's case (supra) held "it must, therefore, be taken to be the law" that even in the matter of grant of largesse including award of jobs, contracts, quotas and licences, the Government must act in fair and just manner and any arbitrary distribution of wealth would violate the law of the land. Mr. Satish Sharma has acted in utter violation of the law laid-down by this Court and has also infracted Article 14 of the Constitution of India. As already stated a minister in the Central Government is in a position of a trustee in respect of the public property under his charge and discretion. The petrol pumps/gas agencies are a kind of wealth which the Government must distribute in a bona fide mann....
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....effect. 3. Most of these 15 persons have not as yet commissioned the petrol pumps. Those who have commissioned the petrol pumps and are running the same shall stop operating the petrol pumps and running the said business with effect from October 31, 1996. The Government of India/Oil Corporation (concerned) shall take over the petrol pump premises from these persons within ten days thereafter. The Oil Corporation shall have the market-value of the site and the construction thereon, determined in a fair and just manner before October 31, 1996. 4. Each of the commissioned petrol pumps, taken over by the Government/Oil Corporation (concerned) and the built-up area along with the site (whether lease-hold or owned by the original allottee) shall be disposed of by way of public auction. The original allottees may also participate in the auction. The petrol pump shall be allotted to the highest bidder. The said allottee shall run the petrol pump on the original terms and conditions. He shall have all the rights in respect of the site and the construction thereon as the original allottee had on the date of auction. Out of the auction money the value of the site and the con....
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.... Devi Dayal, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum has filed another affidavit dated April 18, 1996 in reply to the affidavit of Mr. Srinivasan. Para 6 of the affidavit is as under: As regards the list of allottees mentioned in paras 3 to 6 and the alleged relationship with the Prime Minister, other Ministers, V.I.Ps., M.P.s/M.L. As., etc., it is to submit that enquiries have been made through the Oil Companies from the allottees, who have replied through affidavits. The comments of the Ministry, on the basis of above enquiry and records, are contained in Annexure - I to this affidavit. Annexure 1 with the affidavit shows that gas agencies were allotted to six relations of the then Prime Minister, an agency to a son of the OSD in Prime Minister's office, LPG dealership to daughter-in-law of the OSD to the then Minister of Petroleum, a petrol pump to the real brother of Chandraswamy (Nemi Chand Jain), LPG distributorship to brother of Shri Bhagwan Shri Satya Sai Baba, LPG dealership to Manju Devi, wife of private secretary to additional private secretary of Capt. Satish Sharma, a petrol pump to wife of V.K. Aggarwal, additional private secretary, Minister of L....