HC serves charge sheet on Sessions Judge
By Rajendra Sharma
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 20 — An Additional Sessions Judge of the Punjab cadre, Mr Jagroop Singh, is in trouble for allegedly purchasing a disputed house in Chandigarh and misusing his official position to evict three tenants who lived in the house.

A three-page charge-sheet slapped on him by the Punjab and Haryana High Court accuses him, inter alia, of buying a one-kanal house (No 114) in Sector 21-A for a sum of Rs 6 lakh. Three tenants — Mr Gautam Malik, Mr K.N. Khera and Mr R.K. Verma — lived on the first and second floor of the house. Mr Jagroop Singh asked the tenants to vacate the house and when they expressed their inability "you adopted unsavoury methods to get it vacated", the charge-sheet says. It adds: "First, you let out the ground floor of the house to one Ashok Kumar Grover, who is running a motel under the name "Grover Motels" with ulterior motive of scaring the tenants away for getting the premises vacated from them. Further, apart from filing an ejectment petition, you indulged in intimidation by threatening the tenants".

"You also misused your official position by getting a false criminal case registered at your behest vide FIR No 33, dated June 17, 1995, at Dera Bassi police station against Mr Gautam Malik, one of the tenants, by procuring a false medico-legal report showing some injuries to have been suffered in a motor vehicle accident alleged to be caused by Mr Gautam Malik to one Devinder Singh, a peon working in the Punjab Nurses Registration Council, Chandigarh, whose services were procured by you for the said purpose by alluring him to get his motor accident claim case pending in a court at Ropar, decided in his favour".

Says the charge-sheet: "Further, a false motor accident claim petition against Gautam Malik too has been instituted for claiming compensation with regard to the injuries alleged to have been caused in the said accident to Mr Devinder Singh. Both these cases were lodged against Mr Gautam Malik at your instance by said Devinder Singh in order to pressure tenant Mr Gautam Singh Malik to vacate the house".

"By indulging in these acts", the charge-sheet adds, "You have grossly misused your official position and power by violating the judicial propriety and discipline, amounting to grave misconduct which is unbecoming of a Judicial Officer and thereby violated the Government Employees (Conduct) Rules, 1966".

The charge-sheet further accuses the Additional Sessions Judge of constructing a house on plot No 1910 measuring 400 square yards in Phase X, Mohali, after seeking a loan of Rs 19,746 from the Punjab Government in September, 1985. "Thereafter you obtained a loan of Rs 1,03,000 from the Punjab Government without seeking prior permission of the high court. This house was sold by you for Rs 7 lakh to one Joginder Pal Singh Basra without seeking prior permission of the high court".

"As the said house was mortgaged with the Punjab Government and the sale-deed could not be executed", the charge-sheet says, "You executed a general power of attorney in favour of one Tejinder Singh Sidhu on the instructions of the purchaser, again without seeking prior permission of the high court. With the sale proceeds of the said house you purchased three-storeyed one-kanal house in Sector 21-A from one Mr B.S. Kohli and mortgaged the same with the Punjab Government, again without seeking prior permission of the high court".

The high court has charge-sheeted Mr Jagroop Singh under Rule 18.2 of the Government Employees (Conduct) Rules, 1966. The enquiry of this case is being conducted by a senior high court judge.