Giving hope to honest public servants to stand up against corruption, the Supreme Court in an unprecedented decision on Tuesday directed the Uttar Pradesh Government to pay Rs10 lakh as compensation to a retired Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, who was jailed for 11 days in a false case of corruption.
The officer Ram lakhan Singh of the Indian Forest Service had an unblemished record of 35 years. But the system turned against him in October 2003 after he refused to follow the order given by the then UP Chief Minister who asked him to de-notify the Benti Bird Sanctuary in Pratapgarh district. Singh was a member of the National Board for Wildlife and de-notifying a sanctuary would have put wildlife at a risk besides permit commercialisation of the forest area.
To its shock, the bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and NV Ramana found that the three charges of disproportionate assets, illegal mining and auction of tendu leaves, were wrongly foisted on Singh without any material to support such allegations. This had led the Special Judge, Anti-Corruption Act, lucknow to declare all cases against the officer as “null and void” on February 15 2012 to which the State did not oppose.
Although the role of the Chief Minister could not be proved, the State’s affidavit in Supreme Court indicated that the vigilance probe against the officer was initiated at the behest of the then Chief Minister.
Drawing its conclusions, the bench said, “Some upright officers resist corruption but they cannot alone change the system which victimizes them though frequent punitive transfers, threat to their families and fabricating, foisting false cases. In such a scenario, until and unless we maintain a fine balance between prosecuting a guilty officer and protecting an innocent officer from vexatious, frivolous and malafide prosecution, it would be very difficult for the public servant to discharge his duties in free and fair manner.”
For the mental agony, illegal imprisonment and loss of reputation suffered by the officer, who retired on December 31, 2004, Court directed UP Government to award compensation of Rs10 lakh within three months. Though Singh demanded Rs4.5 crore compensation, the bench noted that the unusual order was passed considering the “peculiar facts” — false criminal cases, 11-day jail, legal battle of 10 years, and mental trauma suffered by the officer at this age. The bench observed at the end, “The protection to an honest public servant is required not only in his interest but in the larger interest of the society.”