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In the transfer application filed by the brother of the complainant, there was an allegation that a sum of Rs. 80,000/- was paid and that it was settled through a library clerk with the involvement of two other clerks. In the transfer application, he also alleged that the brother and father of accused Ram Pal were found going in and coming out of the residence of the appellant. Despite all these allegations, no charge was framed against the appellant that he had received illegal gratification for granting bail. The charge sheet contained the only allegation that the bail order was passed by the appellant for extraneous consideration with oblique motives on insufficient grounds and that the appellant was guilty of misconduct and failed to maintain absolute integrity and devotion to duty within the meaning of Rule 3 of U.P. Government Servants Conduct Rules, 1956. The charge sheet as well as the statement of facts are clubbed together and the gist of allegations is contained in paragraphs 6 and 7 of the charge sheet.

A sitting Judge of the High Court conducted the enquiry and gave his report. Though there was no charge specifically brought against the appellant that he had received a sum of Rs.80,000/- as illegal gratification, this aspect also was considered by the learned Judge. On behalf of the complainant, PW-1 Jagdeo Singh was examined and he made a specific allegation that the father of the accused had withdrawn Rs.80,000/- from the bank and that the bail application was allowed on the next day. He did not, however, claim to have any direct knowledge. He deposed that he had gathered this information from a labourer. He did not take any steps to summon the bank record. PW-1 was completely disbelieved by the learned Judge who conducted the inquiry. The case set up by the complainant was not supported by other witnesses. The counsel who appeared for the brother of the deceased and moved the application for transfer, stated that the brother of the deceased did not tell him that there was a rumour in the village about payment of Rs.80,000/-. The Judge who conducted the inquiry elaborately considered the various aspects of the matter and concluded that there was no element of truth in the allegation that the appellant had received illegal gratification. The evidence of PW-1 on this aspect was disbelieved. However, the learned Judge inquiring the matter eventually came to the conclusion that the bail had been granted by the appellant in utter disregard of judicial norms and on insufficient grounds and based on extraneous consideration with oblique motive and the charges had been proved. It is important to note that the Judge who conducted the enquiry has not stated in his report as to what was the oblique motive or the extraneous consideration involved in the matter.

The learned Counsel for the appellant contended before us that the appellant was not charged for receiving any illegal gratification for granting bail to the accused in Crime No. 180 of 1995 registered by the Police Station at Nawabad. The charge, if at all, was vague and it only stated that the bail order had been passed by the delinquent officer [appellant] for extraneous consideration with oblique motive on insufficient grounds, without cogent and tangible reasons, and that he attempted to justify his order by superfluous reasoning by making adverse comments on the conduct of the Executive Magistrate, who recorded the dying declaration, fully knowing that it was a broad daylight double-murder case and that the grounds were not fit for granting bail and these factors revealed that the order had been passed for extraneous consideration. It was argued that there was no specific charge that the appellant received any monetary consideration from any of the accused or his relatives. The appellant's counsel also pointed out that though the complainant specifically alleged that a sum of Rs. 80,000/- was given to the appellant- officer and that this money had been obtained from the bank on the previous day by the father of accused Ram Pal, these allegations were not proved and that the complainant, at the time of enquiry, stated that he had heard of this story from some servants and from the very nature of the allegation, they were disbelieved and that was why a specific charge was not framed against the appellant. It was further argued by appellant's counsel that though there was no charge against the appellant, the Judge who conducted the enquiry allowed the complainant to adduce evidence, and eventually he came to the conclusion that there was absolutely no evidence to show that the delinquent officer had received any illegal gratification from any party.

The learned Judge who conducted the enquiry held that in the facts of the case where a heinous and daring offence had been committed in broad daylight and two persons had been shot dead in a crowded area next to the Collectorate at Jhansi and the accused were named in the FIR as well as in the dying declarations and their bail applications having been considered and rejected twice on merits by the respective courts, the third bail application granted by the charged officer in utter disregard of the judicial norms and on insufficient grounds appears to be based on extraneous consideration. The learned enquiry Judge did not care to take notice of the fact that the co-accused who were similarly situate had been granted bail by the High Court and that accused Ram Pal, who was a student and had been in jail for more than one year was granted bail for cogent reasons, set out in the order passed by the appellant. In the bail order, the appellant stated that there was an allegation that the Magistrate who recorded the dying declaration was once upon a time a tenant in one of the houses owned by the complainant. Taking cognizance of this fact by the appellant in the order could not be said to be a totally unwarranted and a superfluous reasoning.