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Shri H. C. Sarin-the appellant was employed in the Indian Railways as Senior Railway Inspector attached to the Office of the India Stores Department at London. He was in that job from the 6th August, 1954. The Government of India placed orders with various firms in the United Kingdom and the continent for supply of rolling stock and other materials for the Indian Railways. In December, 1956 the appellant was deputed to the Essen Area of West Germany as Senior Railway Inspector in which capacity he had to inspect and pass the goods in the first instance at the site. Although this work of inspection in West Germany was entrusted to the German Federal Railway in January 1958, the appellant remained there associated with the work till April or May, 1958. In July, 1956 orders were placed with M/s Leo Gottwald and Company for supply of several breakdown cranes- both for meter gauge and broad gauge railway tracks in India. This was a family concern of one Dr. Hans Dieter Gottwald. Prior to the appellant's going to the Essen Area of West Germany, there were other Senior Railway Inspectors doing the work of inspection including one S. N. Hussain (since deceased) immediately preceding the appellant. One of the clauses in the contract with Gottwald was that he would be liable to pay liquidated damages in the specified sums if he made delay in the delivery of the cranes. Eventually there being delay, the amount of such damages was quantified at a figure in the neighbourhood of & 45,000/-.

"In order for me to prepare my defence I would request permission to visit Germany to collect essential information required when submitting my written defence, especially as the charges refer to periods two to three years ago."

The Chairman of the Board of Enquiry in his reply dated the 15 April, 1959 stated in para 3 thus:

"In regard to your request to be permitted to visit Germany, the Board would like to have in writing before April 20, 1959, the purpose for which you wish to visit Germany and the names and addresses of person/persons you wish to contact and the paper/papers you may wish to examine."

Further correspondence followed in the matter and the appellant was not given permission to visit Germany prior to the visit of the Board of Enquiry.

In the light of the relevant correspondence which passed between the appellant and the Chairman of the Board of Enquiry we have come to the conclusion that it was not at all necessary for the appellant to visit Germany for preparing his defence. The Board committed no mistake and violated no principles of natural justice in refusing the permission. No useful purpose would have been served by such a visit in the interest of the appellant's defence, if any. on the other hand his insistence to visit Germany at the earliest opportunity smacks of some ulterior design on his part in regard to his defence.

When the Board decided to visit Germany for holding the enquiry, it gave ample opportunity to the appellant to proceed to Germany to take part in it. The main part of the enquiry. rather, the only substratum of the materials was to be done and collected at Dusseldorf in Germany. Yet on one excuse or the other the appellant, it appears, was advised to adopt an attitude of non cooperation which was likely to forge a ground of attack on the departmental enquiry, thinking that participation in it would. perhaps, worsen his case. It is found more often than not that Government servants who have no real defence to take against the accusations are advised, and sometimes not without success, to non-cooperate with the enquiry. It seems to us this was one such case.