The Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1955, apply to all Government servants, including Class IV servants, and require them to obtain prior permission from the appropriate authority before acquiring immovable property and to report such transactions to the prescribed authority.

Bahadur, J.

1. This is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution by the petitioner to quash the order dated the 24th October, 1963, passed by the Senior Superintendent of R.M.S. U.-Division, Muzaffarpur, dismissing him from service. Appeal against the order of dismissal was rejected by the Director of Postal Services Bihar Circle.

2. The petitioner was appointed as R. M. S. Porter on the 1st September, 1960, at Katihar. The Senior Superintendent. R M S. U.-Division, Muzaffarpur, sent a charge sheet dated the 14th March 1963, to the petitioner on the ground that he had violated Rules 3 and 15 of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1955 , (hereinafter referred to as the Rules) He was asked to show cause by the 15th April, 1963. The allegation against him was that he had violated Rule 3, in that he had given wrong parentage, as also wrong description of his caste. He had also violated Rule 15, as, even though certain properties stood in his name, vet he had not brought the transactions to the notice of the competent authority or obtained his previous sanction for the same.

3. The two charges framed against the petitioner are given below:

"Charge No. I. That the said Shri Bharat Ram while functioning as porter during the period of his service infringed Rule 15 and Rule 3 of the C. C. S. (Conduct) Rules. 1955 by virtue of his acquiring movable and immoveable properties without previous knowledge or without obtaining previous sanction of the competent authority and thereby he also failed to maintain absolute integrity and devotion to duty to the Government.

Charge No. II. That the said Shri Bharat Ram white functioning as porter during the period of his service concealed the description of his real caste and parentage in his service book and displayed gross misconduct. He also gave contradictory statement before the A. S. P. (Inv) P. and f Directorate on 29-3-62."

4. The statement of the allegations OB which the charges were framed may be usefully reproduced:

"(1) Shri Bharat Ram had purchased two Rickshaws bearing registration numbers 158 and 159 of Katihar Municipality for the year 1962-63 for Rs. 1100 in September, 1961 and was plying the same at Katihar in the name of his two sons namely Shri Jagdish Ram and Satrughan Ram.

(2) He purchased a Radio set for Rs. 370 on 8-6-61

(3) He purchased two plots of land valued at about Rs. 1900 at his native village Manglupur Rajpur P.S. Gobindganj (Motihari one in fee name of his son Jagdish Ram and the other to the name of his three brothers including himself from Shri Sukhdeo Mishra son of Sheo Gobind Mishra and from Mostt. Kaushala Kuar wife of late Shri Chandrika Singh of that village.

(4) He constructed a house in the year 1958, at Katihar the place of his service, spending over it a sum of Rs. 1700 to Rs. 1800."

(Annexures A and D).

5. The petitioner submitted a written statement on the 30th May, 1963, and denied all the charges. One Shri D. P. Singh. Complaint Inspector of the Office of the Post-master General. Bihar Circle, was appointed as Inquiry Officer He submitted his report of finding on the 28th August, 1963, in which he held both the charges fully proved against the petitioner. (Annexure B).

6. After the report had been submitted by the Inquiry Officer the petitioner was given a notice to show cause as to why he should not be dismissed and he submitted a written representation on the 5th October, 1963. (Annexure C). The substance of his pleas was that (i) be belonged to a joint undivided Hindu family and that all the purchases made and the properties acquired were done out of the common and joint funds of the family; (ii) that he was not aware of the contents of the rules, inasmuch as the same had never been shown to him; and (iii) that while he was still infant, his natural father had died and his mother had eloped with one Tapeshwar Ram/Rai and both of them lived like husband and wife. As Tapeshwar had brought him up for all intents and purposes, he