Restoring the Dignity & Honour of IRS Officer to exit gracefully from service as a Civil Servant

Date: 02.12.2018

Place: Bangalore

To,

Shri K V Chowdary, IRS

The Chief Vigilance Commissioner

New Delhi,

Respected Sir,

Sub: Restoring the Dignity & Honour of IRS Officer to exit gracefully from service as a Civil Servant -Reg.

Ref: CVC OM No. 015/ITX/011/301272 dated 03.12.2015

Ref: My letters dated 26.11.2018, 28.11.2018 & 01.12.2018

When I walked into Unit-II (Investigation), Bangalore in the year 2001, met you in chamber for a search action, I saw in you a towering personality & a legend in IRS. I took you immediately as my role model without any hitch. This was an earnest feeling of a probationer, with bubbling enthusiasm, who joined fresh from NADT in field after passing out, as an outstanding officer, in the year 2001.

Furthermore, it’s a feather in the cap for IRS fraternity, that you are the first non-IAS civil servant to occupy this prestigious post. The place where you have reached, would have been distant dream if you were an innocent officer, trapped like me and led a life for a decade with a “vigilance tag.”

This is an introduction to an officer from IRS, who appeared for more than fifty search actions in the first year of joining the field, in addition to substantive charge, later participated in more than two hundred search actions before the year 2005. I feel proud and contended that in my times, I too was one of the most humble, affable, celebrated, unblemished outstanding IRS officer. And today I am dragged and being beaten down by authorities from top to bottom, who not only lack a human heart but have repeatedly failed in discharging their official & fundamental duties.

Sir, though I knew you personally and shared a good relationship, I had never approached you for any help or a personal favour, even when you were the Member CBDT. I have also never met Shri S M Nigam, the then DGIT(Vig)/CVO for help or any favour, who was instead our course director while probation with whom I had a very good relationship with him too. Why? Because I firmly believed that I have done no wrong, and never felt I need a favour from any of my known acquaintances. Instead, I had complete faith in the institutional mechanism led by CBDT, which will give me a fair chance to prove my innocence. But over a decade of experience I can say that CBDT and its vigilance mechanism have failed, not only with inordinate delays but also lacks muscle to nail the guilty. Instead, it knows how to punish an innocent which is quite contrary to its fundamental duty.

The above exercise is being done so as to make you aware, how I was harassed and victimised under CBDT administration for more than a decade. It definitely made an innocent & hardworking outstanding officer to get disillusioned from Indian Revenue Service, and go on an unauthorised leave for more than six years, in three spells, and then search for a new professional life at the age 42.

                          

                       

                       

The above photos are the evidence of my life as an innovator where I became the one and only civil servant in entire bureaucracy to win GOLD Medal from the Department of Science and Technology-Lockheed Martin’ India Innovation Growth Programme - GOLD Medal (2015), National and Global Winner in UNIDO-MSME-GEF Global Cleantech Innovation Programme – 2015. I have won several other medals including international acclaim for innovation in Energy Efficient Gas Fuel Burner System. Today, I am one of the leading thermodynamics gas fuel scientists on radiant heat. The present gas fuel burner system has a thermal efficiency under IS 14612 between 36-45%, whereas my innovation has created a new world record by raising it between 65-68.9%.

The above photos are very important not because of my personal achievement but for the below reasons:

·       It has happened during the period of victimisation where I did not have any option but to go on unauthorised leave after being disillusioned from IRS and start life from scratch at the age of 42.

·       The achievement is not only important because I am the one and only CIVIL SERVANT, to achieve this feat in bureaucratic history in India till date, but it is even more important because I am a commerce student and not an engineer, who is reversing the gas fuel mechanism and creating standards in Radiant Heat mechanism across gas fuel for BIS, which the world can follow.

·       You may also note that when I could achieve this feat in my most horrifying condition in a totally unknown terrain, then imagine where I could have taken my career in Income-tax Department if I had its support.

·       After starting life afresh, I gave up all the benefit of reservation as Scheduled Caste not only for me but for my entire family and entered the competitive world of innovation as a common man.

·       Sir, you may find difficulty in recognising my photo with Hon’ble PM, S&T Minister and the India UN Head as I am not a complete fit man as I used to be. I had touched the weight of 136 Kg and now I am slowly coming down. I am now convinced that weight is just the external manifestation of what one is carrying in one’s own mind.

Sir, I am approaching you from the following position to restore my dignity and honour as an IRS officer, who is desperately waiting to leave the service gracefully and contribute to the field of science on radiant heat through gas fuel and bring laurels to India :-

·       Leader of the CVC

·       Erstwhile member of CBDT

·       IRS Service camaraderie

·       A government servant

·       A citizen of India

Sir, I request you to personally read my material, as mentioned in the subject,  so that you will be aware that the Commission was kept in dark all along by the DGIT/CVO & the real truth about my vigilance proceeding. If the commission was aware of the real truth, I am sure that even the Commission in their distant dream would not initiated major penalty in my case. The entire machinery under CBDT including the vigilance machinery acting as CVO failed in their fundamental duty in bringing out the truth before you till date. It is only when I felt that justice is not possible to get within their vigilance proceeding framework, I decided to go public as my life was already dragged to road over a decade. So, let me start from the beginning, the launch of action from your desk for having initiated major penalty against me.

The CVC initiated major penalty in my case based on the DGIT/CVO findings on underassessment. The entire case vest only on the Article of Charge-1. The allegation and truth of the case is as under:

Allegation by the DGIT/CVO: The original income of H R Ravichandra as an individual, for the assessment period 2000-01 to AY 2003-04,  was Rs. 67,75,690/-. The search assessment was done @ Rs. 49,06,370/- which led to a Revenue Loss of Rs. 18,63920. The search assessment was done in the hands of THREE partnership firm ( i) M/s Royal Shelters, ii) M/s Royal Park Residency iii) Royal Habitat.

The truth: The original income of H R Ravichandra as an individual, for the assessment period 2000-01 to AY 2003-04,  was Rs. 67,75,690/-. The search assessment was done @ Rs. 77,41,198/- which led to a Revenue Gain of Rs. 31,47,213 (Additional Tax @ Rs.6,85,462 + 234 ABC Interest @ Rs. 24,61,751). The search assessment was done in the hands of FIVE partnerships (i) M/s Royal Shelters, ii) M/s Royal Park Residency iii) Royal Habitat iv) M/s R S Constructions, and v) M/s R S Developers,

Sir, you may be in the state of shock and disbelief that “how come this simple truth was not visible to the CBDT vigilance machinery before launching a full scale action against me over a decade?”

Sir this fact the DGIT(Vig)/CVO has failed to put before you while initiating the major penalty in my case. Till date, the CVO used the entire machinery against me for more than a decade and were part of a deliberate total cover up operation. What other truths were hidden from you are as under:-

1.    A group of IRS officers spoiled my ACR 2006-07 by orchestering an “ADVERSE” rating. I got it expunged through a detailed representation bringing all kinds of bias against me despite doing excellent work.

2.    The vigilance proceedings were created by the same group of officers when they did not succeed in spoiling my ACR. I pleaded before the DGIT(Inv), Bangalore, but did not get any help to protect an innocent officer.

3.    The DGIT(Vig)/CVO sought additional time of 7 ½ years from the Commission and failed to discover truth despite having all the search assessment folders done by me.

4.    Subsequently, the DGIT(Vig)/CVO used a group of IRS officer with vested interest as prosecution witnesses and then created case against me for “initiating major penalty.” The DGIT (Vig)/CVO is also aware about the questionable integrity of some of the Prosecution Witnesses.

5.    Under the leadership of the DGIT(Vig)/CVO, the vigilance proceedings started in the year 2017. The Inquiry officer not only displayed bias during the vigilance proceedings but rejected four times the supply of defense documents to the Charged officer to prove his innocence. The rejection was against the procedure as mentioned in the Vigilance Manual for conducting the fair vigilance proceedings.

6.    The Charged officer approached the DGIT/CVO(Vig) for the change of Inquiry officer for having displayed contempt towards not only the rule based proceedings but also to the judgement of the Apex Court. The DGIT/CVO rejected both, the supply of defense document and the change in Inquiry officer, and then directed me to cooperate to complete the proceedings at the earliest.

Sir, with above set of acts of the CVO, I lost complete faith in the vigilance proceedings led by DGIT(Vig)/CVO who was failing repeatedly by discharging his fundamental duty. It is only when I realised that the DGIT(Vig)/CVO is the prime conduit in the creation of false case against me then it is impossible for him to provide justice through fair means of law. It is at this juncture, I decided never to appear before the machinery led by the DGIT/CVO.

Sir, now you can feel that, rising in ranks as a CVC for you, would not have been possible if you had led life in my skin, flesh and blood. I want you to go through my letters which speaks in detail the experience of personal humiliation I faced from senior officers, while living life with a “Vigilance Tag”. This exercise will enable you to become empathical by feeling highest degree of pain, which I and my family underwent for the past decade.

Sir, the incidents, I faced are totally unfathomable in any civilised society by learned men. But this is not a story of an uneducated group of men but the story of Indian Revenue Service Officers who were selected & appointed by none other than “The President of India” to uphold the values of Indian Constitution. There is a serious HUMAN RELATIONSHIP ISSUE in some portion of IRS system from top to bottom as it stands totally diseased and rotten. It is the right time CBDT machinery needs cleaning up.

Sir, by now you would have realised that every authority dealing with my case knew the fact from the beginning but lacked courage to accept the committing of crime. Rather than undoing the wrong, everyone was involved in covering up facts and burying me alive.

Sir, I humbly request you to deal this classic and rare case directly through a “Special Officer”. The Special Officer shall inquire into this case to find the truth through an impartial inquiry. Having been tormented for a decade by bureaucratic apathy, misuse and abuse of power, I have come before you the following expectation in the interest of equity and justice:-.

a.    Review the “initiation of major penalty” if the primary Article of Charge -1 levelled against the charged officer is found to be false.

b.    Bring the total background of this case from the year 2006-07 to know how the witch-hunting was planned and executed.

c.     Action against officers down the line by fixing the responsibility for having created a false charge.

d.    Look into the whistle blower’s letter written to The DGIT (Inv) F.No. JC-1/Range-III/2009-10 dated 30.07.2009

e.     When the Special Officer findings proves the innocence of the charged officer, then issue an apology letter to the charged officer from the DGIT(Vig)/CVO for dereliction of their responsibility for having created a false vigilance proceeding.

Furthermore, after a fair inquiry and establishing the crimes in my case, the CBDT to be directed to restore the dignity and honour of a civil servant within a specific time frame:-

1)    Apology letter from the respective administrative authorities for dereliction of their responsibility in protecting an innocent officer.

2)    Cleaning up of the ACR from the year 2006-07 till date, fixing the pay, promotions and other benefits with my batch, and then giving me opportunity to exit gracefully from the Indian Revenue Service.

I have come before you with great amount of hope & pride. I treat this as the last and only chance where me and my family can get back to life as normal Indian citizens. I will be very happy if you give me personal audience for the sake of old times by calling me at +91 7671020900.

But still I ask a simple question to you before leaving “When will this injustice stop? Will I ever get justice by CVC under your leadership”?

Thanking you.

Yours faithfully,

                                                                               Sd/-

                                                                    (Sanghi Sri Hari Rao)

CC to:-

1.    The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, New Delhi

2.    The Hon’ble Finance Minister of India. New Delhi

3.    The Chairman, CBDT, New Delhi.

4.    The Member (Personnel & Vigilance), New Delhi

5.    The Director General Income-tax (Vigilance), New Delhi.

6.    The Additional Director-General Income-tax (Vigilance)(South), Chennai.

7.    The Principle Chief Commissioner of Income-tax, Bangalore-I.

8.    The Director General Income-tax (Investigation), Bangalore,

9.    The Addl. CIT (Vigilance), Bangalore

10. The Inquiry Officer, CIT (A)-3, Bangalore

11. The Presenting Officer, the DCIT Central Circle 2(2) Bangalore.