Ruled by compassion

Helpful officials can often act as saviours. R.K. Chhibbar recounts two such incidents

ON June 26, 1951, after superannuation from the post of Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor, Amritsar, my father Bakhshi Mulk Raj Chhibbar shifted to Shimla in to start legal practice in the High Court. We rented out a house, Aloka, behind Grindlays Bank on the Mall, close to Scandal Point. I was the only one, out of the children, who was living with him. My mother had died at Montgomery (now in Pakistan) in 1943. Thus, besides a domestic help, there were only the two of us.

My father had a few principles, two of them are relevant. The first was that he never gave anybody more than Rs five, except by a cheque. His argument was that if the bank provides you with the service of a free accountant, then why should one keep cash and maintain an account. The second principle was that he never kept more than Rs 10 in his purse for meeting day-to-day expenses.

One day soon after breakfast, my father started vomiting, and sensing that he might require hospitalisation, I asked him to sign a blank cheque, so that money could be withdrawn from the bank, which would be handy for this emergency. My father wrote "Mulk Raj", but before he could write "Chhibbar", to complete the signature, he became unconscious. I filled in the cheque an amount of Rs 200. Leaving my father under the care of our servant, I ran to the main branch of the Imperial Bank of India, bare-foot, and went straight to the room of C.B. Kaul, the Agent of Imperial Bank of India, Shimla. He was the maternal uncle of Indira Gandhi, and was the first Indian Agent of the bank. I explained to him my predicament. He immediately pulled the drawer of the table, and gave me Rs 200, even though he did not know either me or my father. The money was used to purchase medicines and my father recovered. Thereafter, he lived until 1974, that is for 23 years more.

After two days, Kaul walked to our house in the evening to check on my father. Kaul’s compassion overtook the banking rules, and he "honoured" a cheque which did not bear the "signature" of the drawer. another incident is also illustrative.

In 1965, Tara Singh Cheema had joined as a Additional Districts Judge, Amritsar. After sometime, he developed a headache. A detailed medical investigation revealed a pituitary tumor, which was in an advanced stage. The tumour was pressing the optical nerve which resulted in central macular changes, reducing the vision from 180 degrees to a spot. In India at that time, the tumor could be removed only by cutting the skull of the patient. There was the danger of losing both life and eyesight.

The operation with relative certainty could be performed at Columbia University Prestarian Hospital, New York by Doctor Edward Housepian, without cutting the skull and that the procedure of removing the tumor could be completed by approaching a tumour through the nose. This required $18,000. Cheema approached Justice P.S. Kailasam, a judge of the Supreme Court, who had met Cheema in connection with his visit to the Bhakhra Dam, where the latter was posted as a District Judge, Ropar. Kailasam wrote a letter to the then Finance Minister ,N. Sanjeeva Reddy, his friend, to help Cheema get the necessary foreign exchange. This, however, proved futile because the Reserve Bank of India declined to give the permit as the case was not covered under the rules. The request of the High Court for release of the foreign exchange was also declined, even though the foreign exchange had been released to some professionals and bureaucrats on medical grounds. Dr Gulati of PGI informed Mr Cheema that he had just seven days more to live and that he should manage his affairs within this time. When I discovered this situation, I contacted Syed Anis Hussain, whom I knew because he was son-in-law of Chief Justice M.R.A. Ansari. Husain was heading the Chandigarh Branch of Reserve Bank of India. He realised the gravity of the situation and issued him a permit for $18,000 but by that time the strong room of the State Bank of India, Chandigarh had closed down. K.D. Chadha, the then Branch Manager got it opened and gave the requisite foreign exchange to Cheema.

Immediately, thereafter Cheema left for Delhi, and took a flight to tthe US. He was operated upon successfully and is leading a happy retired life at Chandigarh. I asked Hussain if any action was taken when he had issued the permit of foreign exchange for $18,000, especially when the same had been refused by the RBI. He had replied when the life of a patient is in danger, then foreign exchange should be released immediately even though required formalities had not been complied with."

A compassionate bureaucrat can do immense good to the public. I wish there was one such compassionate officer at the Wagah Border, when the Acting Chief Justice of Pakistan, Bhagwan Dass, was denied permission to cross the border to enter India alongwith members of his family because of some discrepancy in the travel documents, which did not conform to the rules.

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