FRANCIS DSOUZA Vs. SYNDICATE BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner is seeking for quashing of order dated 31.03.97, Annexure-G and order No. 122:PD:IRD:DA:7 dated 16.12.97, Annexure-K passed by appellate authority and to grant all consequential benefits including reinstatement of petitioner into service and continuity of service with full back wages and all other service benefits.

(2.) Facts in brief which has led to filing of this writ petition can be crystalised as under:

(3.) Co-ordinate Bench of this court had allowed the writ petition by order dated 13.01.2006 by accepting the submission made by learned counsel appearing for petitioner namely on the ground that witnesses examined on behalf of Bank MW-1 and MW-2 were seniors in grade to the enquiry officer and as such the apprehension in the mind of delinquent that enquiry officer would not be able to take a different view than what was stated by witnesses who had conducted preliminary enquiry swayed in the mind of this court to hold that it is bias or in other words official bias by order dated 13.01.2006. Respondent-employer pursued this matter before Division Bench of this court in W.A. 374/2006 and Division Bench of this Court by order dated 22.05.2012 had affirmed the order passed by learned Single Judge. Matter was further carried in 'Civil Appeal No. 4406/2014 by respondent - Bank and the Hon'ble Apex Court by order dated 01.04.2014 allowed the appeal and remitted the matter back to this Court by observing that learned Single Judge as well as Division Bench was in error in presuming that Enquiry Officer was biased and concluding of a domestic enquiry by an Officer even being junior to the Officer who conducted the investigation cannot be held to be official bias. It came to be held by the Hon'ble Apex Court while remanding the matter back to this Court to the following effect: