R.L. SAHI Vs. SYNDICATE BANK AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner who was an employee of the respondent no. 1/Syndicate Bank and worked as Chief Manager/Assistant General Manager of the respondent no. 1/Bank at Asaf Ali Road Branch, New Delhi and as Divisional Manager (DM) at Chandigarh Branch, impugns the orders passed by the departmental authorities imposing the punishment of dismissal from services of the petitioner.

(2.) THERE were three charges against the petitioner. The first charge against the petitioner was that the petitioner while working in the Asaf Ali Road Branch, New Delhi of the respondent no. 1/Bank, allowed unauthorized withdrawals in the account of M/s. Arora Associates which was the proprietorship concern of one Smt. Swarnadevi, Smt. Swarnadevi being the mother of one of the Sub -Manager of the respondent no. 1/Bank posted at the Asaf Ali Road Branch, New Delhi. With respect to nine cheques of different amounts ranging from Rs. 2,460/ - to Rs. 15,700/ - the charge against the petitioner was that he allowed withdrawals although he had no power to allow withdrawals and overdrafts in the account of M/s. Arora Associates. With respect to ten other cheques which were debited in the account of M/s. Arora Associates the charge is that the petitioner did not report the aspect of allowing of overdrafts qua these cheques to the higher authorities. As per the second article of charges, petitioner while being posted as DM at the Chandigarh Branch allowed discounting of four cheques totalling to Rs. 40,000/ - issued by the said M/s. Arora Associates and in fact which cheques were drawn upon none other than the son and daughter of the petitioner and his own self. The four cheques which were discounted took 38 days, 44 days, 75 days and 75 days respectively for realization. Discounting of these cheques was done without prior permission and without reporting the transactions to the competent authority as required by the relevant circulars of the respondent no. 1/Bank. Petitioner was also bound to report as to for what consideration he and his family members received the total amount of Rs. 40,000/ - vide the four cheques from M/s. Arora Associates but the petitioner did not do so. The third article of charges, and which is a very serious article of charges, is that the petitioner got opened a total of 13 bank accounts in the name of his own or in the name of his wife or in the name of his three minor children or in the name of his mother individually or jointly, and in these accounts there were found a total of 349 credit entries totaling to an amount of Rs. 46.89 lacs. Out of this amount of Rs. 46.89 lacs, an amount of Rs. 13.73 lacs was comprised of credits by means of cash deposits. The charge against the petitioner is that he never informed the respondent no. 1/Bank with respect to opening of these accounts by himself or his dependant family members including the fact that all transactions above Rs. 5,000/ - of the family members of the petitioner were to be reported to the respondent no. 1/Bank but were not reported. In essence, this charge also is as to how the petitioner could have got such large credit running into a huge amount of Rs. 46.89 lacs.

(3.) From and in addition to the aforesaid conclusions which have been arrived at by the Enquiry Officer, the following salient aspects need to be noted: -