DILIP KUMAR SONI Vs. ALLAHABAD BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the rival parties and perused the record.

(2.) The petitioner herein is an employee of the Allahabad Bank. He was posted as Branch Manager, Allahabad Branch, District Shrawasti, earlier. He is alleged to have been involved in demanding and accepting bribe for sanction of K.C.C. loan. In this connection he was arrested and detained by the C.B.I. for a period exceeding 48 hours on the aforesaid criminal allegations. He was placed under suspension vide order dated 24.12.2012. Consequent to his detention exceeding the period of 48 hours in terms of Regulation 12(2)(a) of the Allahabad Bank Officer Employees' (Discipline & Appeal) Regulations 1976 (hereinafter referred to as 'Regulations of 1976"). He submitted an application for revocation of his suspension under Rule 12(5)(b) of the said Regulations of 1976. The said representation had been rejected by the competent authority vide order dated 23.8.2014, which is impugned before us.

(3.) Contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that the prolonged suspension of the petitioner for the past more than two years is unjustified and unsustainable in law. In similar circumstances, others namely Shakeeb Ahmad Zafri, Chaitanya Kumar, Chandra Pal Singh, Mahendra Singh and S.K. Agarwal against whom also criminal proceedings had been initiated and they were detained in custody, their suspension was revoked, but only in the petitioner's case an exception has been made. He relied upon a judgment of the Supreme Court dated 16.2.2015 passed in Civil Appeal No.1912 of 2015, Ajay Kumar Choudhary v. Union of India and anr., wherein, according to him, prolonged suspension in such circumstances had been disapproved. In view of above, he submitted that the continued suspension of the petitioner needs to be brought to an end.