MOORTHY P S Vs. UCO BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, in substance, is aggrieved by the action of the respondent-bank in declining the acceptance of his request for voluntary retirement as contained in the order dated 3-2-1996 communicated to him by the correspondence dated 11-4-1996 purportedly received by him on 18-4-1996.

(2.) The petitioner joined the respondent- bank in the year 1969 as Field Officer and later earned several higher positions after having worked at different places. He was given the Scale-IV (A) with effect from May, 1993 and posted as Chief Officer, Zonal Office, Bangalore, where he worked from 27-12-1993 to 26-12-1994 and thereafter he was transferred to Guwahati as Divisional Manager in the Zonal Office. While serving at Guwahati, the petitioner applied for leave from 6-11-1995 and kept extending the leave from time to time. As on his assessment he could not serve at Guwahati any further, on account of domestic preoccupations, he submitted a letter dated 17-11-1995 to the respondent-bank seeking voluntary retirement from bank service. It could appear that the Fax Message dated 1-2-19% was addressed to the Zonal Manager, Guwahati, stating that the competent authority had declined to accept the request of the petitioner for voluntary retirement; and that the petitioner be advised about this. Thereafter, by the order dated 3-2-1996, North Eastern Zonal Office communicated to the petitioner the advice from the Head office that the request of the petitioner for voluntary retirement has been declined by the competent authority.

(3.) According to the respondents, this communication from the Zonal Office, Guwahati dated 3-2-1996 was sent to the given residential address at Hyderabad. The letter was however returned to the Zonal Office with a postal endorsement that during 8-2-1996 to 15-2-1996, the door of the House of the petitioner is locked; another postal endorsement dated 16-2-1996, that there is no house bearing Plot No.16, Sainagar, Road No.13, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad; and another postal endorsement dated 11-3-1996 that the party is not available for delivery at the above said address. Eventually, the communication was delivered, to the petitioner on 18-4-1996.