CHANDRA KANTA DAS Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Judgment of the Court was delivered by Affidavits filed in Court today be kept on record.

(2.) THE writ petitioner has approached this Court essentially challenging his order of dismissal as well as the findings of the Enquiry Officer which led to his dismissal from service. The writ petitioner has also sought for issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondent authorities to withdraw and/or cancel and/ or rescind the charge-sheet as well as the order of suspension issued against him.

(3.) AT the outset, a point of maintainability was raised by the learned Advocate representing the Bank. He submitted that the writ petitioner had a statutory right of appeal against the order of dismissal and ought to have exhausted his statutory appellate remedy first, before approaching the writ court. In this context, the learned advocate drew this Court's attention to the proviso of sub-Rule 3 of Rule 69 of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Rules, 1987. He submitted that although the petitioner has relied on the Service Rules' of the concerned Bank to contend that no right of appeal is provided in the said Rules, the proviso under sub-Rule 3 of Rule 69 of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Rules. 1987, casts a mandate upon the Board of the concerned Cooperative Society to follow the conditions laid down in appendix to Chapter VI of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Rules, 1987, and only then formulate other conditions of service, preferably through a bipartite agreement. He, thus, submitted that the conditions laid down in appendix to Chapter VI would be applicable in the facts of the instant case. He, thereafter, referred to clause 15 of the appendix to Chapter VI which provides for disciplinary and appellate authorities and submitted that an employee aggrieved by an order passed by a disciplinary authority has a right to appeal against such order. In particular, he referred to sub-clause 2 of clause 15, which reads as follows:-