ARUN KUMAR GHOSH Vs. CANARA BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition has been initiated to contest the charge-sheet dtd. 8/10/2007 and its accompanying articles of charges, alongside the entirety of the inquiry proceedings conducted against the petitioner. Furthermore, it challenges the findings of the Enquiry Officer dtd. 3/7/2008, as well as the orders issued by the disciplinary authority on 26/11/2008. Additionally, it disputes the correspondence from the respondent Bank, referred to as the "respondent no. 1," specifically the letters dtd. 4/8/2009 and 17/8/2009, along with the order dtd. 16/4/2010 from the Appellate Authority.

(2.) The facts in a nutshell are that the petitioner was appointed on 21/2/1974 as a clerk and was posted at Bistupur in Jamshedpur upon qualifying the recruitment process in the respondent Bank. He was subsequently promoted as a scale-1 officer and was posted at Konark in Odisha on 15/4/1982. The petitioner at the relevant point was also actively involved in the Employees' organization activities and thus stood in the election of officers' association in the year 1995.

(3.) The petitioner was thereafter promoted to scale-II post as a manager and was posted to Patna for Regional Inspection of the Bank. The petitioner joined the Zonal Inspectorate in Hyderabad in 2001, following the absorption of the Patna Regional Inspectorate into the Hyderabad Inspectorate. While serving in this capacity, the petitioner conducted inspections on branches in West Bengal, Assam and Bhubaneswar, resulting in substantial monetary recoveries for the respondent Bank. Due to the nature of his duties, which involved identifying weaknesses, the petitioner accrued adversaries. Nevertheless, his commendable work as an Inspector was recognized through letters of appreciation from the respondent Bank's senior management.