SURENDRA NATH BARMAN Vs. ASSAM GRAMIN VIKASH BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The writ petition has been filed by the petitioner challenging the Show Cause Notice dtd. 27/8/2008, Charge-sheet dtd. 30/6/2010, Enquiry Report dtd. 16/6/2011, Orders dtd. 7/10/2011, 2/12/2011 and 31/12/2011. The petitioner was employed as an Messenger under the Assam Gramin Vikash Bank and was posted in the Kaithalkuchi Branch of the Bank. During the course of his service an allegation was made against the petitioner with regard to opening of Re-investment Plan Certificate Account (RIPC account). The allegation made against the petitioner was that the said account amounting to Rs.50,000.00 (Rupees Fifty Thousand) was opened without depositing any amount in the said account. The further allegation was that the petitioner personally wrote the receipt bearing number 034923 and had personally made entries in the account opening register and the ledger. Accordingly, Show Cause notice was issued to the petitioner to which he replied and thereafter, on the basis of the enquiry report submitted, the authorities passed the impugned order dtd. 2/11/2011 whereby the petitioner was imposed a major penalty of removal from service "which shall not be a disqualification for future employment". The petitioner preferred an appeal before the appellate authority which also came to be dismissed on the ground that there is no merit for consideration of the appeal.

(2.) The pleaded case of the petitioner before this Court is that the petitioner during his service and while being posted in the Kaithalkuchi Branch of the Pragjyotish Gaolia Bank in his capacity as the Messenger of the bank, he has been discharging his duties to the best of his abilities and capacity without any qualms or blemish from any quarter. It is the pleaded case of the petitioner that the then Manager of the Kaithalkuchi Branch where the petitioner was posted, taking advantage of the faulty management policies of the bank, misappropriated depositors money and the petitioner was made a scapegoat in order to save the bank's image. The petitioner had applied before the Branch Manager for sanctioning loans in his favor for house repairing and other personal purposes on 2/2/2006 and 25/3/2006 respectively. The said loan was sanctioned by loan sanction letter bearing No. AGVB/KTCH/COD/03/06 dtd. 17/6/2006 sanctioning a loan amount of Rs.1,30,000.00 (Rupees One Lakh Thirty Thousand only) in favour of the petitioner for Clean Over Draft (COD). Thereafter, by Sanction Letter bearing No. AGVB/KTCH/HR/02/06 dtd. 20/6/2006, the second loan amounting to Rs.1,50,000.00 (Rupees One Lakh Fifty Thousand Only) in favour of the petitioner for house repairing was also sanctioned. The petitioner on 20/11/2006 requested the then Branch Manager of the Branch to transfer an amount to Rs.50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand only) from his COD account maintained in the said Branch to a RIPC Account, which would fetch the petitioner an amount of Rs.102,116.00 (Rupees One Lakh Two Thousand One Hundred Sixteen Only) upon maturity over a period of eight years three months. Accordingly, RIPC bearing No. AGVB/RIPC:034923 against Account No. 1833 dtd. 20/11/2006 came to be issued in favor of the petitioner by the Branch Manager after transferring the requested amount. Since the petitioner was facing acute financial crisis, he was constrained to prematurely withdraw the aforesaid RIPC after a lapse of more than a year on 14/12/2007 upon which he received an amount of Rs.53,593.00 (Rupees Fifty Three Thousand Five Hundred Ninety Three only). It is the pleaded case of the petitioner that after the withdrawal of the RIPC amount of Rs.53,593.00 (Fifty Three Thousand Five Hundred Ninety Three only), it was subsequently found out by the bank that the initial investment of Rs.50,000.00 (Rupees Fifty Thousand only) was not transferred to the RIPC account bearing No, 1833 in the name of the petitioner. The said fact came to be informed to the petitioner by another Senior Officer of the Bank. The said Officer advised the petitioner to prefer a representation before the Office-in-charge, AGVB Nalbari for refunding the amount which was mistakenly withdrawn by him. The petitioner genuinely believed in that the amount of Rs.50,000.00 (Rupees Fifty Thousand only) has been laundered by the then Branch Manager and in the process caused loss to the bank, agreed to the proposition. Accordingly, the petitioner preferred a representation dtd. 7/5/2008 before the Office-in-charge highlighting the anomaly and expressed his willingness to refund the amount withdrawn by him. However, the Bank authorities did not accept the request made by the petitioner and instead issued Show-cause notice bearing Memo No. AGVB/I&V/159/02/2008-09 dtd. 27/8/2008 alleging interalia that the petitioner during his tenure as a Messenger of Kaithalkuchi Branch committed serious irregularities by opening the RIPC account bearing No. 1833 in his name in the branch on 20/11/2006 for Rs.50,000.00 (Rupees Fifty Thousand only). The said Show Cause dtd. 27/8/2008 alleged that the petitioner without depositing any amount against the said RIPC account had written a Receipt bearing No. 034923 and it was subsequently signed by the then Branch Manager one Shri Bankim Sarma against the sad RIPC account after making entry in the account opening register and ledger. The Show-cause further alleged that the petitioner had personally made the entries in the ledger and in the RIPC account and that the account was prematurely closed by the petitioner on 14/12/2007 and a sum of Rs.53,593.00 (Rupees Fifty Three Thousand Five Hundred Ninety Three Only) was credited to the COD account of the account No. 3 of the petitioner maintained in the branch. As per the Show Cause notice, it was alleged that upon verification, it was found that on the day of opening of the RIPC account, i.e.,20/11/2006, the petitioner did not deposit any amount for the said RIPC as the amount is neither entered in a cash book or cash scroll register of the Branch. It was alleged that the petitioner had defrauded the bank by Rs.53,593.00 (Rupees Fifty Three Thousand Five Hundred Ninety Three only) for personal gain and advised the petitioner to explain his conduct and to show cause as to why appropriate disciplinary action will not be initiated against the petitioner. Thereafter, by communication bearing Ref No. AGVB/KCI/71/08/2008 dtd. 30/8/2008, petitioner was intimated that with regard to the withdrawal from RIPC No. 1833 for Rs.53,593.00 (Rupees Fifty Three Thousand Five Hundred Ninety Three Only) on 14/12/2007, the bank shall calculate the interest from the date of the said account with effect from 20/11/2006. The said communication further informed that the RIPC had been adjusted with another RIPC account number 1803 maintained by the petitioner and that after the said adjustment, an amount of Rs.5,660.00 was required to be refunded by the petitioner to the Bank. The said amount was requested to be refunded to the Kaithalkuchi branch. Thereafter, the petitioner refunded the outstanding amount of Rs.5,660.00 as per instructions given in the communication dtd. 30/6/2008.

(3.) In response to the said Show-cause notice, the petitioner submitted his reply dtd. 10/10/2008 before the General Manager, Head Office, Guwahati denying the allegations levelled against him vide Show-cause dtd. 27/8/2008 explaining that the amount of Rs.50,000.00 (Rupees Fifty Thousand Only) was not transferred to his RIPC No. 1833 dtd. 20/11/2006 due to mistake. The petitioner denied the allegations that he had issued the RIPC in his favor without depositing the money in the RIPC account as the same was totally false and incorrect. The petitioner stated that because of the lapses of the then Branch Manager in not transferring the amount in time and not maintaining the said account as per procedure, the petitioner can not be held responsible.