NAGENDRA LAL CHOUDHURY Vs. UCO BANK AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD Mr. B. Pathak, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner. The respondents UCO Bank and their officers are represented by Mr. P.C. Goswami, the learned Advocate. While serving as the Manager of the Rangia Branch of the UCO Bank, the petitioner committed certain irregularities in disbursal of loans and that is how the show cause notice was issued on 25.8.2007 (Annexure - 3), whereby the response of the Manager was sought to the nine specific charges. In his reply furnished on 2.9.2007 (Annexure -5), the delinquent stated that he was under order of transfer from Rangia to Guwahati on 4.8.2007 but as no officer was available to take charge at Rangia, he remained stranded at Rangia until 24.8.2007. During these 21 days, there was acute shortage of staff for which certain formalities could not be completed. Moreover after learning of the transfer order, life threat was given by the militants to immediately disburse the pending loans and that is how some loans under the Government sponsored programmes such as Kishan Credit Card (KCC)/KVIB/DICC Schemes had to be sanctioned without completion of all the Bank's formalities. The delinquent also gave explanation for the personal loan taken by him in the context of the education requirement of his two sons.

(2.) HOWEVER the explanation was found to be unsatisfactory and accordingly the employer initiated a formal proceeding under Regulation 6 of the UCO Bank Officer Employees' (Discipline and Appeal) Regulations, 1976 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Discipline Regulations') through the Charge Memo dated 23/27.11.2007 (Annexure -6). Six specific charges are reflected in the charge memo and since they are relevant, they are extracted herein below for ready reference: - -

(3.) THE report furnished by the Inquiry Officer was then considered by the disciplinary authority and through the impugned order dated 28.3.2008 (Annexure -19), six separate punishments against the six misconducts were inflicted on the delinquent. The order shows that the penalty of dismissal from service was ordered for charge Nos. 2, 3 & 4 and for charge Nos. 1 & 5, the reduction of pay to JMG Scale -I from MMG Scale -D was issued. For the 6th charge, the basic pay of the delinquent was reduced by two stages in time scale of pay, until his superannuation in the year 2009.