SHYAMA PRASAD BHATTACHARJEE Vs. UNITED BANK OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) An Order of penalty of reduction in Basic Pay by three stages without cumulative effect, dtd. 19/5/2017, which was communicated to the petitioner on 23/5/2017 is the subject matter of challenge in this petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

(2.) There is a checkered history involved in this case.

(3.) The petitioner was serving as a Scale-IV Officer in the United Bank of India and he had retired from service on 30/9/1999. Just two days prior to his retirement, a charge-memo was issued to him on 28/9/1999 whereby certain charges were levelled against him and on his denial, an enquiry was held which culminated in an order of penalty dtd. 22/2/2002, whereby, the penalty of reduction of pay scale by six stages was imposed. The aforesaid penalty, which was a major penalty under the United Bank of India Officer Employees' (Discipline and Appeal) Regulation, 1976 (hereinafter the Regulations) was the subject matter of challenge in a writ petition, WP(C) No. 6482 of 2006. The said writ petition was allowed by this Court vide judgment dtd. 22/5/2014 and the penalty was set aside. However, a liberty was granted to the respondent Bank to initiate a de novo enquiry by giving the petitioner all the opportunities. This Court had also observed that taking into consideration the long period of the proceeding, no major penalty was to be imposed upon the petitioner.