MAKHAN LAL GARG Vs. PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER was working with the Punjab National Bank (for short the Bank) as an officer in the Junior Management Grade, Scale-I, and was posted at the Court Road Branch at Sangrur. He was placed under suspension on 25. 1. 1994 and a regular departmental inquiry against him is still pending. His grievance is that during the period of suspension he is not being paid dear-ness allowance on his reduced pay at the prevailing rates or at the rates at which it is being paid to other officers in the same grade.

(2.) IN exercise of the powers conferred by Section 19 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, the Bank has framed regulations known as PNb Officer Employees (Discipline and Appeal) Regulations, 1976 (hereinafter called the Regulations ). Regulation 14 deals with payment of subsistence allowance to an officer employee under suspension. This Regulation is being reproduced hereunder for facility of reference:

(3.) BY this circular, the Bank has clarified that an officer employee under suspension is to be paid allowances to which he is entitled including dearness allowance on the reduced pay at the rates prevailing on the date prior to the date of his suspension. In other words, in regard to an officer employee under suspension the subsistence allowance to him has been frozen as on the date of his suspension. This circular/clarification obviously runs counter to Regulation 14 (1) quoted in the earlier part of the order, whereby such an officer is entitled to allowances including dear ness allowance at the rates prevailing on the date of payment. It is well settled that circulars/instructions issued by any authority cannot go beyond the statutory rules/regulations. We have, therefore, no hesitation in quashing the impugned circular 969/86 dated 17. 10. 1986 (Annexure P-4 with the writ petition) in so far as it restricts the payment of dearness allowance to an officer employee under suspension at the rates prevailing on the date of his suspension and hold that the petitioner is entitled to dearness allowance at the rates as they prevail on the dates of payment.