GIRDHARI KARMACHANDANI Vs. PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of filing this writ petition, a challenge has been led to the chargesheet dtd. 9/6/2015 and the amended charge- sheet dtd. 4/8/2015 so also the consequential proceedings.

(2.) At the outset, it has been apprised to this Court by counsel for the petitioner that during pendency of this petition, the petitioner has expired, hence under the changed circumstances, the department cannot proceed with the impugned charge- sheet and the petition stands abated.

(3.) Once allegations are made against an employee who is no longer alive, there is no one who can effectively defend those allegations on his behalf. The employee is the only person who has the knowledge of the facts related to the allegations and he is the only person who can properly defend himself but after the employee's death, no one can defend the allegations in the same way, as the employee's knowledge of the relevant facts has been lost. Unless the employee is given a proper opportunity to defend himself, no proceedings can continue to establish the allegations levelled against him. In this case, after the death of the employee, it is impossible to provide an opportunity to defend the allegations, as there is no one who can adequately do so. Therefore, the inquiry cannot continue after the death of the employee in question.