STATE BANK OF INDIA Vs RAM LAL BHASKAR
Bench: R.V. RAVEENDRAN,A.K. PATNAIK,H.L. GOKHALE
Case number: C.A. No.-002930-002930 / 2009
Diary number: 17290 / 2006
Advocates: ANIL KUMAR SANGAL Vs
M. A. KRISHNA MOORTHY
Reportable
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO. 2930 OF 2009
State Bank of India … Appellant
Versus
Ram Lal Bhaskar & Anr. … Respondents
J U D G M E N T
A. K. PATNAIK, J.
This is an appeal against the order dated 12.04.2006
of the Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court in Civil
Miscellaneous Writ Petition No. 8415 of 2003.
2. The facts very briefly are that the respondent no.1
worked as a Branch Manager of the appellant-Bank at
Sirsaganj Branch. He was served with a charge-sheet dated
22.12.1999 alleging various acts of misconduct as the
Branch Manager of Sirsaganj Branch. Thereafter, an
enquiry was conducted and the enquiry officer submitted a
report dated 28.09.2000 holding that four out of the six
charges were proved against the respondent no.1. The
charges No.1, 2, 4 and 6 which were proved against the
respondent no.1 in the enquiry are as follows:
“Sl.No. CHARGES 1. He authorized opening of a Savings Bank Account
No.18776 on 31st March 1999 in the name of “Trailokya Bauddha Mahasanga Sahayake Gane” a religious body at he Sirsaganj Branch without completing the formalities connected with opening of new accounts of such societies.
2. He debited Savings Bank Account No.18776 of “Trailokya Bauddha Mahasanga Sahayaka Gane” with Rs.one lac on 04.08.1999 on forged signatures of the depositor and credited the amount to his Savings Bank Account No.101/18360 at the Branch. The debit and credit vouchers have been passed by him.
4. Zonal Office vide S.L. No.P&C/483 dated 08.12.1998 advised the Branch regarding posting of Field Officer/Manager (Agri) at the Branch and handing over the relative charge to the concerned persons. He intentionally did not make arrangements for handing over the charge of Field Officer/Manager (Agri) to the concerned officers despite Zonal instructions. Further, the loan applications received at the Branch were sanctioned by him without the recommendations of Field Officer/Manager (Agri).
6. He claimed false T.A. Bill viz. Rs.150/-for going to various villages on 15.05.1999 as included in his monthly Bill for Rs.1,275/- for the month of May 1999 and at the same time, also claimed Rs.275/- as TA Bill for 15.05.1999 for visiting Zonal Office,
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Agra thus he lodged false Bill for his official work.”
A copy of the enquiry report was served on the respondent
no.1 and the respondent no.1 was given an opportunity to
submit his representation against the findings of the
enquiry officer. The appointing authority then considered
the enquiry report and the records of the enquiry and the
submissions made by the respondent no.1 and imposed the
penalty of dismissal from service by order dated 15.05.2001.
The respondent no.1 filed an appeal against the order of the
appointing authority, but the appellate authority dismissed
the appeal by order dated 09.03.2002. The respondent no.1
filed a Review Petition, but the reviewing committee also
dismissed the Review Petition by order dated 20.12.2002.
3. Aggrieved, the respondent no.1 filed Civil
Miscellaneous Writ Petition No. 8415 of 2003 and the High
Court, after hearing the learned counsel for the parties,
allowed the Writ Petition and quashed the order of dismissal
passed by the appointing authority as well as the order
passed by the appellate authority and, as the respondent
no.1 had already retired from service, directed the appellant
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to release his arrears of salary as well as the post retirement
benefits.
4. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that there
were charges of grave misconduct against the respondent
no.1 and four of the six charges had been proved in the
enquiry. He submitted that the findings of the enquiry
officer on the four charges proved against the respondent
no.1 were based on relevant material and these findings had
also been confirmed by the appellate and reviewing
authorities. He submitted that contrary to the settled
position of law that the High Court, while exercising its
powers of judicial review under Article 226 of the
Constitution, should not interfere with the finding in the
departmental enquiry so long as it is based on some
evidence in the impugned order, the High Court has
interfered with findings in the enquiry and has held that the
respondent no.1 was not guilty of the charges. By the
impugned order, the High Court has also quashed the order
of dismissal and has directed release of the arrears of salary
and post retirement benefits of the respondent no.1.
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5. Learned counsel for the respondent no.1, on the other
hand, supported the impugned order of the High Court and
submitted that there is no infirmity in the impugned order
of the High Court. He further submitted that in any case
the respondent no.1 had retired from service on 31.01.2000,
and though the charge-sheet was served on him on
22.12.1999 when he was still in service, the enquiry report
was served on him by letter dated 28.09.2000 and he was
dismissed from service on 15.05.2001 after he had retired
from service. He submitted that after the retirement of the
respondent no.1, the appellant had no jurisdiction to
continue with the enquiry against the respondent no.1. In
support of this contention, he cited the decision of this
Court in UCO Bank and Another v. Rajinder Lal Capoor
[(2007) 6 SCC 694].
6. We have perused the decision of this Court in UCO
Bank and Another v. Rajinder Lal Capoor (supra) and we find
that in the facts of that case the delinquent officer had
already superannuated on 01.11.1996 and the charge-sheet
was issued after his superannuation on 13.11.1998 and
this Court held that the delinquent officer having been
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allowed to superannuate, the charge-sheet, the enquiry
report and the orders of the disciplinary authority and the
appellate authority must be held to be illegal and without
jurisdiction. In the facts of the present case, on the other
hand, we find that the charge-sheet was issued on
22.12.1999 when the respondent no.1 was in service and
there were clear provisions in Rule 19(3) of the State Bank
of India Officers’ Service Rules, 1992, that in case
disciplinary proceedings under the relevant rules of service
have been initiated against an officer before he ceased to be
in the Bank’s service by the operation of, or by virtue of, any
of the rules or the provisions of the rules, the disciplinary
proceedings may, at the discretion of the Managing Director,
be continued and concluded by the authority by which the
proceedings were initiated in the manner provided for in the
rules as if the officer continues to be in service, so however,
that he shall be deemed to be in service only for the purpose
of the continuance and conclusion of such proceedings. We
may mention here that a similar provision was also relied on
behalf of UCO Bank in UCO Bank and Another v. Rajinder
Lal Capoor (supra) in regulation 20(3)(iii) of the UCO Bank
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Officers Employees Service Rules, 1979, but this Court held
that the aforesaid regulation could be invoked only when
the disciplinary proceedings had been initiated prior to the
delinquent officer ceased to be in service. Thus, the
aforesaid decision of this Court in UCO Bank and Another v.
Rajinder Lal Capoor (supra) does not support the respondent
no.1 and there is no merit in the contention of the counsel
for the respondent no.1 that the enquiry and the order of
dismissal were illegal and without jurisdiction.
7. Coming now to the contention of the appellant, we find
that the enquiry officer has found that charges no. 1, 2, 4
and 6 had been proved against the respondent no.1. While
arriving at these findings on the four charges proved against
the respondent no.1, the enquiry officer has considered a
number of documents marked as exhibits and has also
considered the documents produced on behalf of the
respondent no.1 and marked as exhibits. The findings of
the enquiry officer were based on evidence and the
appointing authority had agreed with the findings of the
enquiry officer. This Court has held in State of Andhra
Pradesh and Others v. Sree Rama Rao (AIR 1963 SC 1723):
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“The High Court is not constituted in a proceeding under Article 226 of the Constitution a Court of appeal over the decision of the authorities holding a departmental enquiry against a public servant: it is concerned to determine whether the enquiry is held by an authority competent in that behalf, and according to the procedure prescribed in that behalf, and whether the rules of natural justice are not violated. Where there is some evidence, which the authority entrusted with the duty to hold the enquiry has accepted and which evidence may reasonably support the conclusion that the delinquent officer is guilty of the charge, it is not the function of the High Court in a petition for a writ under Article 226 to review the evidence and to arrive at an independent finding on the evidence.”
8. Thus, in a proceeding under Article 226 of the
Constitution, the High Court does not sit as an appellate
authority over the findings of the disciplinary authority and
so long as the findings of the disciplinary authority are
supported by some evidence the High Court does not re-
appreciate the evidence and come to a different and
independent finding on the evidence. This position of law
has been reiterated in several decisions by this Court which
we need not refer to, and yet by the impugned judgment the
High Court has re-appreciated the evidence and arrived at
the conclusion that the findings recorded by the enquiry
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officer are not substantiated by any material on record and
the allegations leveled against the respondent no.1 do not
constitute any misconduct and that the respondent no.1
was not guilty of any misconduct.
9. We, therefore, set aside the impugned order of the High
Court and allow the appeal with no order as to costs.
.……………………….J. (R. V. Raveendran)
………………………..J. (A. K. Patnaik)
………………………..J. (H. L. Gokhale)
New Delhi, October 13, 2011.
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