Point of Law: It is trite that if a particular procedure is mandated to be followed prior to passing any order of termination, such procedure cannot be given a go-bye by Authorities, as procedure is life blood of Fifth Schedule.

ORDER :

1. The petitioner is before this Court calling in question termination of the petitioner as an agent of Life Insurance Corporation of India by order passed by the Disciplinary Authority dated 14-05-2019 and has further called in question order passed during the pendency of the subject petition by the Appellate Authority dated 02-05-2020 which confirms the order of the Disciplinary Authority.

2. Brief facts that lead the petitioner to this Court in the subject petition, as borne out from the pleadings are, as follows:

The petitioner enrolls himself to be an agent of the 1st respondent/Life Insurance Corporation of India (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Corporation’ for short) at its City Branch in the month of March 1999. It is the claim of the petitioner that he has received several encomiums during his tenure of being an agent and had been recognized with the grant of Corporation Club Membership which is the Corporation’s highest recognition to an agent and a million dollar roundtable life membership, both of which, according to the petitioner, are conferred upon only to agents who have served their best to the Corporation.

3. Things standing thus, a crime comes to be registered in Crime No. 73 of 2018 against one M/s Vikram Investments for offences punishable under Sections 403, 406, 420 r/w 34 of the IPC. The allegation was with regard to a transaction of one A.R. Balaji and his Agarbathi Company who had invested and lost to an extent of Rs. 11.74 crores through accused No. 2 Narasimha Murthy. The petitioner claims that he also had invested in M/s Vikram Investments and had nothing to do with the loss.

4. The petitioner receives a communication from the Senior Divisional Manager of the Corporation on 12-03-2018 seeking an explanation from the hands of the petitioner with regard to his involvement in Crime No. 73 of 2018 for the aforesaid offences. The communication indicated that the petitioner has induced his clients to invest their money in the unauthorized investment schemes and had promised his clients that future premiums under LIC plans can be financed through those unauthorized schemes. The petitioner receives another letter of the same date directing that the petitioner should not solicit or procure new Life Insurance business until further instructions from the Competent Authority.

5. On 14-09-2018 the petitioner receives a notice from an Inquiry Officer appointed, directing him to appear before the Divisional Office for a personal hearing to be held on 24-09-2018 indicating that it was an opportunity provided to the petitioner to be heard and submission of his views. The petitioner appears before the Inquiry Officer on 24-09-2018 and claims that he was asked to reply to a questionnaire. The petitioner submitted his reply and nothing came about. After about 6 months of the said personal hearing, a show cause notice dated 18-03-2019 comes to be issued by the Disciplinary Authority-Senior Divisional Manager seeking to show cause as to why action should not be taken against him under Regulations 15 and 16 of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (Agents) Regulations, 2017 (‘the Regulations’ for short) to terminate the petitioner as an agent of the Corporation.

6. The petitioner replies to the notice on 28-03-2019 contending that there was no inquiry worth the name held under the Regulations. The petitioner after submitting his reply knocks at the doors of this Court in Writ Petition No. 14709 of 2019 calling in question the show cause notice so issued on 18-03-2019. This Court in terms of its order dated 11-04-2019 disposed of the petition directing the Disciplinary Authority to take a decision in the matter after considering the reply submitted by the petitioner in accordance with law. Pursuant to the order passed by this Court, the impugned order comes to be passed on 14-05-2019 invoking the power under Regulation 16 of the Regulations by terminating the petitioner as agent of the Corporation and consequent renew