( 1 ) THE question that arises in this Petition is whether the Petitioner is entitled to payment of wages/salary for the period commencing on 07. 07. 1999 which is the date of the termination of his services predicated of his conviction under section 148-A, IPC and ending on 3. 10. 2001 when Petitioner joined duties. On 28. 7. 2001 he had been acquitted by the learned Sessions Judge.

( 2 ) LEARNED counsel for the Respondent Bank states that the Bank is statutorily bound to terminate the services of any of its employees who has been convicted of any offence involving moral turpitude, as per Section 10 (1) (b) (i) of the Banking Regulations Act, 1949. Reliance has been placed on the decision of the hon ble Supreme Court in Ranchhodji Chaturji Thakore vs. Superintendent Engineer, gujarat Electricity Board, Himmatnagar (Gujarat) and another, (1996) 11 SCC 603 where the Court observed as follows:

( 3 ) THE reinstatement of the petitioner into the service has already been ordered by the high Court. The only question is whether he is entitled to back wages. It was his conduct of involving himself in the crime that was taken into account for his not being in service of th