IMPORTANT POINT
The bank cannot be held liable to pay salary and allowances for the period when the employee did not discharge his duties due to his own involvement in misconduct. The discretion of the Disciplinary Authority to decide the pay and allowances payable to an official during the period of suspension is crucial.

JUDGMENT

Mini Pushkarna, J. - The present writ petition has been filed with prayer for directions to the respondent to pay the arrears of salary to the petitioner with effect from 21st September, 2002 to 24th March, 2011, with further prayer to re-fix his pensionary and retirement benefits by treating the said period as spent on duty.

2. The facts in brief are as follows:

2.1. The petitioner joined the services of the State Bank of India ("SBI")/respondent bank as a Cashier in the year 1972. He was posted as a Branch Manager (Scale-III) at Laxmi Nagar Branch in the year 2002, when a complaint was lodged against him by one Sh. Gurcharan Singh who alleged that the petitioner had sought bribe from him. First Information Report ("FIR") was registered against the petitioner by the Central Bureau of Investigation ("CBI"). Thus, CBI investigation was initiated, pursuant to which the petitioner was arrested on 21st September, 2002 and later on released on bail.

2.2. Consequently, the respondent bank suspended the petitioner vide letter dated 24th September, 2002 with effect from 21st September, 2002. In the meanwhile, respondent initiated departmental proceedings against the petitioner vide chargesheet dated 08th June, 2004 for committing various irregularities. While the disciplinary proceedings were pending against the petitioner, the Special Judge, CBI, Delhi convicted the petitioner vide judgment dated 11th July, 2005.

2.3. Aggrieved by the judgment and order on sentence dated 11th July, 2005, petitioner challenged the same before this Court in a Criminal Appeal bearing no. Crl. A. No. 579/2005. The sentence awarded against the petitioner was suspended during the pendency of the appeal.

2.4. In the light of the conviction of the petitioner, the respondent passed an order dated 14th October, 2005 thereby imposing penalty of dismissal upon the petitioner in terms of Rule 67(j) of the SBI Officers Service Rules, 1992 ("SBI Rules") as prevalent at that point of time, read with Rule 68 (7)(ii) on the basis of the judgment dated 11th July, 2005, passed by the Special Judge, CBI, Delhi.

2.5. Against his dismissal order dated 14th October, 2005, the petitioner filed an appeal under Rule 69 of the SBI Rules before the Appellate Authority of the respondent bank. The appeal of the petitioner was dismissed by the Appellate Authority thereby confirming the penalty of dismissal. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner filed a writ before this Court, being W.P. (C) No. 15726/2006.

2.6. By judgment dated 24th December, 2010, the Criminal Appeal filed on behalf of the petitioner was allowed. The conviction and sentence against the petitioner was set aside and the petitioner was acquitted. Thus, petitioner made representation dated 30th December, 2010 to the respondent bank to reinstate him in service.

2.7. Upon consideration of the representation of the petitioner, the respondent bank reinstated the petitioner vide order dated 25th March, 2011. However, while reinstating the petitioner, the respondent bank put certain conditions on the petitioner, one of which was that the petitioner shall not be paid any salary and allowances for the period he remained under suspension/out of service and this period would not be counted as service for all purposes including calculation of terminal benefits.

2.8. Further, the said reinstatement order dated 25th March, 2011 stipulated that the disciplinary action against the petitioner which had been kept in abeyance by the respondent bank on account of dismissal of the petitioner from service, shall stand revived from the stage it had reached at the relevant time. It may be noted that a chargesheet dated 8th June, 2004 had been served upon the petitioner for committing certain irregularities while he was posted as Chief Manager at Laxmi Nagar, Delhi Branch.

2.9. Thus, upon his reinstatement, the petitioner withdrew W.P. (C) No. 15726/2006 vide order dated 05th April, 2011.

2.10. The respondent bank passed another order dated 23