JUDGMENT :

MICHAEL ZOTHANKHUMA, J.

1. Heard Mr. U.K. Nair, learned senior counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. M. Sarma, learned counsel for the respondent UCO Bank.

2. The petitioner, who is working as an Assistant Manager, UCO Bank, is aggrieved with the impugned Order dated 30.09.2015, by which a penalty has been imposed upon him on the basis of the departmental proceeding, by which his basic pay has been reduced by four stages till retirement, with a further direction that he will not earn increments of pay during the period of reduction and after expiry of the reduction period, such reduction will have the effect of postponing further increment of his pay.

3. The petitioner’s case in brief is that due to various transactions regarding deposits of money in his Bank account, a departmental proceeding was initiated against the petitioner. The Memorandum of Charge made against the petitioner shows that on the basis of 8 (eight) allegations made against the petitioner, three Articles of Charges were framed, which are as follows:

“(1) Shri Chandra Bhusan Kumar without the previous sanction of the Bank, engaged himself directly or indirectly in trade and business activity which is v