JUDGMENT :

Murali Purushothaman, J.

The 2nd petitioner is the mother of the 1st petitioner. The 1st petitioner while working as Junior Accountant in the service of the erstwhile Idukki District Co-operative Bank, Vattavada Branch, Idukki District (now Kerala State Co-operative Bank (Kerala Bank)) was suspended from service on 29.08.2017, pending enquiry, on the basis of an FIR registered against him at Kattappana Police Station on 20.08.2017 for the alleged commission of offences punishable under Section 21 (c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short 'NDPS Act'). The 1st petitioner was arrested on 01.09.2017 and remanded to custody.

2. After the trial, the 1st petitioner was found guilty of the offences charged against him and was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years and a fine of Rupees one lakh fifty thousand was imposed on him, by the Special Court for NDPS cases, Thodupuzha by judgment dated 08.01.2021. During the trial, he was under judicial custody. He has preferred an appeal before this Court and has been enlarged on bail on 11.09.2023.

3. After the conviction, the Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, presenting himself as the c