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1990 Supreme(P&H) 300
PUNJAB & HARYANA HIGH COURT
J.V.Gupta and M.S.Liberahan JJ.
Hardwari Lal
Versus
Union Of India
of,
Letters Patent Appeal No. 743 of 1984,
Decided On : MAY 10, 1990
The Managing Director of a subsidiary bank does not have the authority to delegate his powers to any other person to accept resignations of Junior Management and Middle Management Officers.
Headnote:
SERVICE LAW - RESIGNATION - ACCEPTANCE - COMPETENCY - DELEGATION OF POWERS - RATIFICATION - WITHDRAWAL OF RESIGNATION - EFFECT - REINSTATEMENT - BACK WAGES.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner, a Manager of the State Bank of Patiala, submitted his resignation on May 11, 1982, with a request to waive the condition of giving three months' notice or depositing three months' salary in lieu thereof. He later withdrew his resignation on May 17, 1982, but the Bank accepted his resignation on May 14, 1982, and waived the notice period. The petitioner challenged the acceptance of his resignation, arguing that the General Manager who accepted it was not competent to do so and that the Managing Director's subsequent ratification of the acceptance was invalid.
Finding of the Court:
The Court held that the General Manager was not competent to accept the petitioner's resignation because the Board of Directors had authorized only the Managing Director to accept resignations of Junior Management and Middle Management Officers. The Court also held that the Managing Director's subsequent ratification of the acceptance was invalid because he did not have the authority to delegate his powers to the General Manager. The Court further held that the petitioner's withdrawal of his resignation on May 17, 1982, was effective because it was made before the Managing Director ratified the acceptance of the resignation.
Issues: 1. Whether the General Manager was competent to accept the petitioner's resignation? 2. Whether the Managing Director's subsequent ratification of the acceptance was valid? 3. Whether the petitioner's withdrawal of his resignation on May 17, 1982, was effective?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The Court held that the General Manager was not competent to accept the petitioner's resignation because the Board of Directors had authorized only the Managing Director to accept resignations of Junior Management and Middle Management Officers. The Court relied on Regulation 3(e) of the State Bank of Patiala (Officers) Service Regulations 1979, which provides that the Board of Directors has authorized only the Managing Director to accept resignations of Junior Management and Middle Management Officers. 2. The Court held that the Managing Director's subsequent ratification of the acceptance was invalid because he did not have the authority to delegate his powers to the General Manager. The Court relied on the provisions of the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, which does not authorize the Managing Director to delegate his powers to any other person. 3. The Court held that the petitioner's withdrawal of his resignation on May 17, 1982, was effective because it was made before the Managing Director ratified the acceptance of the resignation. The Court relied on the principle that a resignation can be withdrawn at any time before it is accepted.
Final Decision: The Court allowed the appeal, set aside the judgment of the learned Single Judge, and quashed the orders dated May 14, 1982, May 18, 1982, and August 7, 1982. The Court directed that the petitioner be reinstated and that the period from May 14, 1982, till his reinstatement be treated as leave of the kind due to him.
, J.
1. Adumbrated in brief, the relevant facts giving rise to this Letters Patent Appeal are, Hardwari Lal was serving as a Manager of the Branch of State Bank of Patiala at Bareta It was claimed that on May 8, 1982 when a seminar was being held at Mansa. R. C. Kampani. Regional Manager III (P) of the State Bank of Patiala (hereinafter referred to as the Bank) rebuked, snubbed and harangued the appellant (hereinafter called the petitioner, who was also one of the participants, in presence of so many people. R. C. Kampanis conduct resulted in a great mental stress on the petitioner who under the resultant depression, submitted his resignation on May 11, 1982 and forwarded the same to the Regional Manager III (P) of the Bank with a further request that the condition of giving three months notice or depositing three months salary in lieu thereof, may be waived. Later on the advice of friends and well-wishers and in view of the family circumstances, he withdrew his resignation and sent a telegram to that effect on May 17, 1982 to the Regional Manager III (P) of the Bank, on the same day i. e. on May 17, 1982, the petitioner sent a letter confirming the telegram withdrawing his resignation. He continued working as Manager of the Bareta Branch of the Bank till May 22, 1982 when he received intimation through a letter, dated May 18, 1982 that the condition of three months notice period or salary in lieu thereof had been waived off and his resignation had been accepted on May 14, 1982. A copy of the letter is attached as Annexure P-4 to the Writ Petition.
2. The facts are not in dispute except the incident regarding the rebuking, snubbing and insulting the petitioner by R. C. Kampani and existence of the alleged compulsion for submitting the resignation. It was averred on behalf of the respondents that resignation letter, dated May 11, 1982 with a forwarding letter was received in the Head Office on May 12, 1982. It was on the request of the petitioner for immediate action in the matter, that the matter was immediately dealt with and put up before the General Manager on May 14, 1982 as the Managing Director was on leave from May 11, 1982 to May 15, 1982. The General Menager (Operation) after applying his mind and taking into consideration all the aspects of the case, ordered the acceptance of the resignation of the petitioner on May 14, 1982. A copy of the order has been annexed as Annexure R-1/a, the operative part of which reads as under : "in the instant case, the officer has requested for waiving of/reducing the notice period and acceptance of resignation with immediate effect. In view of the ill health of the officer, his own request for waiving of the notice is accepted and the notice period is waived of, as a special case, it is, however, clarified that this may not be treated as a precedent for similar other cases in future. The relieving arrangements in place of the officer concerned should be made forthwith. He should be relieved of his charge. The satisfaction about to dues may be made before payment of his retiral benefits/dues. " The order was conveyed to the petitioner vide Memo, dated May 18, 1982, Copy Anrexure Rule 2. The petitioner was relieved on June 9, 1982 because in the meantime he proceeded o (sic) leave from May 24, 1982 to June 8, 1982. The respondents claimed that the Regional Manager III (P) while accepting the resignation of the petitioner, exercised the powers of Managing Director, as he was authorised to do so by the Managing Director vide Office Older No.6, dated May 11, 1982, which reads as under :-
"state BANK OF PATIALA No. PAM M. D. Septt. Dated 11th May, 1982 Baisakh, 21, 1984 Saka, OFFICE ORDER NO.6 As I shall remain on leave for 3-4 days from the 11th May, 1982 due to indisposed health, Shri L. D. Khanna General Manager (Operations) and Shri N. G. Sardana, General Manager (Plg. and Dev.) will exercise, within their respective spheres, (he financial and administrative powers of the Managi
