Point of Law: In Banking business absolute devotion, integrity and honesty is a sine qua non for every Bank employee.

JUDGMENT :

1. The petitioner has assailed the order of compulsory retirement dated 05.05.2017 which has been imposed as a measure of punishment pursuant to the disciplinary proceedings initiated against him. The appeal preferred against the said order on 28.06.2017 has also been rejected vide order dated 26.07.2017. Both the orders i.e. 05.05.2017 and 26.07.2017 have been assailed in the present writ petition.

2. The facts of the case and brief are that the petitioner while working at the Cash Counter in the State Bank of India, Girijapuri Branch (hereinafter referred to as the Bank) was served with a charge sheet on 16.03.2005 where the allegation against him was that he had accepted an amount of 5000/- from one customer namely Raj Rs. 50/- from one customer namely Raj Narayan for depositing the same in his account No.5104. The petitioner discharging the duties of a Cashier accepted the said amount, and made an endorsement in the passbook of the customer but did not enter the said deposit, and no entries were made in Bank’s official records, and similarly another amount of 500 was Rs. 5000/- from one customer namely Raj accepted from a customer and not accounted by him in the Bank’s books. The petitioner was issued charge-sheet on 16.3.2005 and disciplinary proceedings were conducted and vide order dated 9.3.2006 the petitioner was awarded compulsory retirement with superannuation benefits from service. In the appeal preferred by the petitioner the order of punishment was modified vide order dated 12.6.2006 to stoppage of 4 increments for 4 years with cumulative effect. It has been recorded that a lenient and compassionate view has been taken by the appellate authority as the petitioner has an unmarried daughter and 3 minor children and further an opportunity was given to the petitioner to show improvement in his conduct and reform himself.

3. The petitioner was again subjected to disciplinary proceedings and a charge-sheet was given on 28.07.2016 containing 3 charges. The first charge related to not crediting to customer’s account the amount received by him, and only when the customer complained about the non-credit of the amount, it was refunded to him. The second charge related to the earlier punishment granted to the petitioner for the misconduct committed by him where he was given stoppage of 4 increments for 4 years with cumulative effect and it was stated that he had been given an opportunity to show improvement in his functioning but has committed similar irregularity again.

4. In the disciplinary proceedings which resulted in the impugned punishment order dated 5.5.2017, according to charge no.1 one Pradeep Kumar, a savings Bank account holder, deposited cash of 5000/- from one customer namely Raj 34,000/- over the counter on 26.06.2015. The acknowledgement receipt was issued to the customer but the petitioner retained the cash without crediting the savings account of the customer. It is only when the customer made complaint against the petitioner that he returned the money to the customer on 10/07/2015. The disciplinary authority held that the charge No.1 was proved, and with regard to charge No.2 he returned a finding that the officer was given opportunity to show improvement when previously committed similar act of misconduct, however he has committed similar act of misconduct and imposed penalty in terms of 67 (h) of the State Bank of India Officers Service Rules of compulsory retirement upon the petitioner by means of impugned order dated 05/05/2017. The appeal against the said order of punishment was also rejected by the appellate authority by means of order dated 26/07/2017.

5. The petitioner has challenged the punishment order as well as the appellate order on the ground that previously, the petitioner having been punished by means of order dated 09/03/2006 and again on the same charges has been punished and accordingly the order of punishment is illegal and arbitrary in as much as it suffers from vice of double j