Form No.J(2)

IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICION APPELLATE SIDE Present:

The Hon’ble Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury WPA 16034 of 2017 Mitra Kumar Mondal versus The State Bank of India & Ors.

For the petitioner : Mr. Kallol Basu Ms. Baisali Ghoshal Mr. Atreya Chakraborty For the respondents/ : Mr. Subrata Kumar Sinha Bank. Mr. S. Pal Choudhury Heard on : 31.01.2025 & 21.02.2025.

Judgment on : 21st April, 2025 Raja Basu Chowdhury, J:

1. The instant writ petition has been filed, inter alia, for a direction upon the respondents to regularize the service of the petitioner as permanent employee of the respondent no.1 (hereinafter referred to as the Bank) in the post of messenger, the post in which the petitioner has been continuously serving for the last 22 years, till the date of filing of the writ petition.

2. The instant case proceeds on the premise that on 27th December

1982 the petitioner was engaged as a temporary messenger in Hura Branch of the State Bank of India in the district of Purulia. It is his case that between 17th December 1982 to 12th April 1995 he had worked for a period of more than 607 days, with certain interval and gaps. He claims that on 27th December 1991 on the basis of an interview he was empanelled as temporary employee of the bank and the list of temporary employees was published in April, 1992.

3. He relies on an agreement executed between the bank and the registered trade union which provides for recruitment of messengers after preparation of a list of empaneled temporary staff. According to him, such agreement was first signed on 27th October 1988 and again on 9th January 1991 but the same was not renewed and consequentially the list of the temporary staff as of April 1992 lapsed after expiry on 31st March 1997, i.e. after 5 years.

4. The petitioner however claims that since, 13th April, 1995 he has been working in the bank continuously without any break and has been signing the attendance register meant for permanent staff. He was also allotted the duty in Lok Sabha Election, Assembly Election and Panchayat Election along with other permanent staffs of the bank and had also been deputed as messenger with articles to Burdwan Zonal Office, Purulia Branch Office and Stationary Department at Calcutta and had also been paid the T.A. Bills. He claims that he has been treated as a permanent staff of the bank even after the lapse of the panel on 31st March 1997.

5. According to the petitioner, certain dispute had been arisen after

10th August, 1998 when the respondent bank tried to discontinue the service of the petitioner. The petitioner was compelled to move a writ petition before this Court which was registered as WP 18243 (W) of 1998. On contested hearing, the Coordinate Bench of this Court by an order dated 3rd August 2009 to inter alia ascertain whether the petitioner had been working with the bank since 24th September 1998, was pleased to frame the following questions on the basis of the issues raised in such petition.

a. Whether the writ petitioner was in service when the petition was moved.

b. Whether any relief as prayed for by the writ petitioner can be granted.

6. After deliberating on the aforesaid questions, the Coordinate Bench had answered the first question in affirmative. As regards the second question, the Court was of the view that if a person had been working with the bank for a number of years, then he cannot be removed without a formal order indicating the reasons.

7. An appeal was carried from such order at the instance of the bank which was registered as MAT 973 of 2009, by an order dated 18th December 2012 while observing that the order passed by the learned Single Judge does not deserve to be interfered with, the appeal was dismissed. Since then, bank did not pass any order removing him from service.

8. The present writ petition has been filed on 16th June, 2017 on the ground that although, the petitioner had been working as a messenger and has been discharging duties simila