IN THE PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT AT CHANDIGARH Date of Decision: 11.03.2025 SADHU RAM ... Petitioner VERSUS UCO BANK AND ANOTHER ... Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VINOD S. BHARDWAJ.

Present: Mr. Suman Jain, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Shekhar Verma, Mr. Gurvinder Pal Singh and Ms. Komal Bishnoi, Advocate for the respondents.

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VINOD S. BHARDWAJ, J. (ORAL)

Challenge in the present petition is to the order dated 07.07.2014 (Annexure P-16) whereby the petitioner has been given the punishment of compulsory retirement; and it has also been ordered that the period of suspension and dismissal from service shall not be treated as 'on duty' and no salary, allowances/benefits/any other allowance of any kind will be payable to him for the period between suspension and the order of compulsory retirement as well as to the order dated 30.12.2016 dismissing the appeal.

Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner contends that the petitioner was appointed on 08.07.1986 as a Clerk with the respondent- Bank. A society by the name of Bhiwani Insurance and Bank Employee Coop. (SE) T&C Society Ltd. was registered on 22.08.1997. The petitioner was the Honorary Secretary of the said Society and one Mr. Sukhbir Singh was the President while Mr. Ashok Kumar Saroha was its Vice President. Another Society namely Bajrang Bali Coop. N.A.T. & Society Ltd. was also registered subsequently, and the petitioner was the Honorary Secretary of that Society also. The petitioner claims that the Bank was duly informed and apprised of these two societies of which the petitioner was the Honorary Secretary. So much so, one of the senior officer namely Mr. S.S. Kaushik, Deputy Chief Officer was also the beneficiary of this society and had obtained loan therefrom. Current account of the said Society(ies) was also opened with the respondent Bank under the signatures of the petitioner. The petitioner was later promoted from the post of Clerk to the post of Computer Operator on 13.07.2006. The respondent-Bank, however, served a show-cause notice to the petitioner on 28.05.2007 on the primary allegations that even though the said Societies had been floated in the years 1997 and 1999 respectively but the petitioner did not obtain permission from the Competent Authority of the Bank to act as Secretary of the said Societies. The second allegation was that various complaints had been received from the depositors of the Societies against the petitioner that he was not making the payment of interest as well as principal amount on maturity.

A further allegation of an unauthorized absence from duty was also levelled.

Notwithstanding issuance of the above show-cause notice, the petitioner was still further promoted to the post of JMGS-I on 06.07.2007 on the merit-cum-seniority basis.

The petitioner thereafter submitted his response about the charges as well as to unauthorized absence and submitted the medical certificate(s) in support of the same.

Learned counsel for the petitioner further contends that notwithstanding the details furnished by the petitioner in his reply clarifying everything, a charge sheet dated 10.12.2007 was served upon the petitioner and a regular department inquiry under Regulation 6 of UCO Bank Officer Employees' (Discipline and Appeal) Regulations, 1976 (hereinafter referred to as 'Regulations of 1976') was initiated. The statement of allegations alongwith the charges levelled against the petitioner are as under: -

"1) Shri Sadhu Ram-alongwith some other persons floated two Cooperative Societies namely Bhiwani Insurance and Bank Employee Coop(SE) T & C Society Ltd., & The Bajrang Ball Coop. N.A.T. & C. Society Ltd. for both of which he was working / functioning as Secretary. During the course of his functioning as Secretary of Society (5) he canvassed for deposit from different persons and for the amount of deposit so received issued receipts, under his single signatures as Secretary on behalf of the respective Society(s) mentioned above.