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A.K. Saxena v. State Bank of Patiala & Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 3668 of 2012)Decided 18 Feb 2016
Civil Appeal No. 3668 of 2012
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

The appellant, a bank cashier-cum-clerk since 1978, was dismissed in 1993 after a departmental inquiry found him involved in a fraudulent withdrawal of Rs. 80,000 from a customer's account, allegedly along with three other employees who were not dismissed. A Labour Court held the dismissal illegal and ordered reinstatement with back wages, but the High Court set aside that award on the bank's challenge, bringing the matter to the Supreme Court. By the time of this appeal, the appellant had already received over Rs. 14 lakh in back wages and further statutory payments while the case was pending.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court noted the bank's own case showed three other employees were equally implicated in facilitating the fraud but were only subjected to minor penalties (denial of future increments/promotion), while the appellant alone was dismissed. The Court found this selective treatment unfair in the circumstances and held that the punishment should be moderated rather than upholding outright dismissal. Taking into account that the appellant had already crossed superannuation age and had received substantial payments during the litigation, the Court ordered that he be treated as having retired after completing 15 years of service, with pension benefits computed from February 2016 onward, but without any arrears since he had already been paid wages during the interim period.

Lesson Learnt

Disciplinary punishment must be proportionate and consistent among similarly-placed employees; a court can moderate an unduly harsh punishment where co-participants in the same alleged misconduct received markedly lighter treatment.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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