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General Manager (Operation-I)/Appellate Authority, UCO Bank and Others vs. Krishna Kumar Bhardwaj

Civil Appeal · 2022 INSC 204Decided 18 Feb 2022
Civil Appeal No. 1458 of 2022
Ajay Rastogi · Abhay S. Oka

Background

The same respondent (an officer of UCO Bank) faced a separate, earlier disciplinary proceeding relating to his conduct in 1991-92 as Manager of the Taharpur Bhabisa branch, where he was charged with opening two savings accounts without proper verification (accounts later found linked to fictitious persons and large undisclosed cash deposits flagged by the Income Tax Department), mishandling cash remittance procedures, and remaining absent from duty without sanctioned leave. An inquiry found three of the four charges proved, and the disciplinary and appellate authorities imposed (and on appeal, moderated) a pay-reduction penalty. The Allahabad High Court set aside the entire disciplinary action, wrongly believing the respondent had been exonerated on two of the three proved charges and that the remaining charge was too vague for him to answer.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found that the High Court's premise was factually wrong: the record clearly showed all three charges (1, 2, and 3) were held proved by the inquiry officer and confirmed by both the disciplinary and appellate authorities, with the appellate authority merely taking a lenient view on the quantum of punishment rather than exonerating the respondent of any charge. The Court also held that the charge the High Court found "vague" was in fact specific and clear, and the respondent had never raised any objection about vagueness or lack of natural justice at any stage of the departmental process. Applying the same limited-review principle as in the companion appeal (Civil Appeal No. 1457/2022, decided the same day), the Court held that since the findings of guilt were supported by evidence and the inquiry followed due process, the High Court had no basis to interfere. At the respondent's own request (given the age of the 1993 case), the Court decided the matter on merits rather than remanding it, allowed the appeal, and set aside the High Court's judgment.

Lesson Learnt

Before overturning a disciplinary penalty, courts must accurately verify what the record actually shows: an appellate authority moderating punishment out of leniency is not the same as exonerating an employee, and a charge is not "vague" simply because a court says so if the employee never claimed at any earlier stage that he was unable to understand or respond to it.

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

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