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State Bank of India & Ors. v. Atindra Nath Bhattacharyya & Anr.

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 812Decided 25 Jul 2019
Civil Appeal No. 5842 of 2019
Justice L. Nageswara Rao · Justice Hemant Gupta

Background

The respondent, a Chief Manager at a State Bank of India branch, was charge-sheeted in 1999 for financial irregularities and eventually removed from service in 2003 after an inquiry found ten of sixteen charges proved. A Single Judge of the Calcutta High Court set aside the punishment for lack of a hearing on the quantum of punishment, and when the Bank called the respondent for a fresh hearing he repeatedly refused to appear, instead re-litigating the matter. The Bank then passed a fresh removal order in 2016, and the respondent's intra-court appeal was dismissed, but the Division Bench still directed the Bank to give him one more opportunity of hearing "in the interest of justice."

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that once the Bank had already offered the respondent three separate opportunities for a personal hearing (which he deliberately avoided while pursuing litigation), he was not entitled to yet another chance merely on the ground of "justice demands." The Court found the Division Bench's direction for a further opportunity unsustainable and set it aside, holding that an employee who declines offered opportunities cannot later complain of being denied a fair hearing. Given the gravity of the proven financial irregularities running into crores of rupees, the Court held the removal order could not be said to be unjust, and allowed the Bank's appeal.

Lesson Learnt

An employee facing disciplinary action must actually avail of the hearing opportunities offered, rather than stalling through repeated litigation: courts will not keep granting fresh chances to someone who deliberately bypassed earlier ones.

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

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