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Surjit Singh vs. Punjab & Sind Bank & Ors.

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2026:DHC:7690Decided 9 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
W.P.(C) 17556/2005CNR: DLHC010664922005
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna

Background

The petitioner was a bank manager at Punjab & Sind Bank's Najafgarh branch when five armed robbers raided it in 1998, threatening staff and looting cash. While two robbers held guns to him, he pressed the emergency alarm and physically blocked the door as they fled, causing most of the roughly ₹40 lakh they were carrying to spill out, so they escaped with only ₹75,000. Despite being recommended for an award by his superiors and a bank employees' union, the Bank refused him any reward or out-of-turn promotion for nearly 28 years, claiming he was merely doing his job.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that pressing the alarm and blocking the door while at gunpoint was not routine duty but active, courageous resistance to a robbery, squarely covered by the Government's 1991 guidelines entitling such employees to a cash reward and possible out-of-turn promotion. The Court found the Bank's decades-long refusal to honour its own guidelines was unjustified and awarded the petitioner ₹50,000 compensation with 12% annual compounded interest running from the date of the incident in 1998, plus ₹2 lakh in litigation costs.

Lesson Learnt

Government and public-sector guidelines recognising bravery or special conduct are enforceable rights, not mere suggestions: employees denied benefits under such guidelines without valid reason can seek and obtain court-ordered compensation, even decades later.

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