देश – विदेश
Retired bank officer can’t represent delinquent bank employee: Supreme Court | India News
[ad_1]
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has ruled that a delinquent employee had no absolute right to avail services of a lawyer or an ex-employee to defend him in a disciplinary proceedings and said that the employer can restrict the employee’s choice of defence representative in such proceedings.
Reversing a Rajasthan HC judgment allowing a delinquent bank employee the services of an ex-employee to defend him in disciplinary proceedings, a bench of Justices M R Shah and Sanjiv Khanna said, “the respondent employee/respondent delinquent has no absolute right to avail the services by ex-employee of the Bank as his DR in the departmental proceedings.”
The Rajasthan Marudhara Gramin Bank through its counsel Rishabh Sancheti argued that the High Court committed a grave error in directing the bank to permit the employee-petitioner to be represented through a retired officer of the bank in the disciplinary proceedings even though the Handbook Procedure specifically provided that the defence representative should be serving official/employee from the bank.
The HC had said that though the bank’s Regulations restricted representation by a lawyer, even that too is permissible with the leave to the competent authority. The HC had said since there is no complete or absolute bar even on engaging a lawyer, the employee cannot be restrained from availing services of a retired employee of the Bank.
Justices Shah and Khanna differed with the HC’s view. It said even though the Regulations allow the delinquent employee to engage the services of a lawyer with prior permission of the authorities, these do not provide for engagement of any outsider or ex-employee of the bank as DR.
The Handbook Procedure, approved by the Board of Directors, is applicable to all the employees of the bank, the bench said. “Clause 8 is with respect to the defence representative and it specifically provides that DR should be a serving official/employee from the Bank. The said Handbook Procedure… is binding to all the employees of the bank,” the bench said.
The SC said not permitting the delinquent officer to be represented through an ex-employee of the bank in the departmental enquiry “cannot be said to be in any way in breach of principles of natural justice and/or it violates any of the rights of the delinquent officer.”
Reversing a Rajasthan HC judgment allowing a delinquent bank employee the services of an ex-employee to defend him in disciplinary proceedings, a bench of Justices M R Shah and Sanjiv Khanna said, “the respondent employee/respondent delinquent has no absolute right to avail the services by ex-employee of the Bank as his DR in the departmental proceedings.”
The Rajasthan Marudhara Gramin Bank through its counsel Rishabh Sancheti argued that the High Court committed a grave error in directing the bank to permit the employee-petitioner to be represented through a retired officer of the bank in the disciplinary proceedings even though the Handbook Procedure specifically provided that the defence representative should be serving official/employee from the bank.
The HC had said that though the bank’s Regulations restricted representation by a lawyer, even that too is permissible with the leave to the competent authority. The HC had said since there is no complete or absolute bar even on engaging a lawyer, the employee cannot be restrained from availing services of a retired employee of the Bank.
Justices Shah and Khanna differed with the HC’s view. It said even though the Regulations allow the delinquent employee to engage the services of a lawyer with prior permission of the authorities, these do not provide for engagement of any outsider or ex-employee of the bank as DR.
The Handbook Procedure, approved by the Board of Directors, is applicable to all the employees of the bank, the bench said. “Clause 8 is with respect to the defence representative and it specifically provides that DR should be a serving official/employee from the Bank. The said Handbook Procedure… is binding to all the employees of the bank,” the bench said.
The SC said not permitting the delinquent officer to be represented through an ex-employee of the bank in the departmental enquiry “cannot be said to be in any way in breach of principles of natural justice and/or it violates any of the rights of the delinquent officer.”
[ad_2]
Source link
