Madras HC orders reinstatement of sacked SBI employee

The Madras High Court has ordered the reinstatement of a State Bank of India employee who was dismissed from service for putting up the portrait of B R Ambedkar at the bank's branch office.
A division bench, comprising Justice S Tamilvanan (since retired) and Justice D Hariparanthaman, passed the order on the appeals filed by the dismissed employee of SBI, Gowri Shankar and the management.
Upholding the Central Government Industrial Tribunal's (CGIT) order awarded in April 2012, the bench said that "in our view, the award of the CGIT ordering reinstatement cannot be faulted with, since it has exercised its power under Section 11-A of I.D. Act in interfering with the punishment of removal."

"Hence, we are inclined to sustain the award of the CGIT agreeing with the reasons given by the CGIT, besides our reasons, as stated above," the court said adding that the appellant be reinstated withing 30 days with continuity of service and all other attendant benefits, but without back wages.
Referring to a circular issued by the Finance Ministry in September 2006, directing all nationalized banks to display the portraits of Ambedkar, the court said that "in our view, the entire issue was mishandled by the bank..."
The appellant Gowri Shankar had submitted that while he was working as a sub staff at the Adyar branch during 2004, he had put up a portrait of Ambedkar at the office on July 15, 2004.

Subsequently, the management issued a memo to him, which was objected to by various SC/ST Associations, as according to them, it amounted to disrespect to Ambedkar.

However, this led to the issuance of a charge memo to the appellant, containing as many as 11 charges.
The appellant was dismissed from service on December 2, 2005.
However, on April 30, 2012, the CGIT passed an award ordering the reinstatement of the appellant with continuity of service and all other attendant benefits, but without back wages.
Challenging the CGIT order, both the management of the bank and the employee had moved the High Court.