Release retirement benefits of banker facing enquiry: HC

In relief to a senior citizen, who was facing disciplinary enquiry and was also refused retirement benefits, the Bombay High Court has directed the Allahabad Bank to close the enquiry and release all funds.
A division bench of Justices S J Vazifdar and K R Shriram was hearing a petition filed by 62-year-old Pratibha Salvekar challenging the bank's notice to her two days prior to her retirement in April 2011 stating that since the disciplinary enquiry initiated against her in 1997 was still pending her retirement benefits have been stopped.
The court after hearing the case was of the opinion that the bank's decision to stop the benefits was grossly unfair. "We are of the opinion that it will be unfair and unconscionable to permit the departmental proceedings to be kept open at this stage," the court said.

The bench on October 29 directed the bank to forthwith close the disciplinary enquiry and release all the retirement benefits to the petitioner within eight weeks.
The petitioner, who is employed with the Allahabad Bank since 1974, was facing enquiry for passing two high valued cheques by an account holder 'Pratibha Pratishthan' without proper verification. According to the bank, the account was opened unauthorisedly by the then bank manager H C Srivastava and the petitioner while passing the cheques did not verify and ignored irregularities.
The petitioner had issued a reply to the show cause notice issued by the bank in 1997 and had said that she had not played any role in opening of the account and that she had passed the two cheques only after due verification.

Since then the petitioner did not receive any reply or notice from the bank authorities regarding the enquiry.

The court observed that the bank has not given any satisfactory reply as to why the enquiry was not completed for so many years.
"It would be unreasonable, unconscionable and unfair on the part of the bank to have kept quiet for over 14 years and just two days before the petitioner's retirement and without any satisfactory explanation for the inordinate delay, ordered withholding the petitioner's retirement benefits," the court said.
It further said that the then manager Srivastava who had opened the account got all retirement benefits.