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Journalism of Courage
STATING that the order of dismissal of an nationalised bank’s former manager was disproportionate and has “shocked the judicial conscience of the court”, the Delhi High Court converted the bank’s order into compulsory retirement, once again. The recent order, which comes more than 26 years after the bank employee was chargesheeted, will make him entitled to terminal benefits such as pension.
The Punjab National Bank (PNB) had, in December 1990, filed a memo against K L Bhasin for his alleged failure to comply with the stipulations before disbursing a loan, which resulted in a financial loss of around Rs 20 lakh to the bank. After an inquiry in 1993, a disciplinary committee dismissed him. Bhasin then moved the High Court. A single judge converted the order of dismissal into compulsory retirement in 2014. But after the bank appealed in 2016, a division bench set aside the order and sent the matter back to court for fresh consideration.
The court said there were three technical charges against Bhasin regarding the loans disbursed to exporters but it could not be said that borrowers/guarantors were non-existing people, and the term loans were not utilised for the purpose as per terms. The court directed the bank to reconsider his dismissal.
The bank passed a second order in February 2017 and said if Bhasin had verified all important parameters, the loss to the bank could have been prevented. As he committed a “series of omissions and commissions” of “grave nature”, the punishment would continue, it said.
In Friday’s order, Justice Valmiki J Mehta directed the bank to release terminal benefits to Bhasin within two months.
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