The Supreme Court recently held that disciplinary proceedings cannot be initiated against an employee once they have retired, either upon reaching the age of superannuation or after the end of their extended service period. This ruling followed an appeal by the State Bank of India (SBI) against a Jharkhand High Court decision that annulled the dismissal of former employee Navin Kumar Sinha.
Disciplinary Proceedings and Retirement: The Case of Navin Kumar Sinha
The court explained that disciplinary proceedings are initiated only when a chargesheet is issued, not simply with the issuance of a show cause notice. The case involved allegations that Sinha approved loans for his relatives, breaching banking regulations. However, the High Court noted that the disciplinary action was started after his retirement, including his extended service period.
Sinha retired on December 26, 2003, upon completing 30 years of service. On August 5, 2003, his service was extended from December 27, 2003, to October 1, 2010. However, after October 1, 2010, no further extension was granted.
Supreme Court Ruling on Disciplinary Proceedings Post-Retirement
The Supreme Court affirmed the High Court’s decision, stating that disciplinary proceedings were not correctly initiated when the first show cause notice was issued on August 18, 2009. The proceedings were formally started only on March 18, 2011, with the issuance of a charge memo. SBI’s counsel contended that Sinha had not raised his retirement issue before the disciplinary or appellate authorities and asserted that his superannuation date was October 30, 2012. However, the court dismissed this argument, stressing that initiating proceedings after retirement was both jurisdictionally flawed and illegal.
The court determined that disciplinary proceedings may only continue after retirement if they were initiated prior to superannuation. In the end, the court rejected SBI’s appeal and instructed the bank to release Sinha’s outstanding service dues within six weeks.
