The Supreme Court recently held that disciplinary proceedings cannot be initiated against an employee after he retires, either on reaching the age of superannuation or after the expiry of his extended service period. The decision came after State Bank of India (SBI) appealed against the Jharkhand High Court’s decision that had set aside the dismissal of former employee Naveen Kumar Sinha.
Disciplinary proceedings and retirement: Naveen Kumar Sinha case
The court clarified that disciplinary proceedings are initiated only when a charge sheet is issued and not merely by issuing a show cause notice. Sinha was involved in allegations in this case allowed Loan to your relatives, violation of banking rules. However, the High Court said that the disciplinary action was initiated after his retirement, including his extended service period.
Sinha retired on 26 December 2003 after completing 30 years of service. On 5 August 2003, his service was extended from 27 December 2003 to 1 October 2010. However, no further extension was granted after 1 October 2010.
Supreme Court’s decision on disciplinary proceedings after retirement
The Supreme Court, while affirming the High Court’s decision, held that the disciplinary proceedings were not properly initiated when the first show cause notice was issued on 18 August 2009. The proceedings formally began on 18 March 2011 with the release of the charge memo. , SBI’s counsel argued that Sinha had not raised the issue of his retirement before the disciplinary or appellate authorities and claimed that his date of retirement was October 30, 2012. However, the court rejected this argument, stressing that initiating proceedings after retirement was both jurisdictional and illegal.
The court determined that disciplinary proceedings could continue after retirement only if they were initiated before retirement. Ultimately, the court rejected SBI’s appeal and directed the bank to release Sinha’s service dues within six weeks.
