HC Quashes J&K Bank Staffer’s Termination for ‘Anti-National Activities’, Cites Absence of Mandatory Inquiry
Case Title: Saadut Hussain Pampori v. UT of J&K and Others
Case No.: WP(C) No.2269/2024
Coram: Justice Sanjay Dhar
Court Observation
“Dismissal of an employee from service without holding an inquiry is a drastic step, which has to be taken only in rare and appropriate cases. In the present case, in the absence of any investigation, with a finding about involvement of the petitioner in anti-national activities, etc., it was not open to the Managing Director and CEO of the respondent-Bank to issue the impugned order dismissing the petitioner from service.”
“The information obtained from sources or discreet enquiries made by the Director General of Police or any other competent authority would not fall within the meaning of expression ‘investigation’ as used in Clause 12.29 of the OSM, because the process of gathering such information does not involve collection of material/evidence or recording of statements of witnesses.”
“There appears to be a definite purpose behind the choice of language used in Clause 12.29 of the OSM and that adopted in Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution. While the President and the Governor are high constitutional functionaries and, therefore, they can be trusted with the drastic power of dispensing with the services of an employee without holding an inquiry in appropriate cases, the same level of trust cannot be reposed in an officer of the level of Managing Director and CEO of a bank.”
“It is not necessary that investigation is restricted only to FIR-based proceedings, particularly in the context of Clause 12.29 of the OSM… However, one thing is clear that to qualify a process as an investigation in terms of the said Clause, the State/UT/Central Investigating Agency has to undertake an exercise of collecting material, recording statements of the persons acquainted with the facts of the case and thereafter, on the basis of such material, involvement of the employee in anti-national activities, etc., has to be established.”
“The information obtained from sources or discreet enquiries made by the Director General of Police or any other competent authority would not fall within the meaning of expression ‘investigation’ as used in Clause 12.29 of the OSM, because the process of gathering such information does not involve collection of material/evidence or recording of statements of witnesses.”
“The report of the Special DG, CID does not refer to any such process having been undertaken by any authority.”
