- (1.)Heard learned Advocate Shri Bhaumik Dholariya for the petitioner and learned Advocate Shri A.S. Vakil for the respondent Nos.1 to 3.
(2.)This petition is preferred raising two main contentions i.e. the Authority issuing the charge-sheet to the present petitioner was the Chairman of the respondent Saurashtra Gramin Bank and whereas by way of the amendment brought about Amendment Service Regulations it would be the General Manager, who would be competent Authority and not the Chairman. Thus, the charge-sheet had been issued by an incompetent Authority. The petitioner had further raised a grievance about the principles of natural justice not being fulfilled since document in form of the CD which was one of the relied upon document in the charge-sheet has not been supplied to the present petitioner.
Attention of this Court has been drawn by the learned Advocate Shri Vakil to a Notification dtd. 20/7/2021 whereby the amendment in Saurashtra Gramin Bank (Officers and Employees) Service Regulations 2021 had come into force on that particular date. It is by way of the said amendment that instead of Chairman, who was the Competent Authority in so far the present petitioner who was a Grade II employee, the General Manager was designated as the Competent Authority. Charge-sheet had been issued to the present petitioner on 30/12/2020 i.e. before the Notification of the amended Regulation 2021. Hence, the contention that the charge-sheet had not been issued by any competent Authority would not stand.

(3.)In so far as the issue with regard to non-providing of the documents, which had been relied upon in the charge-sheet, learned Advocate Shri Vakil upon instructions, submits that the copy of the CD would be provided to the present petitioner within a week from the date of the receipt of this order and whereas the present petitioner at the time of giving of the CD may be directed to give an undertaking to the respondent bank that he may not misuse CD, more particularly, since the same contained the conversation with regard to the other officers also.