- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) The second respondent was an employee of the appellant Bank. Rule 153 of the Staff Service Rules of the employees of the Hassan District Co-operative Central Bank Ltd., provides for compulsory retirement and relevant portion thereof is extracted below: "153. COMPULSORY RETIREMENT The Board has the right to compusorily retire an employee after completion of ten years of service or on attainment of the age of 45 years whichever is earlier, if the Board decides that his/her services are not satisfactory as could be found from the service records and personal files. The grounds on which such compulsory retirement of an employee may be effected are indicated in rules governing compulsory retirement. RULES GOVERNING COMPULSORY RETIREMENT: xxx xxx xxx xxx" Exercising the power under the said Rules, the Board of Directors passed a resolution dated 13.8.2002 to compulsorily retire the second respondent from the service of the appellant in terms of Rule 153. In pursuance of it, an office order dated 30.9.2002 was issued compulsorily retiring the second respondent from services with effect from 1.10.2002 by paying three months salary in lieu of notice.
(3.) The second respondent raised a dispute under Section 70(2) of the Karnataka Co-operative Societies Act, 1959 ('Act' for short). The Joint Registrar, by Award dated 5.11.2005, allowed the dispute holding that the appellant- bank had not followed the procedure contemplated under Rule 153 in passing the order of compulsory retirement. Consequently, he set aside the order of compulsory retirement reserving liberty to the appellant to impose any other appropriate punishment in accordance with the service rules.;