Manoj Misra, J. - (1.) The instant petition has been filed for quashing the orders dated 23.01.2010 and 08.09.2010 passed by the Disciplinary Authority and the Appellate Authority, respectively, by which the petitioner has been dismissed from service and the appeal preferred against the order of dismissal has been dismissed.
(2.) To have a better understanding of the controversy it would be apposite to narrate the facts in brief.
(3.) The petitioner was appointed on 22.10.2001 as a Probationary Officer in Union Bank of India (in short the Bank), which is a public sector bank in which the Government of India has controlling stake. On 14.11.2015, the petitioner came to be posted as a Branch Manager at Sarsena Branch of the Bank in District Mau. An audit of the Sarsena Branch was held in connection with which certain queries were made from the petitioner regarding certain transactions in his COD (overdraft facility) and SB (savings bank facility) accounts. Thereafter, on 14.07.2008, the petitioner was transferred to Padrauna Branch at district Kushinagar. Subsequently, the petitioner was placed under suspension and served a charge sheet on 08.06.2009. In the statement of allegations appended to the charge sheet it was alleged that during his tenure as Branch Manager, Sarsena, the petitioner indulged in various fraudulent activities and committed numerous fictitious transactions. There were large number of debit/ credit entries in his SB/COD accounts whereby funds were transferred from his account to customers account and vice versa. It was alleged that he indulged in lending / borrowing to / from the customers. It was also alleged that he accommodated one of the defaulting borrower, namely, Sudhir Singh, and thereby violated lending norms of the Bank. It was alleged that he availed TE / LFC advance on various occasions and did not submit requisite TE bills in time. The charge sheet was accompanied by statement of allegations, which ran into several pages, specifically disclosing the acts and omissions on the part of the petitioner that formed basis of the charge. On the basis of the statement of allegations, which were supported by details given in the enclosures, the petitioner was charged with following acts of misconduct:- "Failure to discharge duties with utmost honesty and integrity. Failure to discharge duties with utmost devotion and diligence. Acting otherwise than in best judgment in performance of official duties. Failure to take all possible steps to ensure and protect the interest of the Bank.";