- (1.) Let the affidavit-of-service filed in Court today be taken on record.
(2.) The petitioner has approached this Court challenging the order dated 21st January, 2015, passed by the appellate authority of Paschim Banga Gramin Bank. By the said order, the appellate authority concurred with the findings of the disciplinary authority dated 29th July, 2011. Penalties imposed by the disciplinary authority were on the basis of two charges, both of which were proved and the petitioner was dismissed from service and further was disqualified from future employment in the bank.
(3.) It is the specific case of the petitioner that the appellate authority failed to take into consideration the fact that on the same issue for which he was charged, a criminal proceeding was initiated by the Bank, which culminated in his "honourable acquittal" by the learned Judge of the Special Court, 1st Court, Hooghly, in terms of the judgment rendered on 30th June, 2014, in Special Case No. 4 of 2012. In this context, the learned advocate appearing on behalf of the petitioner refers and relies on a judgment of the Supreme Court rendered in the case of S. Bhaskar Reddy & Anr. v. Superintendent of Police & Anr., 2015 AIR(SCW) 571. Relying on the said judgment, he submits that the appellate authority did not take into consideration the important fact that the petitioner was "honourably acquitted" in respect of charges in a criminal case which were similar to the charges levelled against him in disciplinary proceedings.;