Sanjib Banerjee, J. - (1.) A legal question of some importance arises here and there may be a need to buck the recent trend of staying departmental proceedings pending criminal trials founded on similar allegations. The petitioner was the branch manager of the Dhaniakhali. Branch of the respondent bank. In his usual course of duties, the petitioner sanctioned loans by way of Kissan Credit Cards to several perceived farmers qualified to receive such credit facilities. Most of these loans were sanctioned in the years 2011 -2013. By a notice of July 21, 2015, the bank required the petitioner to respond to the articles of charge enclosed with the covering letter of such date as the bank had decided to initiate disciplinary action with a major penalty against the petitioner in accordance with the bank's service rules. The substance of the charges against the petitioner was that he had "committed serious irregularities and grave lapses, misused his official powers by giving substantial enhancements of limits in quick successions, allowed misappropriation of bank's funds, (was) instrumental in defrauding the bank by cheating and forgery in connivance with outsiders and exposed the Bank to huge financial loss to the tune of around Rs. 9.75 crores."
(2.) The petitioner responded to the individual charges by a 27 -page response of September 4, 2015. The petitioner dealt with the several matters particularised in the bank's charge -sheet, by prefacing his reply with the submission that the allegations levelled against him were stale and that on the self -same charges the petitioner had been implicated in a criminal case which was pending.
(3.) The bank lodged a complaint against the petitioner before the appropriate police authorities on November 28, 2014 which has resulted in a charge -sheet being filed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sadar Court, Hooghly on May 31, 2015 indicating possible offences under Ss. 420/406/109/471/120B of the Indian Penal Code.;