- (1.) The Judgment of the Court was as follows: The petitioner is an employee of the State Bank of India (hereafter the Bank). The Bank had initiated process for recruitment of non-clerical ? subordinate staff, vide notice dated October 29, 1976. The post of Messenger was one of several posts that was sought to be filled up. Inter alia, one of the qualifications that a candidate aspiring for appointment to the post was "Only those who have passed the Class-VIII examination, but are non-matriculate, and are conversant with Bengali language are eligible". Despite having passed the Higher Secondary examination in 1975, the petitioner offered his candidature for appointment to the post of Messenger suppressing such fact. He was selected and ultimately appointed on August 4, 1980.
(2.) For nearly twenty years the petitioner served the Bank without any blemish. However, on May 18, 2000, he was served with a charge-sheet. It was alleged therein that he had entered the Bank's service declaring that he was Class-VIII passed while, in fact, he had passed the Higher Secondary and B.Com. examinations in 1975 and 1978 respectively. He was thus charged with concealment of material fact and furnishing false declaration while entering service amounting to 'gross misconduct' as defined in paragraph 521(4)(j) of the Sastry Award which, if proved, would attract provisions, penal in nature, contained in paragraph 521(5) thereof. The disciplinary authority reserved his right to amend, modify, alter and/or add to the charge-sheet if the situation warranted it. The charge-sheet was amended on August 21, 2001 by charging the petitioner with commission of gross misconduct as defined in clause (n) of paragraph 521(4) of the Sastry Award.
(3.) The petitioner had in the meantime, on receipt of the charge-sheet, replied on June 21, 2000 as follows: "Reply to Chargesheet No.Per/SF-3/214 dated 18th May 2000 At the outset, I offer my most sincere apologies for having concealed the fact that I had cleared the Higher Secondary Examination in 1975. I could not, however, clear the B. Com. Examination in 1978 as has been mentioned in the Chargesheet. 2. The fact that I concealed my actual educational qualification is indefensible. However, I would like to explain the circumstances under which I did so. 3. My father had retired in 1976 and was feeding five mouths with his Pension of a paltry Rs. 200/- per month. It is needless to mention that his pension was vastly insufficient to maintain our family consisting of five members viz. my mother, two younger sisters, my father and myself. We were at the brink of starvation. On top of the immediate problems, I had a couple of unmarried sisters.;