RAJESH BALIA,J. - (1.) SANJAY Sharma whose cause respondent No. 1 is supporting, while serving as LJ.D.C. with Marwar Gramin Bank, Sendra, tendered unconditional resignation offering that he will pay all the dues, outstanding against him and that his resignation may be accepted with effect from 15.6.1987. Vide letter dated 5.6.1987, the said Sanjay Sharma was informed by the Manager that amount outstanding against him on account of vehicle loan cannot be adjusted against provident fund and he can be relieved only after he deposits the amount outstanding against him. It further appears from Annex. 5 filed alongwith the petition that in order to secure the appointment at some other place, said Sanjay Sharma also obtained a Certificate of good conduct and experience, gained while working at the Bank. It has also come on record that Sanjay Sharma vide Annex. B wrote to the Bank that his amount of loan outstanding against him, may be recovered from his account and he may be relieved from the service. From the record, it transpires that the said Sanjay Sharma kept vacillating between the desire to serve the Bank and to secure employment outside the Bank even after alleged withdrawal of resignation letter on 5.9.87 and the Bank did not categorically inform the said Sanjay Sharma to relieve him from its services and continued to press for repayment of loan amount outstanding against Sanjay Sharma, ultimately an industrial dispute was raised and the following, question was referred -to the Industrial Tribunal, Jaipur by the appropriate Govt. for adjudication: Whether the action of the management of Marwar Gramin Bank in accepting the resignation of Shri Sanjay Sharma, Clerk in their Sendra branch with effect from 15.6.87 after it is said to have been withdrawn is just and legal ? If not to what relief is the concerned workman entitled?
(2.) THE Tribunal after considering the entire material which was placed before it held that the resignation dated 26.5.87 was never accepted unconditionally by the Bank and, therefore, the workman Sanjay Sharma could withdraw the same before it was accepted. The Tribunal further held that since said Sanjay Sharma submitted his resignation on 26.5.87 to be accepted with effect from 1 5.6.87 and the same was never accepted, when he applied for recalling his resignation vide letter dated 5.9.87, the offer to resign must be deemed to have come to an end and the incumbent should be deemed to be continuing in service and period from 1 5.6.87 to 4.9.87 be treated as on leave. It was further directed that since 5.9.87, the workman may be paid his wages and salaries. It was also ordered that if the Employer does not pay the arrears of salary within a period of three months, he will also be entitled to 12% interest thereon. Aggrieved with the said Award dated 21.5.91 ,the Bank has preferred this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution.
(3.) IT has been contended on behalf of the Bank that in view of Annex.5,the Certificate, obtained by the workman for being in service upto 1 5.6.87 with the Bank and his continued desire to be treated as free from service of the Bank and not to serve the Bank as is apparent from his letter given as late as on 8th April, 1988, said Sanjay Sharma ought not to be treated in continuous service and it should be held on the basis of material on record that resignation of the petitioner was accepted unconditionally and so far as the question of recovery was concerned, it was only a question of following the remedy for recovering the amount outstanding in the ordinary course. He places reliance on Rule 10 of the Marwar Gramin Bank Staff Service Regulations which is as under: Termination of service notice . 10.(1)(a) An Officer or employee shall not leave or discontinous his service in the Bank without first giving notice in writing to the Chairman of the Bank of his intention to leave or discontinue the service. (b) The period of notice required shall be - -(i) Three months in the case of officers, and (ii) One month in the case of other employees. (c) In case of breach by an employee of the provisions of this sub -regulation, he shall be liable to pay to the bank as compensation a sum equal to his pay for the period of notice required of him. (d) He shall also be liable to refund the pay or allowanes or both, if any, drawn by him while on training and make good the training expenses, incurred by the Bank or sponsor bank for deputing him for training. - (e) In exceptional circumstances the payment of such compensation and refund may be waived by the Chairman, at his discretion. ;