The Himachal Pradesh High Court has partly allowed a petition filed by an officer of the Kangra Central Cooperative Bank, but it has refused to cancel the disciplinary case against him.
The case was heard by Justice Sandeep Sharma. The petitioner, K. C. Bhardwaj, is a Deputy General Manager in the bank. The court ruled that he will receive all his pending promotions and salary benefits from the year 2022 onwards. These payments will also include interest. However, this relief will depend on the final result of the departmental inquiry that is still ongoing.
Bhardwaj had approached the court challenging a chargesheet issued in July 2024 and an inquiry report prepared in May 2025. He argued that the bank did not follow a decision taken by its Board of Directors in April 2025, which had proposed dropping the disciplinary proceedings against him.
The High Court, however, refused to cancel the chargesheet and inquiry report. The court noted that the departmental inquiry, which began in August 2024, is still pending. Because of this, the court said it cannot interfere at this stage.
The dispute started in September 2022, when a Departmental Promotion Committee meeting was held. Bhardwaj’s name was kept in a sealed cover due to pending disciplinary proceedings. Later, in February 2023, the bank’s Managing Director imposed a major penalty and reduced his rank to Senior Manager.
Bhardwaj challenged this punishment before the Board of Directors, but his appeal was rejected. He then moved the High Court. In December 2024, the High Court directed the Board to reconsider his appeal.
Following the court’s order, the Board later waived the penalty. As a result, Bhardwaj was promoted to the post of Deputy General Manager in February 2025.
However, the bank argued that the Board’s decision to drop the charges was never confirmed in a later meeting. Because of this, the bank said the inquiry could continue legally.
The High Court agreed with this argument. While allowing the inquiry to continue, the court also directed the bank to release Bhardwaj’s pending promotions and financial benefits from 2022, subject to the final outcome of the inquiry.
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