High Court cancels Punjab National Bank’s Decision to remove Senior Manager from Job for being absent

Punjab National Bank: The Rajasthan High Court has canceled the punishment of compulsory retirement given to a Senior Manager of Punjab National Bank in 2015.

The court found the punishment too severe and ordered the bank to reinstate the manager immediately, without paying any back wages from the date of retirement to the reinstatement.

The court said that administrative decisions, especially punishments that take away someone’s job and affect their family, should be fair. If a punishment is found to be too harsh compared to the wrongdoing, the court can intervene.

Details about case

The case was about a senior manager who was transferred from Alwar to Jaipur in 2014 but didn’t join the new branch. As a result, she was absent for about six months. Despite her pleas to reconsider the transfer due to family and medical issues, the bank didn’t listen and told her to join the Alwar branch.

When she didn’t join, the bank charged her with unauthorized absence and eventually retired her. The court said that while it doesn’t interfere much with disciplinary decisions, it can step in if the punishment is shocking.

What court said?

The court noted that the manager had submitted applications for leave due to medical reasons, but the bank didn’t accept them. The court also mentioned that the punishment should be proportional to the misconduct.

The court sent the case back to the bank to reconsider the punishment and make a new decision within three months. It said that considering the manager’s good 25-year record, her attempts to take leave, and the fact that she joined the Alwar branch before retirement, the punishment was too harsh and should be changed.