The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed Punjab National Bank to post Chief Manager Mansi Negi at Dehradun before the next hearing of her case. The order was passed by Justice Ajay Mohan Goel while hearing her petition.
During the hearing, the bank’s counsel informed the court that Mansi Negi had earlier been offered a posting in Dehradun while her representation was under consideration. Taking note of this, the court directed the bank to implement the posting without delay. Justice Goel stated that, in order to put an end to the ongoing litigation, the bank must ensure that she is posted in Dehradun. The court also asked the authorities to complete all necessary steps before the next date of hearing.
Mansi Negi had approached the High Court with serious allegations against the bank’s management. She claimed that instead of investigating multi-crore loan frauds reported by her, senior officials targeted and harassed her for exposing irregularities and refusing to give in to pressure.
Negi, who has been serving in the bank for the past 14 years, has also requested the court to order a CBI investigation into several loan accounts. She alleged that these loans were sanctioned based on fake documents and manipulated property valuations.
According to her petition, she was posted in Nahan in January 2023, where she was responsible for checking loan documents before approval. During verification, she found major discrepancies in three loan accounts, including those of M/s Himalayan International and M/s Volvo Impex in Sirmaur district. Since the borrowers failed to provide required documents, she refused to approve the loans. Later, all three accounts turned into Non-Performing Assets (NPAs), which, according to her, proved that her decision was correct.
However, instead of taking action on these irregularities, senior officials allegedly put heavy pressure on her to clear the loans. When she refused, she claims that false complaints were created against her to damage her service record. The bank management stated that customers had complained against her, but she says she never received any such complaint, and now the bank claims that the complaint is missing.
In August 2023, she was transferred from Nahan to Solan on the grounds of customer dissatisfaction. At Solan, she joined as SASTRA Head (Recovery). She has alleged that she faced continuous harassment there, including sexual harassment.
When she raised a complaint with the Zonal Manager, she claims that it was improperly divided into two parts—one sent for preliminary inquiry and the other forwarded to the Internal Committee under the POSH Act. She stated that this violated proper procedure. She also alleged that she was not given a fair opportunity to cross-examine the individuals involved. Later, the Internal Committee issued an adverse report against her.
When bank management did not hear her complaint, Mansi Negi filed a Zero FIR in Dehradun on 12 April 2024, which was later transferred to Solan. She alleged that the Solan Police closed the case based solely on the bank’s internal committee report. Why the police did not conduct an independent inquiry remains a big question.
A serious case related to sexual harassment was filed against a senior official holding the position of Circle Head. The employee filed a complaint under workplace harassment rules. The bank’s Internal Committee examined the case. After inquiry, the Internal Committee closed the complaint, stating no further action was required. Not satisfied, the employee filed an FIR. However, police later closed the case based on the internal report. The employee then approached the court. Meanwhile, the accused approached the High Court to quash the FIR. The High Court refused to close the case and directed police to conduct a proper investigation.
Following this, she filed a case in the Himachal Pradesh High Court, and the case is currently being heard.
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