OFFICERS' CAUSEMAY - 2018

Vol. 38 No.5 Single Copy : RS. 4/- MAY - 2018

2NATION FIRST, ORGANISATION NEXT, INDIVIDUAL LAST

Editorial

t was on a chilling December night in theyear 2012 Nirbaya a para medical student

was gang raped and brutally killed in the nationalcapital, New Delhi. That stomach churningincident shocked the entire nation. Country wokeup, protest erupted all over, shouting for speedytrial and awarding death penalty to the culprits.Political leaders passed the verdict even beforethe trial. Government was forced to act,expressed their anger, promised deterrentpunishment to the perpetrators of the crimeafter setting up of fast track court. Accordinglyappointed a commission headed by Justice Verma,former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.Many of the recommendations were acceptedand the Indian Penal Code was amended to makethe punishment on crime against women moresevere, including death penalty in certain cases.When the debate over the amendment ofJuvenile Act and the question of capitalpunishment was embroiled in political debate,one of the accused who was a minor whilecommitting the crime got released aftercompleting his term. An other accused committedsuicide inside the prison,while the remaining arestill languishing in the person at the cost of theex chequer awaiting their punishing of death.

JUSTICE STILL AWAY FROM NIRBHAYAS’

The activits and the political masters yet tomake up their mind on the question of capitalpunishment. Petitions files by the convicts tocommute their death sentences, is pending inthe Supreme Court.

The crime continue unabated. It can be crimeagainst an infant,a girl, a mother or grandmotherby their own father, uncle, friend, lover,neighbour or a stranger. It looks as if none issafe in the society. The recent one is asensational rape and murder of a young kid froma nomadic tribe, in Rasana village in Kashmirvally, who was supposed to fly through the vallyin her tender age, brutally raped and murdered,another one from Unnava village in the state ofUttar Pradesh and many more. But for themedia, many of such rapes would not have seenthe light of the day as in most of the casesneither the victim nor their relatives refuse tocome out and report such crimes fearing socialstigma or fear to live in the area, as most ofthe culprits are strong and powerful people inthe society with political or police support. Inmany cases the investigating authoritiesdiscourage the victims from reporting the caseor refuse to register the case. The torture ofthe victim starts once the trial starts.

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SUCCESS AWAITS AT THE DOOR WHERE DILIGENCE IS

Officers' Cause, May - 2018 3

If the crime is not scientifically proved, whenthe evidence is destroyed by the culprits thereare chances of the cases may go weak. Herethe law is like a spider web when the strong andpowerful will escape from the clutches of lawwhile the weak can still be caught inside. Thereare also chances of false case filed againstpersons due to personal or political reasons thatmakes the investigating agencies grop in darkthereby wasting their time. Here the legal dictumthat let justice be done though heaven may falland that no innocent shall be punished in thecourt of justice, may also prevail.

The present heinous crimes in Kathaua, Unnaoand other places recently reported shows thedepth of depravity that society has sunk into.The public outrage following these incidentsresembles the one that erupted after Nirbhayawas brutally gang raped and murdered. In spiteof the criminal law made deterrent the crimecontinued unabated thereby hope of the societystand dispelled, when the system could not becorrected yet. Considering the temper acrossthe country, after Kathua incident the CentralGovernment again passed an ordinance awardingdeath penalty in child rapes.

Child rape is a heinous crime and the existinglaw already has its gravity. Both Prevention ofChildren from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act andthe criminal amendment in 2013 after Nirbhayacase, gave sufficient strength to our criminallaw. But the problem lies elsewhere such asregistering the case, launching the prosecutionseriously, mercilessly and delivering the convictionthrough the fast track court with fast track

procedure. The long bail, frequent adjournmentsenable the culprits jump through the net. Inmany cases there are chances of the witnessturn hostile or approver, hampering theproceedings, manipulating the proceedings tothe advantage of the accused etc. This isbesides political intervention and involvementof police people as in the case of Kathauvaincidents. Such cases should be insulated fromexternal forces for speedy trial and verdictfor justice to the victims. In this connectionit is gratifying to note a slew of directionsissued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court recentlyto ensure faster, time bound justice in all casesinvolving sexual abuse against children underPOSCO Act 2012. Supreme Court has askedthe High Courts in the country to set up acommittee of three Judges to ensure that allthe trials were dealt with by special courtsand not to grant unnecessary adjournments.

Inspite of the amendments of criminal law tomake punishment, deterrenct according toNational Crime Records Bureau between 2012-2016, there is an increase of 60 percent crimeagainst women and children. It is also reportedthat nearly 1.5 lakh cases are still pending invarious courts in the country. This is inspite ofestablishing fast track court for speedy trial.There are various reasons for such state ofaffairs such as vacancies in the court, lack ofwitness during trial leading to adjournments.At the same time there need a change in themind set of the people. Unless they learn torespect others in the society especially whenthey continue gender bias the crime maycontinue.

Text of AIBOC circular no. 2018/15,dated 2nd may,2018

QUOTE:

The Finance Ministry invited us for a discussion basedon the memorandum we had submitted to

Department of Financial Services and RBI. Themeeting took place at the Office of Mr. Ravi Mittal,Additional Secretary Finance. Mr. Amit Agarwal,Joint Secretary, DFS also joined.

Discussions were held on the following issues:

1. Wage Revision: The talks have resumed but

MEETING AT DFS ON – 2ND MAY 2018 Wage Revision

ARISE, AWAKE, STOP NOT TILL THE GOAL IS REACHED

4 Officers' Cause, May - 2018

News in Brief

the issue of Mandate and Quantum has to besettled. Lady Officer’s issues were to be taken care.

The response was positive. The addl. Secretary said“Your arguments are well taken. We will see whatbest can be done”

2. Appointment of Officer Director / EmployeeDirector: The response was that steps have beentaken.

3. Implementation of the recommendation ofParliament Standing Committee on NPA: Theresponse was that the Standing Committee is goingto come up with fresh recommendations soon.

4. Levy for Tax on Net Profit: The response wasthat it will be explored with the concerned ministries.

5. Tax on CRR: The response was that it is an issueRBI has to decide.

6. Reimbursement of Expenditure on GovtSchemes: No response

7. Cross Selling: The response was very positive.The officials are also of the opinion that the incomeshould be credited to the Banks commission account.

8. Review of RBI Policies; PCA, NCLT etc: Nowno proposal for Bad Bank. The issues are to be takenup with RBI.

9. Service Tax on Banks for on Services Chargeswaived: The response was that efforts are on tosolve the issue.

10. Superannuation Benefits: We have submitteddetailed memorandum related to various issuesconcerning superannuation benefits.

11. General: The Banking Sector may take anothertwo years to get rid of the problems. Image of theBanking system has to be restored by all of ustogether.

Comrades, this is the first time we were invited foran official discussion. The discussions were positive.the cialogue should continue.

s a fall out of the recent news of bank fraudsand NPAs being discussed in the media, a

perilous trend is fast developing to perceive all bankofficials in general with suspicion and hold themdirectly responsible for the NPAs in the banking sector.Several bank NPA accounts are presently under thescrutiny of CBI and other enforcement agencieswhere the bank employees are being questioned and,unfortunately, also being investigated for likelycollusions with the fraudster borrowers. These NPAcases being fairly old, most of the targeted bankershappen to be retired employees, who have movedover to a quiet and peaceful life after a disciplinedbanking career of three-four decades.

Of late, several of the retired officers are being

summoned and even run the threat of beingprosecuted by CBI under the suspicion of their rolein NPA loans. These officers, who have the misfortuneof having either recommended or sanctioned any ofthese loans, though strictly within the norms of thebank, run the risk of being questioned on theirlegitimate actions while in service.

While the serving officials enjoy the protection under(CRPC 197 and Sec 19(C) of the Prevention ofCorruption Act – 1988), in the sense that theseofficers, having been deemed to be public servants,cannot be prosecuted without the sanction of theirappointing authority, similar sanction is notmandatory in the case of retired employees. As suchthe retired employees are left to fend for themselves,

EXTENDING LEGAL AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT TORETIRED EMPLOYEES IN DEFENDING INQUIRIES AND

LEGAL ACTIONS INITIATEDBY CBI FOR LEGITIMATE ACTIONS IN SERVICE

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Officers' Cause, May- 2018 5WORK IS WORSHIP , DO YOUR DUTY

in case they are prosecuted by the state agencies likeCBI. Any such investigation entails a huge amount oflegal, transport and lodging expenses which theretired employees cannot afford. Further, in severalinstances, since the investigation comes up afterseveral years, the employee will have to undertakevisits to the branches to study the records, at one’sown cost, which is also an expensive proposition forthe pensioners.

In these circumstances these retired employees, whohave been upright employees of the bank throughouttheir career, need to be supported by the bank in thesame way as they would have been supported if theywere in service.

Presently, vide Circular No. CDO/P&HRD– PM/58-2011-12 dated 23.08.2011, under para (iii) anemployee can continue to get reimbursement of legalexpenses after retirement only if the case was initiated

while in service and not otherwise. This createsimmense hardship to the retired officials in thepresent cases were the employees are called forinvestigation years after retirement. The IBAguidelines circulated vide bank’s circular no. CDO/P&HRD/23/2011-12 dated 27 -05-2011 no TA/DAis permissible to a retiree in CBI cases until theindividual is acquitted honourably, which is a verylong drawn process in NPA cases. In thesecircumstances the position of the retired employeesis very vulnerable and precarious, both financiallyand emotionally. They feel totally helpless andforsaken by the institution which they served honestlyand honourably during their lives.

As such the Federation had taken up the issue withthe Chairman, SBI, for his intervention to providesuitable legal/financial support to the retired bankemployees, appearing for inquiries / examinationsfrom CBI and other government agencies.

he Supreme Court in a historic judgment, hasdirected the Banks to rectify the anomaly created

in fixing the pension pay for those who retired duringthe 7th bipartite settlement. During the 7th bipartite,IBA fixed lower Basic Pay for arriving at basic pensionwith merger of DA at 1616 Index, as against mergerof DA at 1684 with Basic Pay, for serving employees.However, during 8th bipartite, the anomaly wasrectified, but effective from 1.5.2005. The retireesof 7th bipartite challenged this anomaly with thecourts and now the anomaly is set right by re-fixingtheir Basic Pension with merger of DA at 1684 pointsas against 1616 points. The Supreme Court has alsodirected Banks to arrange for payment of arrears ofpension with interest at 9% p.a.

In respect of SBI employees, at the instance of IBA,7th bipartite retirees basic pension was fixed bymerging 1616 points instead of 1684 and theanomaly was rectified along with industry level 8th

bipartite agreement with IBA w.e.f 1.5.2005.

The issue was under protracted correspondence andthe Federation along with the Staff as well as thePensioners’ Federations were following up the same.In the meanwhile, the Government of Indiaappointed a committee to go into some of the issuesrelated to the superannuation benefits in SBI andthe demands raised by the Pensioners Federation aswell as the serving

Federations. In respect of above anomaly, theCommittee recommended for the rectification ofthe anomaly and made a reference to the IBA. TheIBA informed the Government that the dispensationwhich was available at the industry level should beadopted and the extension of the benefit of mergerof 1684 index in SBI from the date of the revisionwould raise several issues at the industry level sincethere are a number of litigations in various courts.

IMPLEMENTATION OF SUPREME COURT VERDICTIN RESPECT OF FIXATION OF PENSION

TO RETIREES UNDER THE7th BIPARTITE SETTLEMENT

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LET CUSTOMER SERVICE BE OUR MOTTO

5 Officers' Cause, May - 2018

The Bank did not question the objection of the IBAand went ahead with the implementation of otherrecommendations other than rectification theanomaly of merger of DA at 1616 points.

The issue is now resolved through the interventionof the Supreme Court. The principles pronounced inthe Supreme Court judgment are equally applicable

to our retirees as well.

As such the Federation had requested the CorporateCentre to take steps to extend the benefit of themerger of DA index at 1684 from the date of thesalary revision i.e., 1.11.97/1.4.98 and pay thearrears of pension along with the interest at the rateof 9% p.a to the affected retirees.

LOCKER RENTALS – CONCESSION TO STAFF

From the Text of AIBOC Circular No. 2018/13,dated24th April 2018

QUOTE:

The Women Officers’ 2nd Convention Meetorganized by All India Bank Officers’Confederation,Gujarat was held on 4th March 2018at Hotel Hyatt, Ashram Road, Ahmedabad. This meetgot an overwhelming response from State Bank ofIndia, Syndicate Bank, Canara Bank, Dena Bank,Allahabad Bank, Union bank of India and PunjabNational Bank. In total, there were 275 registrationswhen various prominent persons from the societyparticipated.

The first guest speaker of the day was Dr ParthVaishnav a psychiatrist . His speech was marked withhumor and funny anecdotes that gripped the attentionof the listeners. He talked about the types and causesof stress faced by women who try to strike a balancebetween personal and professional lives.

The second speaker of the day was the guest of honorShri Sanjay Srivastava, Additional Director General

of Police (technical Services), Gandhinagar. Hespoke about the threat women face in this evolvingdigital era. He threw light on the incidents that canlead to leakage of online data. He covered the issueof trend in crimes against women. He gave veryuseful tips for women to ensure that they are notvictims of cyber and cyber related crimes.

Com. D. T. Francho, General Secretary AIBOC spokenext. He spoke about the women related issues likeincrease in maternity leave, sabbatical leave, andmedical reimbursement of women illnesses thathave been proposed. His speech had a strongmessage for all the comrades and it spread a waveof positive revolution amongst all.

Then was the Chief Guest, Ms Ruzan Khambatta.She is an entrepreneur who has been felicitated withnumerous awards for her work in the field of womenupliftment. She expressed her views about women’srole in the society. She also stressed on the need forthe women to be independent and to gather courageto raise a voice for themselves.

Thereafter Dr. Tarulata. and Miss Pujita Guha a PHd

t present the locker rentals charged to staffis at par with the rentals for Public.

Maintaining lockers is inevitable on account of thesafety of the hard earned valuables. As such the

Federation had requested the corporate centerto review the rentals for staff and provide thesame at a concessional rate of 50% of the amountthat is charge to the public.

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WOMEN OFFICERS’ 2nd CONVENTION MEET

BE TRUTHFUL, BE FEARLESS

Officers' Cause, May - 2018 7

SBIOA Bhopal Circle had organised its 26thGeneral Body Meeting in a grand manner onSunday the 25th March 2018.

Com.Sanjeev Sabhlok, General Secretary of theCircle Association welcomed the guests and themembers.

Shri K.T. Ajit, Chief General Manager, SBI BhopalCircle was the chief Guests. Shri Kaushik Sinha,GM-NW-2, Shri C.R.S Powar, GM-NW-3 Smt.Geeta Pillai, DGM & CDO were also present inthe AGM as Special Invitees.

The Circle Association invited all retired/Ex-Principal office-bearers of SBIOA Bhopal like ShriN.K. Jain, M.C. Shrivastava, Ravi Bilgaiyan, SamirBanerjee, K.N. Sharma, Gopal Rathore, RakeshAgarwal, Manas Datta, O.P. Shrivastava, AnilMishra and traditionally felicitated them.Thereafter felicitation of cricketer, Mr. SanjayPandey. retired comrade Mr. Avinash Nimade,R.N. Vijay Vargiya, Mr. Rakesh Jadaon and ShriPradeep Kumar Nigam were held.

Com.Arun Bagoliwal, General Secretary of StaffUnion, Bhopal Circle spoke and extendedfraternal greetings and oppose ill-effects of socialmedia.

Com. Y.Sudarshan, General Secretary, AISBOF,Co. Thomas Franco, President, AIBOC in their keynote address, while addressing the gatheringplaced before some of the practical difficultiesare being faced due to acute shortage of staff.

Insufficient staff at branches leading to late sittingand working on Sundays and Holidays, is affectingthe health and family life of the officers. They alsodeliberated regarding the difficulties faced by theofficers and staff during the demonetizationperiod, and the Government of India and IBAappreciated the untiring efforts SBI staff for theirday and night contribution rendered in the nationalcause. They urged upon the bank Management toextend adequate compensation to the staffmembers for the toiling during the demonetizationperiod.

Both the leaders expressed concern of theprivatization of PSU and raising unemploymentin the country, low family pension, charter ofdemand, reason of deferment of strike on 15/03/2018, PNB Scam, smart compensation, presentbanking scenario, Belongingness of Scale-IV toScale-V with the Association, revision of longpending pension, RBI penalty, gratuity amendmentbill and transfer policy.

Com. Thomas Franco in his speech spoke aboutthe following issues like:

1. Opposition by the AIBOC to Privatization.

2. Charter of demand, work on home, worklife balance.

3. Staff welfare amount on gross profitinstead of net profit.

4. Stop FRDI bill.

Scholar in cinema Studies spoke about the strengthof women inthe professional sector and the rightsof woman in the society.

Shri Raju Bhavsar, president of All India Bank Officers’

Confederation Gujarat state, expressed his utmost

gratitude to the participants who had come from

across the state. He thanked AIBOC, the organisers,

the organising committees and the venue partner.

TRIENNIAL GENERAL BODY MEETING OF SBIOA(BHOPAL CIRCLE )Report fr

om Circle

OUR LIFE IS WHAT OUR THOUGHTS MAKE IT 7 Officers' Cause, May - 2018

5. Early wage revision and negotiation.

6. Compensation of demonetization etc.

On 24th March 2018 a press conference wasorganized at Hotel Palash Bhopal in which Com.Y. Sudarshan and Com. Thomas Franco briefed themass media persons about the present banking

scenario and followed by 9th Executive Committee

Meeting of Federation at Hotel Jehanuma Palace,

Bhopal.

Com.G.P. Chandwani, Chairman Reception

Committee and Dy. General Secretary, SBIOA

Bhopal Module proposed the vote of thanks.

SBI, whose origins trace back to the establishmentof the Bank of Calcutta in 1806, has inherited largeheritage properties in its long and rich history.

In 1809 the Bank of Calcutta received its charterand was re-designated the Bank of Bengal.

It was the first joint-stock bank of British India, andwas sponsored by the government of Bengal. TheBank of Bombay (1840) and the Bank of Madras(1843) soon followed.

These three banks remained at the apex of modernbanking in India till their amalgamation as theImperial Bank of India in 1921 before becoming State

SBI TO SHOWCASE ITS HERITAGE

Bank of India in 1955.

While SBI itself has several buildings dating backto the colonial era, their merger with its associatebanks added many heritage buildings to the fold.

The associate banks, which were patronized by theprincely kingdoms of Hyderabad, Patiala, Bikanerand Jaipur, Mysore, and Travancore, wereheadquartered in impressive historic structure.

The merger also enhanced the heritage assets ofSBI in different locations.

Source: Business Line-dt.5.4.18

THESE ARE NOT THE BEST OF TIMES TO BE A BANKERCHAIRMAN SBI.

n the issue of Punjab National Bank fraud, theChairman said if any incidence of this

magnitude happens, there will be setbacks and shockbut, ultimately, we have to face those challenges. Ifyou want to set things right there can be no bettertime than now as everybody is on-board today. Thereaction of staff, which may not be so conscious aboutrisk management and compliance, is much moredifferent now than it was a year ago. Of course, theseare not the best of time to be a banker. But at thesame time, if there is a challenge, you meet it. If youtake the right actions, one can emerge very strong.

On the merger of five associate banks and BharatiyaMahila Bank, the Chairman said. It has been verysmooth, be it human resources, customer accountsor information technology system integration. There

have not been any areas of major concern. But itwill take some time to bring everything on a parwith SBI due to differences in corporate governancestandards and practices at the associate banks. Thelast few months were spent in bringing everythingon a par. When you are going through a transitionof this scale. It takes time even for the performancestandards to be aligned. The balance sheet impactof the merger was in the first quarter of 2017-18.The rationalization of staff and branches has alsobeen smooth. The way the merger of the five bankswas handled ,without any major issues, speaks wellabout the management bandwidth at SBI.

We knew there would be a balance sheet impact.The bank, more or less, cleaned up in 2017-18 and

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LET US BUILD A STRONG AND SELF RELIANT INDIA

Officers' Cause, May - 2018 9

et it be said that at the very outset that themagnanimity of Anand Mahindra, Chief of the

USD 19 billion group, Tech. Mahindra deserveadmiration from all quarters for the meticulousnessof the human dignity which he has demonstrated inpublicly aplogising to an employee, who was firedunceremoniously by an HR executive of thecompany in most uncouth manner. He offeredapology over a conversation of the HR executiveasking an employee to put in his papers by nextmorning, as part of corporate decision.

In a nearly seven-minute-long audio clip, that hasgone viral, he company’s HR executive was heardasking the employee to put in his papers by 10 a.m.the next day, barring which his services at thecompany would be terminated. While the employeekept pleading with the HR about such a short noticethe latter sternly told him that there is no room for‘flexibility ‘ in this case. Anand Mahindra has said inhis tweet that, “I want to add my personal apology.Our core value is to preserve the dignity of theindividual and we’ll ensure this does not happen infuture. I deeply regret the way the HR rep andemployee discussion was done. We have taken theright steps to ensure it doesn’t happen in the future.”

In a statement, the Company has said that, “TechMahindra has always regarded respect forcolleagues, fairness and human dignity as corevalues, and has demonstrated these consistentlyover the years. We have become aware of the

incident involving a conversation between andemployee and a Company HR representative. Wecontinue to implement strategies to implement thechanging demands of business in the current globaleconomic environment and align with our workforcewith the business objectives, strategic priorities of theorganisations, and requirements of our clients.”

However, the large heartedness of Anand Mahindradoes not mitigate the incompetence and theboorishness of the HR Executive. In fact, suchegregious mistakes are not isolated as HR executivesare hardly well-versed with the labour laws. This isthe reason that instead of following the labour lawsdiscreetly and judiciously they prefer to assert theirauthority in haughty manner, which ultimately causesthe irreparable loss to the goodwill and the credibilityof the company. Unfortunately, the knowledge andpractice of the labour laws have been relegated to thelowest rung of the priorities in the present scheme ofHR Managers. The HR function is at the center of mostemployers’ efforts to identify, hire and retain thepeople the organization needs to execute its strategyand achieve its goals. But this is not possible withoutan in-depth understanding of the labour laws.

Human Resource experts say that when lay off isinevitable, more sensitivity should be shown towardemployees about to lose the jobs, particularly whenthey have already put in 10-15 years of service withloan repayment and family to take care of. Beyond apoint, they cannot do much about it. Nevertheless, the

the previous year. So, from April 1, I am almoststarting on a clean state.

On the credit growth the Chairman said, the monthof March has been very good. The retail segment isdoing well, whereas the large corporate portfoliois fluctuating. We have made a lot of improvement

in credit processes and in 2018-19, there will not beany effect of the merger either. So, 2018-19 looksmuch better than the last financial year, which was avery challenging one. The small and mediumenterprises (SME) segment has started showinggrowth, both in sanctions and disbursements.

Source: Business Standard dt. 5/4/18

LACK OF LABOUR LAWS AMONG H.R.MANAGERSOFTEN LEAD TO EMBARRASSMENT FOR EMPLOYERSArticle

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DUTY FIRST, RIGHT NEXT

9 Officers' Cause, May - 2018

Judicial Verdict

H R executives have to be sensitive to provide asoft landing to people whom they are letting go.This where the expertise and training of the HRmanagers come into play.

There are numerous laws and regulationsgoverning the employment relationship that HRprofessionals must understand and navigate inorder to help ensure their organizations avoid fatesand penalties, including the potential harm to theorganization’s reputation. The HR function must hireand retain individuals that are knowledgeable aboutHR specific laws and can create policies andprocedures in relation to these laws.

Increasing organizational size and its complexity,transition from traditional to professionalmanagement, changing social and cultural norms,globalization of industry and availability ofinformation technology are constantly changing theprofile of HRM functions. Today HRM managercannot survive in the security of past. He has to playa more dynamic role in not only performing themaintenance function but should think of morecreative ways to satisfy human aspirations toprovide the competitive edge to organizations on asustainable basis.

HR Executive has a flexible way of going about

decisions. Sometimes he makes them himself,sometimes he consults, at other time he throws thedecision to the group. It all depends on the type ofgroup he is working with and the situation that exists.Since he has a wide variety of behaviours that he iscomfortable with, he tries to adopt the appropriatebehaviour by being diagnostic and sensitive tosituations. He does not feel that he has to make all thedecisions himself, but rather that his basicresponsibility is to see that the best decision is made.His practice, consequently, is always to see wherecompetence lies, and to move the decision there. Ofcourse, if anything affects the whole institution, thenhe calls all the people concerned and together theythrush it out. He feels strongly that those who areaffected by decisions should be involved in theirmaking. He often says ‘the acceptability of a decisionis just as important as its intrinsic soundness’. So heinvolves those concerned, even in cases where he isquite sure they won’t add anything new, but wheretheir commitment to the decision is necessary tomake it work.

It would be in the fitness of the occasion that HRExecutives must accord the importance to theknowledge and application of laws that genuinelydeserves.

BY............H.L. Kumar AdvocateSource: FLR 2017(154)

[2018 (156) FLR 873](SUPREME COURT)

KURIAN JOSEPH and R. BANUMATHI, JJ.Civil Appeal No. 18799 of 2017

BetweenUNION OF INDIA and others

andAMIT SINGH

Termination of Services—Found to be il legal—Respondent-employee is permitted to filerepresentation before Appointing Authority-Who would take a decision and pass a speaking orderon. [Para 4]

Judicial Verdict

NEVER BEND BEFORE THE INSOLENT MIGHT

Officers' Cause, May - 2018 10

JUDGMENT

KURIAN JOSEPH, J.—Leave granted.

The appellants are before this Court, aggrievedby the judgment of the learned Single Judge ofthe High Court, as confirmed by the Division Bench,wherein the termination of the respondent hasbeen found to be illegal. The respondent wasterminated from service on the basis of informationgathered, on verification of the antecedents.Though it was done after three years of enteringservice, it was found that the respondent had beeninvolved in a criminal case.

2. According to the learned Counsel for therespondent, it was a trivial issue between thefriends in a cricket match and hence the same wascompounded by the teamed Magistrate. In anycase, all this had happened much prior to his filingof application for appointment.

3. In a recent judgment of this Court in Avtar Singhv. Union of India and others this Court has dealtwith the issue. The relevant portion of the judgmentreads as follows:—

38.1. Information given to the employer by acandidate as to conviction, acquittal orarrest, or pendency of a criminal case,whether before or after entering intoservice must be true and there should beno suppression or false mention of requiredinformation.

38.2. While passing order of termination ofservices or cancellation of candidature forgiving false information, the employer maytake notice of special circumstances of thecase, if any, while giving such information.

38.3. The employer shall take intoconsideration the Government orders/

instructions/rules, applicable to theemployee, at the time of taking thedecision.

38.4. In case there is suppression or falseinformation of involvement in a criminalcase where conviction or acquittal hadalready been recorded before filling of theapplication/verification form and- suchfact later comes to knowledge ofemployer, any of the following recourseappropriate to the case may be adopted :

38.4.1. In a case trivial in nature in whichconviction had been recorded, such asshouting slogans at young age or for apetty offence which if disclosed would nothave rendered an incumbent unfit for postin question, the employer may, in itsdiscretion, ignore such suppression of factor false information by condoning thelapse.

38.4.2. Where conviction has been recordedin case which is not trivial in nature.employer may cancel candidature orterminate services of the employee.

38.4.3. If acquittal had already beenrecorded in a case involving moralturpitude or offence of heinous/seriousnature, on technical ground and it is not acase of clean acquittal, or benefit ofreasonable doubt has been given, theemployer may consider all relevant factsavailable as to antecedents, and may takeappropriate decision as to the continuanceof he employee.

38.5. In a case where the employee hasmade declaration truthfully of aconcluded criminal case, the employer stillhas the right to consider antecedents, and

TIME AND TIDE WAIT FOR NONE

11 Officers' Cause, May - 2018

cannot be compelled to appoint thecandidate.

38.6. In case when fact has been truthfullydeclared in character verification formregarding pendency of a criminal case oftrivial nature, employer, in facts andcircumstances of the case, in its discretionmay appoint the candidate subject todecision of such case.

38.7. In a case of deliberate suppressionof fact with respect to multiple pendingcases such false information by itself willassume significance and an employer maypass appropriate order cancellingcandidature or terminating services asappointment of a person against whommultiple criminal cases were pending maynot be proper.

38.8. If criminal case was pending but notknown to the candidate at the time offilling the form, still it may have adverseimpact and the Appointing Authority wouldtake decision after considering theseriousness of the crime.

38.9. In case the employee is confirmed inservice, holding Departmental enquirywould be necessary before passing orderof termination/removal or dismissal onthe ground of suppression or submittingfalse information in verification form.

38.10. For determining suppression or falseinformation attestation/verification formhas to be specific, not vague. Only suchinformation which was required to bespecifically mentioned has to bedisclosed.

If information not asked for but is relevantcomes to knowledge of the employer the

same can be considered in an objectivemanner while addressing the question offitness. However, in such cases actioncannot be taken on basis of suppressionor submitting false information as to a factwhich was not even asked for.

38.11. Before a person is held guilty ofsuppressio veri or suggestio falsi,knowledge of the fact must be attributableto him.”

4. Having regard to the facts and circumstancesof the case, we are of the view that this is a casewhere the respondent should be permitted to filean appropriate representation before theAppointing Authority. Ordered accordingly.

In the event of such a representation is filed, inthe light of the judgment referred to above and inparticular paragraph 38.4.1 of the judgment readwith any other relevant instructions, a speakingorder on the representation shall be passed afteraffording an opportunity of hearing to therespondent, within four months.

5. We make it clear that while passing the orders,as above, the Appointing Authority will also verifywhether there was involvement of the respondentin any other criminal case, his age at the time ofincident, his conduct during the period of serviceand also the fact that he has served for aroundfive years under the CRPF.

6. The impugned judgment is set aside. The appealis, accordingly, disposed of.

Pending applications, if any, shall stand disposedof.

There shall be no orders as to costs.

Appeal Disposed Of.

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OFFICERS' CAUSE RNI. NO. 36617 / 81 TOTAL NO. OF PAGES 12 MAY - 2018

REGN.NUMBER.KRNA/BGE/202/2018-2020 REGD. NUMBER.527/MDS PUBLISHED ON10TH OF EVERY MONTH-POSTED AT BANGALORE PSO, MYSORE ROAD, BANGALORE - 560 026POSTED ON 15TH OF EVERY MONTH-LICENSED TO POST WITHOUT PREPAYMENT. LICENCE NO. WPP/82

Printed, Edited and Published By Shri. Y. Sudarshan on behalf of AISBOF at State Bank Building St.Mark’s Road, Bangalore-560001 and printed byShri C.A. Ramachandra Murthy at Shri. Ananth Art Printery at 945 Sri Sadguru Mandira, 24th main 39th Cross, 4th T Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore 560041

DEARNESS ALLOWANCE

The Index Numbers for the quarter ended March 2018 are as under:

MONTH INDEX AS PER CONVERSION INDEX AS PER

& Year 2001 series Factor 1960 series

Jan 2018 288 4.63 x 4.93 6573.85Feb 2018 287 4.63 x 4.93 6551.03Mar 2018 287 4.63 x 4.93 6551.03

Total 19,675.91

Average = 19,675.91/3 6558.63

Difference in excess of 4440 points 2118.63D.A.paid for the previous quarter on (i.e. 527x4) 2108. 00Difference 10.63Increase in number of Slabs = 10.63/4 2

Accordingly, Dearness Allowance is payable to Officers on 529 (i.e. 527+2 ) slabs with effect from01-05-2018 as against 527 slabs for the previous quarter. The rates worked out are as per theindustry level scales upto Scale VII including SBI.