The Division Bench of Karnataka High Court Overturned the Decision of Reinstatement of a Bank Employee

An employee of Vijaya Bank was found guilty of lending money to fictitious persons without duly securing repayment of loans, which amounts to an offence involving moral turpitude. Earlier the single judge bench observed that the bank did not share the observation of the Central Vigilance Commission (“CVC”) with the employee and as a reason this, the dismissal was illegal, and the employee must be reinstated. The Division bench in Writ Appeal No. 7791 OF 2003 interpreted that the object of consulting vigilance commission is not in the interest of the employee but in the larger interest of banking institution with whom the public money is entrusted. It was argued that once a penalty is imposed after duly conducting disciplinary proceedings and the employee is sentenced for an offence involving moral turpitude, then the writ court must avoid interference. The division bench held that the observations of CVC need not be shared with the delinquent employee and the reinstatement order was reversed.