Like Caesar's wife, a bank employee's integrity must always be above suspicion: Delhi High Court

Honesty and integrity of employees and officers working in the banks is paramount and they must be above suspicion, the Delhi High Court recent said. dealing with public money must also be paramount [Vijay Kumar Gupta v Reserve Bank of India & Ors]..Single-judge Justice Chandra Dhari Singh said that a bank employee must perform one’s duty with absolute devotion, diligence, integrity and honesty so that the public's confidence is not lost in the institution."As goes the popular saying – 'Caesar's wife must be above suspicion'. It is settled law that honesty of integrity of employees/officers working in the banks who are dealing with public money must be paramount," the Court said.Hence, an officer who is found to have been involved in financial irregularities while performing his duty as bank officer, cannot be let off even if there is a minor infraction in the inquiry report, the Court underlined. “The banking system is the backbone of the Indian economy. An officer who is found to have been involved in financial irregularities while performing his duty as bank officer, cannot be let off even if there is a minor infraction in the inquiry report,” the court observed..Justice Singh made the observations while dismissing a plea by one Vijay Kumar Gupta who served as Assistant Manager with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).Gupta was posted at Currency Verification and Processing System in 2005 and was entrusted with processing and shredding of currencies worth ₹4,50,000. During a surprise check of the cancelled notes brought for shredding in the shredding room, it was noticed that there was a shortage of 50 pieces of ₹100 denomination in three packets.As a result, two alternate charges of wilfully not performing his duties towards the bank and that of surreptitiously abstracting/pilfering the currency notes to derive pecuniary benefit and having displayed gross negligence were framed against the petitioner.After a disciplinary inquiry, Gupta was dismissed from the bank’s service and ₹5,000 was ordered to be recovered from him. The appeal against the order was also dismissed by the Appellate Authority..He approached the High Court against the order stating that there were procedural infractions and violation of principles of natural justice in the order..However, after considering the arguments, Justice Singh held that there was sufficient material on record to establish the petitioner's guilt.The Court said that in the departmental inquiry, the standard of proof is not that of a criminal case, rather the test applicable is that of merely the preponderance of probabilities.The allegations which have been levelled against the petitioner are certainly serious in nature and this amounts to gross misconduct. Therefore, I do not find any force in the argument of the petitioner that the punishment which has been awarded to the petitioner for removal from service is not proportionate, the Court said..“In view of the above discussion on facts as well as law, this Court does not find that there has been any procedural infraction or violation of Principles of Natural Justice in conducting the inquiry against the petitioner. It is also decided in the foregoing paragraphs that there is sufficient material on record to establish the guilt of the petitioner,” the Court held..The petition was, therefore, dismissed..Advocates Pooja M Saigal, Anshul Bajaj and Simrat Singh Pasay appeared for the petitioner.Respondents were represented through Senior Advocate Suhail Dutt along with advocates HS Parihar, Kuldeep Singh Parihar and Ikshita Parihar..[Read Judgment]