'Errors In Administrative Judgement Should Not Attract Severest Punishments': J&K&L HC Quashes Retrospective Dismissal Of Retired Employee

The Jammu & Kashmir High Court took strong exception to the retrospective dismissal of the officer, passed after his retirement and noted that the punishment imposed was not commensurate with the nature of the alleged lapses.The petitioner, a bank officer with nearly three decades of unblemished service, was dismissed from service following a departmental enquiry over sanctioning temporary overdrafts (TODs).A bench of Justice Javed Iqbal Wani observed that “Discipline must be tempered with fairness... what appears to be an error in administrative judgment rather than a wilful or reckless act should not attract the severest punishment available."Taking a holistic view of the matter.. punishment imposed upon the petitioner is not commensurate with the nature of the alleged lapses… particularly, with retrospective effect after his retirement, appears not only excessive, but also inequitable," he added.The Court further directed the Bank to release all pensionary and retiral benefits due to the petitioner within eight weeks, with 8% interest in case of delay. The petitioner claimed that some of these overdrafts were sanctioned on the verbal instructions of a senior officer, a fact that was not fairly examined by the Enquiry Officer. The superior officer was neither summoned nor cross-examined, despite specific requests made by the petitioner.The court criticised the refusal to allow cross-examination of another key official whose communication was relied upon to deny the petitioner's claims. The reasoning that the statements were made “in official capacity” and hence immune from cross-examination was found to be “wholly unsustainable”.The court noted that the petitioner had complied with post-facto approval practices that were seemingly widespread in the institution, made significant recovery efforts post-transfer, amounting to over ₹70 lakh from potential NPAs.It said that the Petitioners' conduct demonstrated consistent cooperation and had no past record of misconduct or dishonest gain but despite this, the Enquiry Officer neither considered these as mitigating factors nor gave the Petitioner access to key documents for filing a departmental appeal, citing them as “privileged”.Terming the dismissal as “legally unsustainable”, the Court directed the Bank to release all pensionary and retiral benefits within eight weeks from receipt of a certified copy of the order and pay interest @ 8% per annum from the date the benefits became due, in case of default.The petition was accordingly allowed and the impugned order dated 01.04.2022 set aside.It said “The denial of such benefits flowed from the penalty of dismissal owing its origin to an unfair and flawed enquiry,” emphasising that even retired employees deserve procedural fairness and protection from disproportionate punitive actions.APPEARANCE: Shuja Ul Haq, Advocate for petitioners Aadil Asmi, Advocate for respondents.Case-Title: Naseer Ahmad Sheikh vs Jammu and Kashmir Bank limitedCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (JKL) 290Click Here To Read/Download Order

'Errors In Administrative Judgement Should Not Attract Severest Punishments': J&K&L HC Quashes Retrospective Dismissal Of Retired Employee

Aleem Syeed

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