'Caesar's Wife Must Be Above Suspicion': Delhi High Court Upholds Dismissal Of RBI Employee

Referring to the famous phrase - Caesar's wife must be above suspicion, the Delhi High Court has upheld the dismissal of an employee of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) who was accused of pilfering cancelled notes in 2005.

Justice Chandra Dhari Singh observed that a bank employee or an officer must perform the duty with absolute devotion, diligence, integrity and honesty, so that the confidence of the public or depositors is not lost in the bank.

"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.

Observing that banking system is the backbone of the Indian economy, the court said that an officer who is found to have been involved in financial irregularities while performing his duty as a bank officer, cannot be let off even if there is a minor infraction in the inquiry report.

"In the departmental inquiry, the standard of proof is not that of a criminal case i.e., beyond reasonable doubt, rather the test applicable is that of merely the preponderance of probabilities," the court said.

The court dismissed a plea filed by one Vijay Kumar Gupta who was working as an Assistant Manager in RBI and was posted at Currency Verification and Processing System. Gupta was entrusted with processing and shredding of currencies worth Rs. 4,50,000.

In May 2005, 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 Rs.100 denomination in three packets.

Thereafter, Gupta was chargesheeted on June 11, 2005 for wilfully not performing his duties towards the bank, surreptitiously abstracting or pilfering the currency notes to derive pecuniary benefit and having displayed gross negligence.

The charges against Gupta were found to be proved and he was dismissed from service on October 30, 2006 and Rs.5000 was ordered to be recovered from him. Gupta's appeal was dismissed by the Appellate Authority in July 2007.

Challenging the same before the High Court, Gupta argued that the dismissal was improper and illegal and that there was no evidence to prove the charges levelled against him.

Rejecting his plea, Justice Singh said that the charges levelled against Gupta were duly proven and that he was rightly held guilty by the competent authority.

"The Appellate Authority while rejecting the appeal of the petitioner herein has passed a detailed and reasoned order after considering all the material and evidence on record before it. Hence, there is no illegality or error on the appellate order," the court said.

Noting that the allegations levelled against Gupta were serious in nature and amounted to gross misconduct, the court rejected his argument that the punishment of dismissal was not proportionate.

"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 said.

Title: VIJAY KUMAR GUPTA v. RESERVE BANK OF INDIA & ORS

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Del) 1106

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