Allahabad HC quashes termination of 48 assistant managers of UP Cooperative Bank

New Delhi/Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court has quashed the termination of 48 assistant managers of the Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Bank, holding that an employee's services cannot be ended merely on the recommendation or direction of another authority without an independent decision by the appointing authority.

Justice Rajeev Singh of the Lucknow bench passed the order on Tuesday while allowing separate petitions filed by Manish Kumar and 47 others. The court directed the bank to allow the petitioners to resume duties on their respective posts.

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The petitioners were appointed as assistant managers in 2016 following a recruitment process that had been initiated in 2015 and subsequently became embroiled in controversy over changes in eligibility criteria and allegations of irregularities.

The recruitment initially required candidates to hold graduation degrees in specified subjects. The eligibility criteria were later modified, with the approval of the competent authority, to allow candidates with graduation in any subject and a minimum of 50% marks.

A revised advertisement was issued on July 22, 2015, following which the petitioners were selected through a written examination and interview.

The selection process was challenged before the High Court by an unsuccessful candidate. The appointments of the selected candidates were subsequently made subject to the outcome of the litigation. The challenge was eventually dismissed by the court on March 1, 2023.

Meanwhile, an inquiry was conducted into alleged irregularities in the recruitment process. Based on a government letter dated April 27, 2019, directions were issued for cancellation of the appointments.

The bank's management committee decided on May 30, 2019, to terminate the appointments, following which termination orders were issued on June 7, 2019.

During the proceedings, senior advocate Gaurav Mehrotra, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the termination orders did not accuse any of the assistant managers of individual wrongdoing or misconduct.

He contended that the appointments had been approved by the competent authority and that the selection process had been completed in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

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According to the petitioners, the bank's management committee had acted on the directions of the Principal Secretary, Cooperative Department, rather than independently examining whether the appointments of the employees were liable to be terminated.

The High Court accepted this contention and held that the appointing authority must independently apply its mind before taking a decision to terminate an employee's services.

The court found that the management committee and the managing director had failed to independently examine the matter before terminating the petitioners' services.

On this ground, the court quashed the June 2019 termination orders and directed that the 48 assistant managers be permitted to resume their duties on their respective posts.

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