Holding

Regulation 68(2)(iii) is substantially complied with where the charge letter and accompanying complaint disclose the allegations, and neither the Disciplinary Authority nor the Appellate Authority is required to give reasons when they merely concur with the enquiry findings, rendering the departmental proceedings valid.

Summary

The appellant State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur removed its manager, P.D. Grover, for allegedly accepting a bribe and dismissed his appeal before the Executive Committee. Grover filed a civil suit challenging the departmental and appellate orders, claiming violations of Regulation 68(2)(iii) (failure to frame definite charges and provide a statement of allegations) and the lack of reasons for the decisions. The Supreme Court held that the charge letter, together with the complaint, substantially complied with the requirement of a statement of allegations, and that the Disciplinary Authority need not record reasons when it merely concurs with the Enquiry Officer’s findings, nor does the Appellate Authority have to give reasons under Regulation 70(2). Consequently, the departmental proceedings were not faulted and the Bank’s appeal was allowed, dismissing Grover’s petition.

Issues considered

Whether Regulation 68(2)(iii) of the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur Officers' Service Regulations 1979, requiring definite charges and a statement of allegations, was complied with.
Whether the Disciplinary Authority must record reasons for its order when it agrees with the Enquiry Officer’s findings.
Whether the Appellate Authority is obligated to give reasons for its order under Regulation 70(2).
Whether the non‑furnishing of the enquiry report before removal renders the removal order void, in view of the ECIL judgment.
Whether the departmental enquiry could be conducted under the 1979 Regulations despite being initiated earlier.

Subjects

departmental enquirynatural justicechargesheetreasons for decisionservice regulationsdisciplinary proceedingsappealbanking servicepunishmentprocedural fairness

Judgment

STATE BANK OF BIKANER AND JAIPUR A
v.
SH. PRABHU DAYAL GROVER

SEPTEMBER 19, 1995

[B.P. JEEVAN REDDY AND M.K. MUKHERJEE, JJ.] B

Service Law-State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur Officers' Service
Reguiations 1979--Regulation 68(2)(iiirDepartmental proceedings-A fair
adequate and reasonable opportunity of being heard should be given to person
ll!Taigned-Substantial compliance and not Jonna! compliance-Whether C
amounts to breach of Regulation 68 (2)(iii)-Held, No-Departmental
proceedings not to be faulted.

Regulation 68(3)-Departmental proceedings-Procedure-When Dis-
ciplinary Authority agrees with findings of Enquiry Officer-No obligation to
record reasons-Punishing authority not to re- appraise evidence to anive at D
same findings.

Regulation 70(2rAppeal No obligation on Appellate Authority to give
any reasons for its order.

·While working as Manager of the appellant Bank, respondent was E
-(
proceeded against departmentally for accepting bribe and was removed
from service. Appeal filed by him before the Executive Committee of the
Bank was dismissed. He instituted a civil suit for a declaration that the
orders passed by the Disciplinary Authority and the Appellate Authority
were illegal and void and for consequential reliefs. The Trial Court decreed F
the suit holding that the provisions of Regulation 68(2) (iii) of the State
Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur Officers' Service Regulations 1979, which
governed the departmental enquiry had been violated in as much as no
definite and distinct charges had been framed against the plaintiff and he
had been punished on the basis of a show cause notice as even statement G
of allegations had not been furnished to him; that a copy of the enquiry
report was also not made available to the delinquent before the order of
removal was passed; that the Disciplinary Authority had not applied its
mind, before passing the order of punishment and it merely agreed with
the findings of the Enquiry Officer and that the Appellate Authority had
also dismissed the Departmental Appeal without giving any reason. The H
785
786 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1995) SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A appeal filed by the Bank against the judgment and decree of the Trial
Court was dismissed. The appellate Court, however, granted liberty to the
Bank to institute a fresh departmental enquiry. Second appeal filed by the
Bank was dismissed in linine. The respondent also filed a second appeal
assailing the liberty granted to the Bank which was also dismissed. Hence
these appeals.
B
The appellant Bank contended that the finding of the Trial Court
that the order of removal was bad as the report of the Enquiry Officer was
not furnished to the delinquent before it was made, was liable to be set
aside in view of the judgment of the Constitution Bench in Managi,ng
C Director EC/Iv. B. Karunakar, [1993) 4 SCC 724 wherein it had been held
that orders of punishment passed prior to 30-11-1990 should not be
disturbed for non-furnishing of the enquiry report and the disciplinary
proceedings which gave rise to such orders should not be reopened on that
account; that the enquiry was not and could not have been held under the
Regulations of 1979 as they came into effect after the proceeding against
D the respondent was initiated ; that the failure lo furnish a statement of
allegations in support of the charge would not make the enquiry and the
order of punishment bad, for along with the charge sheet a copy of the
complaint received and lists of witnesses and statements and documents
by which charges were proposed to be sustained were furnished to the
E delinquent; that at no stage of the departmental proceedings the delin-
quent asked for the statement of allegation nor did he raise any grievance
on that score before the Appellate Authority; and that when the diseipli-
nary authority agreed with the finding of the Enquiry Officer it was not
necessary to discus the evidence and give reasons for the findings.

F The respondent submitted that the requirement of Regulation
68(2) (iii) was not complied with and the orders of the Disciplinary
Authority and the Appellate Authority could not be legally sustained as
neither of them had given any reasons for their respective decisions.

G Allowing the appeal of the Bank, this Court

HELD : Regulation 68(2) (iii) of the State Bank of Bikaner and .-
Jaipur Officers' Service Regulations seeks to fulfil one of the basic postu·
lates of the rules of natural justice that a fair, adequate and reasonable
opportunity of being heard should be given to the person arraigned. In the
H instant case the letter communicating the accusation made against the
STATE BANK OF BIKANERAND JAIPUR v. P.D. GROVER [M.K MUKHERJEE, J.) 787

respondent did not answer the description of a 'formal chargesheet' but A
then the contents thereof specifically disclosed the charge levelled against
him, namely, that a accepting a bribe of Rs. 300 from a customer for
issuing a demad draft. The exact date of acceptance of bribe was not
disclosed there in but along with the letter was enclosed a copy of the
complaint received from the customer which not only disclosed that date B
but also satisfied the requirement of a 'statement of allegations' envisaged
in Regulation 68 in that all the details regarding the demand and accep·
tance of the bribe had been stated. It could not, therefore, be said that the
respondent was not fully a11Prised of the accusation levelled against him
to effectively reply thereto. The provisions of the Regulation had been
substantially complied with, though not formally. Respondent's reply to C
the chargesheet clearly indicated that he fully understood the charge
levelled against him. At no point of time during the departmental proceed·
ing or before the appellate Authority did he raise any objection regarding
-· non furnishing of the statement of allegations or that he was prejudiced
thereby. Therefore, departmental proceeding could not be faulted for D
purported breach of Regulation 68(2)(iii). [793-C-F]

Surath Chandra v. State of West Bengal, AIR (1971) SC 752 and
Ku/want Singh Gill v. State of Puiijab, [1991] Supp. 1 SCC 504, distin·
guished.
E
1.2. Regulation 68(3) lays down the procedure the Disciplinary
Authority is required to follow after it received the proceedings of the
enquiry including the report of the Enquiry Officer. It is only in those cases
where the Disciplinary Authority considers it necessary to direct fresh or
further enquiry or disagrees with the findings of the Enquiry Officer, it
has to record reasons for its such directions, but there is no such obliga· F
tion if it agrees with the findings of the Enquiry Officer. When the Dis·
ciplinary Authority agrees with the findings of the Enquiry Officer and
accepts the reasons given by him in support of such findings, it is not
necessary for the punishing authority to re-appraise the evidence to arrive
at the same findings. [797-E-G, 798-A] G
S.V. Mukherjee v. Union of India, [1990] 4 SCC 594, relied on.

1.3. Under Regulation 70(2), the Appellate Authority is required to
consider whether the findings recorded against the concerned officer are
justified and/or whether the penalty is excessive or Inadequate and pass H
788 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1995] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A appropriate orders, confirming, enhancing, reducing or setting aside the
penalty or remitting the case to the authority which iµiposed the penalty
or to any other authority with such directions as it deems fit in the
circumstances of the case. This Regulation also does not obligate the
Appellate Authority to give any reasons for its order. [798-C-D]

B 1.4. In the instant case, the order of the Appellate Authority could
not be invalidated, as it had discharged its obligation by considering the
records and proceedings pertaining to the disciplinary action and the
submissions made by the respondent. The Appellate Authority had applied
its mind before dismissing the appeal. [798-E]
c CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 8738 of
1995.

From the Judgment and Order dated 24.4.91 of the Rajasthan High
Court in S.B.C.S.A No. 63 of 1991.
D
Sanjay Kapur for M.K. Michael for the Appellants.

Uma Datta for the Respondent.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
E
M.K. MUKHERJEE, J. Leave granted. Heard the learned counsel
for the parties.

While working as the Manager of the Ridmalsar Branch of the State
Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur ('Bank' for short), Prabhu Dayal Grover
F ('Grover' for short) was proceeded against departmentally for accepting
bribe from one Maniram and removed from service on May 27, 1983. As
the appeal preferred by him before the Executive Committee of the Bank
proved abortive he instituted a civil suit in the Additional Court of the
Munsif at Jaipur for a declaration that the orders passed by the Discipli-
G nary Authority and the Appellate Authority were illegal and void and for
consequential reliefs. The Trial Court decreed the suit with the following
findings;

"(i) the provisions of Regulation 68(2)(iii) of the State Bank of
Bik;rner and Jaipur Officers' Service Regulations 1979
H ('Regulations' for short), which governed the deparrmental enquiry
SfATE BANK OF BIKANER AND JAIPUR v. P.D. GROVER [M.K MUKHERJEE, J.) 789

had been violated in as much no definite and distinct charges had A
been framed against the plaintiff (Grover) and he had been
punished on the basis of a show cause notice only. Even statement
of allegations had not been furnished to him;

(ii) a copy of the enquiry report was also not made available to
Grover before the order of removal· was passed; B

(iii) the Disciplinary Authority had not applied its mind, before
passing the order of punishment and it merely agreed with the
findings of the Enquiry Officer and

(iv) the Appellate Authority had also dismissed the Departmental
c
Appeal without giving any reason."

The appeal preferred by the Bank against the judgment and decree
of the Trial Court was dismissed by the Additional District Judge, Jaipur
and the above findings were affirmed. The Appellate Court, however, D
granted liberty to the Bank to institute a fresh departmental enquiry with
the stipulation that the liberty must be exercised within two months. The
Bank then filed a second appeal in the High Court which was dismissed in
limine. Grover also preferred a second appeal assailing the liberty granted
to the Bank to hold a fresh enquiry which was also dismissed. Hence these E
two appeals, one at the instance of the Bank and the other by Grover. Of
them we first proceed to deal with the merits of the former for in case the
same succeeds, the other has got to be dismissed.

Mr. Altaf Ahmad, the learned Additional Solicitor General appear-
ing on behalf of the Bank first contended that the finding of the Trial Court F
that the order of removal was bad as the report of the Enquiry Officer was
not furnished to Grover before it was made, was liable to be set aside in
view of the judgment of the Constitution Bench of this Court in Managi,ng
Director ECIL v. B. Kamnakar, [1993) 4 SCC 727 wherein it has been held
that orders of punishment passed prior to the date on which the decision G
in Union of India v. Mohd. Ramzan, [1991) 1 SCC 588 was made, that is
on November 30, 1990 should not be disturbed for non-furnishing of the
enquiry report and the disciplinary proceedings which gave rise to such
orders should not be reopened on that .account. As regards the finding of
the Trial Court that no definite and distinct charg~ had been framed
against Grover and even statement of allegations had not been furnished H
790 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1995] SUPP. 3 S.C R.

A as required under Rule 68 of the Regulations, Mr. Ahmad contended that
the enquiry was not .- and could not have been, held under the said
Regulations as they came into effect on and from April 30, 1980 that as,
after the proceeding against Grover was initiated. According to Mr.
Ahmad, the enquiry in question was governed by and held strictly in
accordance with the procedure laid down by the Bikaner Unit of the Bank
B in its Circular No. 46 of 1961 dated March 6, 1961. He drew our attention
to the following paragraph of the circular.

"Before it is decided to dismiss an officer or to require an officer
to resign from the service or to reduce an officer to a lower grade
c for an offence of which he has been found gililty, he be called upon
to show cause by such date as to fixed by the General Manager
why such action should not be taken against him."

to contend that the charge-sheet was submitted in terms thereof. He next
D submitted that even if it was assumed that the Regulations were applicable
still the failure to furnish a statement of allegations in support of the charge
would not make the enquiry, and, for that matter, the order of punishment
bad, for along with the charge sheet a copy of the complaint received from
Maniram, and lists of witnesses and statements and documents by which
charges were proposed to be sustained were furnished to Grover. Besides,
E Mr. Ahmad submitted, at no stage of the departmental proceedings Grover
asked for the statement of allegations nor did he raise any grievance on
that score before the Appellate Authority which necessarily meant that he
was not in any way prejudiced in his defence· thereby. Regarding the other
two findings of the Trial Court Mr. Ahmad's submission was that the orders
F themselves would show that they were well reasoned and speaking. This
apart, Mr. Ahmed contended that when the disciplinary authority agreed
with the finding of the Enquiry Officer it was not necessary to discuss the
evidence and give reasons for the findings. In support of this contention he
relied upon the judgments of this Court in Ram Kumar v. State of Haryana,
AIR (1987) SC 2043, S.N. Mukherjee v. Union of India , (1990] 4 SCC 594
G and Som Datt v. Union of India, [1969) 2 SCR 177.

In responding to the above contentions of Mr. Ahmad, Mr. Dutta
appearing for Grover fairly conceded that he was unable to sustain the
finding of the learned Courts below as regards the non-furnishing of the
H copy of the enquiry report in view of the judgment of this Court in ECIL
STATE BANK OF BIKANER AND JAIPUR v. P.D. GROVER [M.K MUKHERJEE, J.) 791

(supra). He, however, strenuously urged that the other findings of the Trial A
Court and the Appellate Court were unassailable. In elaborating his con-
tentions he first submitted that the departmental enquiry in the instant case
could have been - and indeed was - held in accordance with the Regula-
tions and as admittedly the requirement of Regulation 68(2)(iii) was not
complied with, the departmental proceedings must be said to be void ab
initio. To reinforce his submissions he drew our attention to the judgments
B
of this Court in Surath Chandra v. State of West Bengal, AIR (1971) SC 752
and Kulwant Singh Gill v. State of Punjab, [1991] Supp 1 SCC 504. Similarly,
he contended, in view of this Court's pronouncements in Ram Chander v.
Union of India & Ors., [1986] 2 SCR 980, M.P. Industries v. Union of India,
[1966] 1 SCR 466, A.L. Katra v. The Project and Equipment Corporation of C
India Ltd., [1984] 3 SCR 646 and R.P. Bhatt v. Union of India & Ors., [1985]
Supp. 1 SCR 947, the orders of the Disciplinary Authority and the Appel-
late Authority could not be legally sustained as neither of them had given
any reason for their respective decisions.

In the context of the respective stands of the parties the first and the D
foremost question that falls for our determination is whether any charge-
sheet was drawn up and served in accordance with the extant rules and, if
not, what would be the effect thereof. To answer this question it will be
necessary to first quote in extenso the letter dated April 3, 1980 served by
the Bank upon Grover which according to it was the charge-sheet. It reads E
as under:

- "Shri P .D. Grover,
Clo Regional Manager Sectt.,
State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur,
Head Office, F
JAIPUR.

VI/36/C/1050
3.4.1980
G
Dear Sir,

1. DISCIPLINARY ACTION:

The following act of misconduct is alleged to have been com-
mitted by you during your incumbency as Manager of our Ridmal- H
792 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1995) SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A sar, one man office, during the year 1978 :

"You demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs. 300 from Shri
Maniram for issuing a demand draft of Rs. 48,000 on account
of the loan amount sanctioned in favour of Shri Maniram and
his father Shri Ram Rakh Bishnoi for purchasing a tractor."
B
2. You have thus acted in a manner prejudicial to the interests of
the Bank and apparently failed to maintain absolute integrity and
devotion to duty quite apart from abusing your official position.
The explanations you have so far offered to the Central Bureau of
Investigation in respect of the aforesaid misconduct are found
c unsatisfactory and, therefore, unacceptable to us.

3. List of witnesses by whom and list of documents by which the
charges as proposed to be sustained are enclosed along with copies
of the relevant statements and documents.
D
4. Please note that if you do not comply with the rules or the
directions issued to you or do not co-operate with the disciplinary
authority or bring external or political pressure on any superior
authority to further your interests in the proceedings, you will
render yourself liable for further disciplinary action:
E
5. In terms of paragraph 2 of our Private & Confidential Circular
No. SBBJ/16/65 dated 23.6.1965, please show cause in writing
within 7 days of receipt of this letter why disciplinary action be not
taken against you stating clearly whether the charge is admitted by
you or denied.
F
Yours faithfully,

Sd/-

Managing Director."
G
From a bare perusal of the above letter it is evident that it complies
with the requirement of the circular quoted earlier and, therefore, if the
circular had been operating in the field at the material time to govern the
departmental proceedings relating to the Officers of the bank, as con- "-·'v. --
H tended by it, the finding of the learned Courts below in this regard as got

\
STATEBANKOFBIKANERANDJAIPUR v. P.D.GROVER(M.KMUKHERJEE,J.) 793

to be set aside. But then, as notice earlier, the learned Courts below found A
that the departmental enquiry was, to be held in accordance with the
Regulations. We need not, however, delve into the question as to whether
the above finding is correct or not, for even if we proceed on the basis
thereof we reach the same conclusion.
B
Regulation 68(2)(iii) provides that where it is proposed to hold an
enquiry the Disciplinary Authority shall frame definite and distinctive
charges on the basis of the allegations against the Officer and the articles
of charge, together with a statement of the allegations on which they are
based, shall be communicated in writing to the Officer. Needless to say,
the above Regulation seeks to fulfil one of the basic postulates of the rules c
of natural justice that a fair, adequate and reasonable opportunity of being
heard should be given to the person arraigned which, obviously, would not
be possible unless he is specifically told of the accusations levelled against
him. Judged in that light, we are unable to hold, in the facts of the instant
case, that Grover was not so told. Of course, it may be said that the letter D
communicating the accusation made against Grover which we have
reproduced above does not answer the description of a 'formal
chargesheet' but then the contents thereof specifically disclose the charge
levelled against him, namely, that of accepting a bribe of Rs. 300 from Sri
Maniram in the year 1978 for issuing a demand draft in favour of him and
his father . It may also be said that the exact date of acceptance of bribe E
was not disclosed therein but then along with the letter was enclosed a copy
of the complaint received from Maniram which not only discloses that date
but also satisfied the requirement of a 'statement of allegations' envisaged
in Regulation 68 in that all the details regarding the demand and accep-
tance of the bribe have been sated. It cannot, therefore be said that Grover F
was not fully apprised of the accusation levelled against him to enable him
to effectively reply thereto. In other words, the revisions of the Regulation
have been substantially complied with, though not formally. This conclusion
of ours is strengthened by Grover's reply to the chargesheet which clearly
indicates that he fully understood the charge levelled against him. It reads
as under:· G

"The Managing Director,
State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur,
Head Office,
Jaipur. H
794 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1995] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A Dear Sir,

(THROUGH PROPER CHANNEL)

"DISCIPLINARY ACTION:

With reference to your letter no. Vl/36/C/1050 of the 3rd
instant, the allegations made in the charge sheet is false and is
denied. Had there been any truth or substance in the allegation,
the CBI, the highest investigating agency in the country by whom
the matter had been investigated, would have registered a suitable
case against me. There is, therefore, no justification in conducting
departmental enquiry against me. I request you to kindly drop the
disciplinary action against me to meet the ends of natural justice.

Yours faithfully,
Sd/- 14.4.1980
) (P.O. GROVER)
Officer, Grade II"

While on this point, it need also be stated that at no point of time
during the departmental proceeding or before the Appellate Authority did
Grover raise any objection regarding non furnishing of the statement of
allegations much less that he .was prejudiced thereby.

We may now advert our attention to the cases of Surath Chandra
(supra) and Ku/want Singh (supra) on which Mr. Dutta strongly relied to
contend that in case of disregard of any statutory rule relating to holding
:;" of an enquiry of entire proceeding was liable to be quashed. In Surath
Chandra's case the appellant, who was an employee of the State Govern-
ment, had received a communication containing a number of charges but
no statement of allegations on which those charges were based was sent to
him. In replying thereto the appellant stated, in categorical terms, that the
.... charges and allegations were vague, indefinite and lacking in material
J particulars and pointed out that "unless the charges are made specific to
the point and contain full details with date, time, place and person etc. it
is impossible for him to meet them properly''. Without complying with his
such request the Disciplinary Authority continued with the enquiry
proceeding and ultimately he ~as removed from service. Aggrieved thereby
f he filed a suit in the High Court and in paragraph 19 of the plaint he
STATE BANK OF BIKANERAND JAIPUR v. P.O. GROVER (M:K. MUKHERJEE, J.) 795

specifically alleged that the enquiry was vitiated because under the rules A
and procedure for holding such an enquiry he was entitled to be furnished
with definite charges but the charges and allegations made against him
were vague, indefinite and lacking in material particulars and in spite of
repeated requested those were neither made specific nor material par-
ticulars like date, time, place and persons were supplied. A learned Single
B
Judge of the Court who tried the suit found that no particulars and other
necessary details were given in the charges and they were vague resulting
in Non-compliance with Rule 55 of the Civil Services (Classification, Con-
trol and Appeal) Rules and that the necessary particulars were not sup-
plied in spite of repeated objections of the appellant to the charges being
vague and indefinite. On the above and ·other findings the learned Single C
Judge decreed the suit of the appellant. In appeal the Divisions Bench set
aside the findings of the learned Single Judge and dismissed the suit but
granted a certificate to move 1his Court. In setting aside the judgment of
the division Bench this Court first observed that if a person was not told
clearly and definitely what the allegations were on which the charges D
referred against him were founded, he could not possibly by projecting his
own imagination, discover all the facts and circumstances that might be in
the contemplation of the authorities to be established against him. This
Court further observed that the whole object of furnishing the statement
of allegations was to give all the necessary particulars and details which
would satisfy the requirement of giving a reasonable opportunity to put up E
defence. The Court then illustrated the utter vagueness of the charges
levelled against the appellant therein by referring to one of them and the
reply of the appellant thereto. On such consideration the Court held that
each charge was so bare that it was not capable of oeing intelligently
understood and was not sufficiently definite to furnish materials to the F
appellant to defend himself. In the context of the above facts the Court
then observed that the whole object of furnishing the statement of allega-
tions under Fundamental Rule 55 was to give all the necessary particular
and details which would satisfy the requirement of giving a reasonable
opportunity to put up defence. The Court lastly concluded :
G
"The entire proceedings show a complete disregard of Fundamen-
tal Rule 55 in so far as it lays down in almost mandatory terms
that the charges must be accompanied by a statement of allega-
tions. We have no manner of doubt that the appellant was denied
a proper and reasonable opportunity of defending himself by H
796 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1995] SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A reason of the charges being altogether vague and indefinite and
the statement of allegations containing the material facts and
particulars not having been supplied to him. In this situation, for
the above reason alone, the Trial Judge was fully justified in
decreeing the suit."
B From the above resume it is evident that in setting aside the order of
removal this Court was influenced primarily by the facts that the charges
were totally vague and indefinite and that in spite of repeated requests
made the disciplinary authority did not furnish the deliquent the detailed
particulars thereby depriving him of his legitimate right to defend himself.
c It is in that context that the Court laid emphasis upon the requirement of
furnishing the statement of allegations in Fundamental Rule 55; but it
cannot be said that this Court laid down, as an abstract proposition of law
in Surath Chandra's case that whenever there is a breach of any statutory
rule in conducting a departmental enquiry it will render the entire proceed-
D . ing bad, irrespective of the nature of the breach, as contended by Mr.
Dutta.

In Ku/want Singh's case (supra) the question that fell for determina-
tion by this Court was whether an employee of the Government of Punjab,
whose service was governed by the Punjab Civil Service (Punishment and
E Appeal) Rules, 1970 could be visited with a major penalty without holding
a regular enquiry in accordance with those Rules. The question arose in
the context of the fact that the major penalty was imposed solely on the
ground that the explanation to the chargesheet was unsatisfactory. In
answering the question in favour of the employee this Court held that if a
F minor penalty as envisaged under the Rules was only imposed a regular
enquiry was not. required to be gone into but as the impugned order was
a major penalty a regular enquiry had got to be held. Evidently, the above
principle has no manner of application to the facts of the instant case.

Now that we have found that the departmental proceeding cannot be
G faulted for purported breach of Regulation 68 (2)(iii), we have next to
ascertain whether the findings of the learned Courts below regarding the
orders of the Disciplinary Authority and the Appellate Authority can be
sustained or not. Before considering them in the light of their factual ...
contents, it will be apposite to look into the law laid down by this Court
H regarding furnishing of reasons by administrative authorities for its
STATEBANKOFBIKANERANDJAIPUR v. P.D.GROVER[M.K.MUKHERJEE,J.) 797

decisions. As earlier noticed, the learned counsel for the parties referred A
to a number of decisions of this Court on the subject, but to avoid prolixity
we would only refer to that in S.N. Muklterjee's case (supra), as it was
rendered by a Constitution Bench of five Judges. In that case, the following
two questions fell for determination :

"(i) Is there any general principle of law which requires an B
administrative authority to record the reasons for its decision; and

(ii) If so, does the said principle apply to an order confirming
the findings and sentence of a Court martial and post-confirmation
proceedings under the Act?" c
After referring to the earlier decisions of this Court and the relevant law
prevalent in other countries, this Court answered the first question - with
which we are only concerned in these appeals - as under :

"For the reasons aforesaid, it must be concluded that except in D
cases where the requirement has been dispensed with expressly or
by necessary implication, an administrative authority exercising
judicial or quasi-judicial functions is required to record the reasons
for its decision."

In view of the answer so given, it has to be now seen whether under E
the Regulations, the concerned authorities are required to give reasons for
their decisions. Regulation 68(3) lays down the procedure the Disciplinary
Authority is required to follow after it receives the proceedings of the
enquiry including the report of the Enquiry Officer. On careful perusal
thereof we find that only in those cases where the Disciplinary Authority F
considers it necessary to direct fresh or further enquiry or disagrees with
the findings of the Enquiry Officer, it has to record the reasons for its such
directions, but there is no such obligation if it agrees with the findings of
the Enquiry Officer. It can, therefore, be legitimately inferred that when
express provisions have been made in the Regulations for recording
reasons in only the first two of the three fact situations - and not the other G
- there is no implied obligation also to record the reasons in case of
concurrence with the findings of the Enquiry Officer. Even if we proceed
on the basis that such an obligation is implicit, still the order of the
Disciplinary Authority cannot be held to be bad as, on perusal thereof, we
find that before concurring with the findings of the Enquiry Officer it has H
798 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1995) SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A gone through the entire proceedings and applied its mind thereto. In our
considered opinion, when the Disciplinary Authority agrees with the find-
ings of the Enquiry Officer and accepts the reasons given by him in support
of such findings, it is not necessary for the punishing authority to re-ap-
praise the evidence to arrive at the same findings. We are, therefore, unable
g to accept the contention of Mr. Dutta that the order of punishment was
liable to be struck down as it was a non-speaking order and did not contain
any reason.

That brings us to the order of the Appellate Authority. Under
Regulation 70(2), the Appellant Authority is required to consider whether
c the findings recorded against the concerned officer are justified and/or
whether the penalty is excessive or inadequate and pass appropriate
orders confirming, enhancing, reducing or setting aside the penalty or
remitting the case to the authority which imposed the penalty or to any
other authority with such directions as it deems fit in the circumstances of
the case. This Regulation also does not obligate the Appellate Authority
D to give any reasons for its order. Assuming, that by necessary implication
this Regulation also requires the Appellate Authority to give the reasons,
still its order cannot be invalidated, as we find that it has discharged its
obligation by considering the records and proceedings pertaining to the
disciplinary action and the submissions made by Grover. In other words,
E the order clearly demonstrates that the Appellate Authority had applied
its mind not only to the proceedings of the enquiry, but also the grounds
raised by Grover in his appeal and on such application found that there
was no substance in the appeal.

On the conclusions as above, we allow the appeal of the Bank and
F dismiss the Writ Petition filed by Grover in the High Court. Consequently,
the appeal filed by Grover stands dismissed. However, there will be no
order as to costs.

R.A. Appeal dismissed.