In Brief
A cooperative bank supervisor was dismissed for grave dereliction of duty—specifically failing to supervise properly, which enabled staff and members to misappropriate Rs. 46.88 lakhs. The High Court reduced the penalty to a two-year salary freeze, reasoning that the supervisor was not accused of misappropriation itself, only lack of supervision, which allegedly affected top management too. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that courts may only interfere with disciplinary penalties when they shock the judicial conscience. Here, dismissal was proportionate given the supervisor's admitted negligence caused massive loss. The court reaffirmed that judicial review of punishment is narrow: courts cannot substitute their view for the authority's; they can only remit for reconsideration if the penalty is outrageously disproportionate—which it was not.
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