'Acting beyond authority amounts to misconduct'

According to Delhi High Court, an employee can be dismissed for acting beyond his authority as it amounts to breach of discipline and misconduct, reports Harish V. Nair.

An employee can be dismissed for acting beyond his authority as it amounts to breach of discipline and misconduct, the Delhi High Court said on Thursday.

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The court gave the ruling while enhancing the punishment of ‘compulsory retirement’ given to a manager of the State Bank of India (SBI) found guilty on this count to ‘dismissal’.

“The bank manager has to act and discharge his functions in accordance with the rules and regulations. Acting beyond one’s authority is by itself a breach of discipline and misconduct. In the instant case the charges proved against the respondent are serious and grave in nature,” observed a Bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar.

Chaman Lal was found to have sanctioned loans in violation of banking regulations and bending rules to favour certain companies. He was also found guilty of serious lapses like opening a current account without any or proper introductory references and sanctioning loans without adequate security.

The judges upheld the argument of the bank that being a branch manager Lal was required to exercise higher standards of honesty and integrity when dealing with public money.