2024 INSC 634 1

REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NO(S). OF 2024

(Arising out of SLP(Civil) No(s). 13484-13488 of 2019)

K. NIRMALA & ORS. .…APPELLANT(S)

VERSUS

CANARA BANK & ANR. ….RESPONDENT(S)

WITH

CIVIL APPEAL NO(S). OF 2024

(Arising out of SLP(Civil) No(s). 19877 of 2019)

CIVIL APPEAL NO(S). OF 2024

(Arising out of SLP(Civil) No(s). 23500-23501 of 2019)

CIVIL APPEAL NO(S). OF 2024

(Arising out of SLP(Civil) No(s). 13453 of 2019)

J U D G M E N T

Mehta, J.

1. Heard.

2. Leave granted.

2

3. This batch of appeals, which involves identical questions of fact

and law, arises from the judgments delivered by the Division Bench

of the High Court of Karnataka, as listed in the table below. Given

the similarities, the appeals have been heard together and are being

decided collectively.

SLP No(s). Writ

Appeal

No(s).

Date of

Impugned

Judgement

Concerned

Respondents/

Employer

Community

(Scheduled

Caste/Scheduled

Tribe)

Special

Leave

Petition(C)

No. 13484-

13488 of

2019

Writ Appeal

No. 189-

193 of 2019

24th April,

2019

The Canara

Bank of India

Kotegara (SC)

Special

Leave

Petition(C)

No. 19877 of

2019

Writ Appeal

No. 2253 of

2018 (S-R)

3rd July, 2019 The Oriental

Insurance Co.

Ltd.

Kuruba (ST)

Special

Leave

Petition(C)

No. 23500-

23501 of

2019

Writ Appeal

No. 3666 of

2016(S-

DIS) c/w

Writ Appeal

No. 3483 of

2016

3rd July, 2019 The Hindustan

Aeronautics Ltd.

Kuruba (ST)

3

Special

Leave

Petition(C)

No. 13453 of

2019

Writ Appeal

No. 316 of

2019

24th April,

2019

The Canara

Bank of India

Kotegara (SC)

Civil Appeals arising out of SLP (C) No(s). 13484-13488 of 2019 shall

be treated as the lead matter. The outcome of these appeals shall

govern all the connected matters.

4. The common thread that runs through these matters is as to

whether a person who joined the services of a Nationalized

Bank/Government of India undertaking based on a certificate that

identified him/her as belonging to a Scheduled

Caste(‘SC’)/Scheduled Tribe(‘ST’) in the State of Karnataka, pursuant

to the State Government's notifications, would be entitled to retain

the position after the caste/tribe has been de -scheduled. The

situation has arisen on account of the State of Karnataka re-

designating some castes under the list of SC/ST, inspite of the fact

that this jurisdiction is exclusively conferred upon the Parliament by

virtue of the scheme under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution

of India.

4

5. In brief, the individual details of the appellants in the lead

matter are detailed below: -

S. No. Name of the Appellant

herein

Date of Issuance

of Caste

Certificate

Date of Joining

Service

1. K. Nirmala/Appellant No.

1

6th February,

1978

26th December,

1978

2. K.V. Shankar/Appellant

No. 2

17th March, 1978 20th July, 1981

3. D.K. Prabhakar/Appellant

No. 3

17th March, 1978 24th March, 1981

4. S. Suresh/Appellant No. 4 2nd March, 1981 23rd March, 1981

5. Muktha S. Rao/Appellant

No. 5

30th November,

1987

30th November,

1987

6. As evident from the table above, appellant Nos. 1 to 5 in Civil

Appeals @ SLP(C) Nos. 13484-13488 of 2019 were employed by the

Canara Bank(hereinafter referred to as 'respondent No.1-bank') in

the Scheduled Castes Category based on Caste Certificates, certifying

that they belonged to the 'Kotegara' community, a synonymous caste

which was made equivalent to the caste called ‘Kotegar Matri’

(included in the Scheduled Castes list) by a Government circular

dated 21

st November, 1977 issued by the State of Karnataka. It is

5

undisputed that the appellants duly obtained these Caste Certificates

in accordance with the prevailing Government circular.

7. A Constitution Bench of this Court in State of Maharashtra

v. Milind and Others

1, held that the State Government has no

authority to amend or modify the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled

Tribes list published under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution

of India. A caste can only be classified as a Scheduled Caste or a

Scheduled Tribe or a Socially and Educationally Backward Caste

when the Presidential Order is issued to that effect in exercise of the

powers prescribed under Articles 341, 342, and 342A of the

Constitution of India respectively. In Milind(supra), this Court held

as below: -

“15. Thus, it is clear that States have no power to amend

Presidential Orders. Consequently, a party in power or the

Government of the day in a State is relieved from the

pressure or burden of tinkering with the Presidential Orders

either to gain popularity or secure votes. Number of persons

in order to gain advantage in securing admissions in educational

institutions and employment in State services have been

claiming as belonging to either Scheduled Castes or Scheduled

Tribes depriving genuine and needy persons belonging t o

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes covered by the

Presidential Orders, defeating and frustrating to a large extent

the very object of protective discrimination given to such people

based on their educational and social backwardness. Courts

cannot and should not expand jurisdiction to deal with the

question as to whether a particular caste, sub-caste; a group

1

(2001) 1 SCC 4

6

or part of tribe or sub-tribe is included in any one of the

entries mentioned in the Presidential Orders issued under

Articles 341 and 342 particularly so when in clause (2) of the

said article, it is expressly stated that the said Orders cannot

be amended or varied except by law made by Parliament. The

power to include or exclude, amend or alter Presidential

Order is expressly and exclusively conferred on and vested

with Parliament and that too by making a law in that regard.

The President had the benefit of consulting the States through

Governors of States which had the means and machinery to find

out and recommend as to whether a particular caste or tribe was

to be included in the Presidential Order. If the said Orders are to

be amended, it is Parliament that is in a better position to know

having the means and machinery unlike courts as to why a

particular caste or tribe is to be included or excluded by law to

be made by Parliament. Allowing the State Governments or

courts or other authorities or Tribunals to hold inquiry as to

whether a particular caste or tribe should be considered as one

included in the schedule of the Presidential Order, when it is not

so specifically included, may lead to problems. In order to gain

advantage of reservations for the purpose of Article 15(4) or 16(4)

several persons have been coming forward claiming to be covered

by Presidential Orders issued under Articles 341 and 342. This

apart, when no other authority other than Parliament, that too

by law alone can amend the Presidential Orders, neither the

State Governments nor the courts nor Tribunals nor any

authority can assume jurisdiction to hold inquiry and take

evidence to declare that a caste or a tribe or part of or a group

within a caste or tribe is included in Presidential Orders in one

entry or the other although they are not expressly and

specifically included. A court cannot alter or amend the said

Presidential Orders for the very good reason that it has no

power to do so within the meaning, content and scope of

Articles 341 and 342. It is not possible to hold that either

any inquiry is permissible or any evidence can be let in, in

relation to a particular caste or tribe to say whether it is

included within Presidential Orders when it is not so

expressly included.

(emphasis supplied)

8. Pursuant to the judgment in the case of Milind(supra), the

Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs(Banking

7

Division), Government of India in consultation with the Ministry of

Welfare vide letter dated 12

th March 1987, declared the State of

Karnataka circulars which included the ‘Kotegara’ caste in the list of

Scheduled Castes in the State of Karnataka to be non-est. The letter

addressed to the Chairman & Managing Director of the concerned

authorities is reproduced herein below:-

“......Persons belonging to Kotegara, Kote-Kshatriya are not entitled

to get benefits as scheduled castes in Karnataka. These communities

have never been(sic) treated as scheduled castes in Karnataka. The

State Government have no power to make any amendment in the

existing lists of lists, of SCs/STs can be done only through an Act of

Parliament in view of Articles 341(2) and 342(2) of the constitution.

In view of this, the orders issued by the Govt. of Karnataka to this

effect does not have any validity.

In view of the position explained above, persons belonging to

Kotegara and Kote-Kshatriya who have been appointed against the

vacancy reserved for scheduled castes cannot be treated as

scheduled castes even at the time of their initial appointment

because these community have never been treated as synonymous

of Kotegar-Matri(sic) by the Government of India which is in the list

of SSC in Karnataka. It is infact, entirely the responsible of employer

Department to have the matter verified through the State

Government, before accepting the claim of the candidates who have

been appointed against the reserved posts.”

9. The Government of Karnataka issued a circular dated 11

th

March, 2002 providing protection to individuals employed in State

services who had obtained Caste Certificates based on a synonymous

caste under the Government circulars, issued by the State. These

individuals were to be treated as having been appointed under the

8

General Merit(GM) category, effective from 11

th March, 2002. The said

circular also provided that such candidates would not be eligible for

future promotions or any other benefits as SCs/STs, although they

could claim benefits under the respective Backward Classes to which

they belonged. Although the ‘Kotegara’ community was not included

in this circular, a subsequent circular dated 29

th March, 2003 was

issued by the Government of Karnataka, extending the benefits of the

circular dated 11

th March, 2002 to individuals belonging to the

Kotegara, Kotekshathriya, Koteyava, Koteyar, Ramakshathriya,

Sherugara, and Sarvegara communities, who had obtained Caste

Certificates in accordance with the earlier Government circulars.

10. It is also undisputed that the Caste Certificates held by the

appellants were cancelled by the Competent Authority, namely the

District Caste Verification Committee, and this decision was

communicated to their respective employers. Subsequently, criminal

proceedings were initiated against some of the appellants at the

concerned police station; however, these proceedings were quashed

by the High Court while exercising jurisdiction under Section 482 of

the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973(hereinafter referred to as

'CrPC').

9

11. Respondent No. 2 i.e., Additional Director General of Police,

Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement Cell, intimated respondent

No.1-bank to terminate the services of the appellants on the ground

that they had secured employment based on fake Caste Certificates.

In turn, respondent No.1-bank issued notices to the appellants

calling upon them to show cause as to why their services should not

be terminated. The appellants challenged the aforesaid notices by

filing writ petitions before the High Court of Karnataka which came

to be rejected.

12. Being aggrieved by the dismissal of their writ petitions, the

appellants preferred intra-Court writ appeals before the learned

Division Bench of the High Court against the order of the learned

Single Judge. The Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the

intra-Court appeals.

13. This batch of appeals by special leave has been preferred to

assail the decisions of the learned Division Bench of the High Court

of Karnataka, rejecting the writ appeals as indicated in the table

above.

10

Submissions on behalf of the appellants: -

14. Learned counsel representing the appellants, vehemently and

fervently contended that the very foundation of the case as presented

by respondent No. 1-bank and the other employers, that the Caste

Certificates held by the appellants are false/fake, is misplaced. They

contended that the Caste Certificates were validly issued by the

Competent Authority, affirming/certifying that the appellants

belonged to the Scheduled Caste as their caste had been included in

the Scheduled Castes list by virtue of the notifications/circulars

issued by the Government of Karnataka. They further submitted that

the effect of the cancellation of these Caste Certificates pursuant to

the judgment in Milind(supra) would only deprive the appellants

from claiming any additional/future service benefits including

promotion etc. based on their reserved category status. None of the

appellants had ever misrepresented themselves before the authorities

regarding their caste and the contentious Caste Certificates were

issued after following the due process of law, and thus the same

cannot be questioned as false or fake Certificates.

15. Learned counsel further submitted that following the

Government circulars dated 11

th March, 2002 and 29

th March, 2003

11

issued by the Government of Karnataka, the Ministry of

Finance(Department of Financial Services)(Welfare Section),

Government of India had also issued a letter dated 17

th August, 2005,

to the Chairman and Managing Director, State Bank of Mysore with

the following directions: -

“2. In para 2 of this Ministry's letter No.4(4)/2002-SCT(B) dated

30th April, 2003, it has been suggested that where the caste

certificate is cancelled by the State Government after

consideration of the matter by the Security Committee consisting

of 3 members and where the concerned employee was given a

chance to present his case before the Committee, no further

disciplinary proceedings need be taken and the employee's

services can be terminated forthwith.

3. It has, inter alia, been stated in your letter under reference that

based on the Government of Karnataka's Order dated 29 March

2003, several employees whose caste certificates are no longer

valid, are seeking their appointment to be considered in general

category and withdrawal of pending cases against them to

permitting them to surrender their original caste certificates to the

competent authority for cancellation.

4. In this regard, it is clarified that where the scheduled caste has

been de-scheduled/de-notified after appointment in the Bank, the

concerned employee may be treated as a general category

employee in the post based roster and the disciplinary case, if any

pending against him/her may be withdrawn by permitting

him/her to surrender the original caste certificate to the

competent authority for cancellation.”

Placing reliance on the letter dated 17

th August, 2005, learned

counsel submitted that the above communication clearly provides

that when a Scheduled Caste has been de-scheduled or de-notified

after an employee(s) appointment in the bank, such employee(s) may

12

be reclassified as General category employee(s) in the post-based

roster. Any pending disciplinary cases against the employee(s) should

be withdrawn, requiring them to surrender the original Caste

Certificate to the Competent Authority for cancellation.

16. Learned counsel contended that since the Ministry of Finance,

Government of India, had also endorsed the views expressed in the

circulars dated 11

th March, 2002 and 29

th March, 2003 issued by the

Government of Karnataka, the learned Division Bench of the High

Court fell in error while denying relief to the appellants and in

refusing to protect their services by granting them the benefits of

these circulars. He also asserted that the subsequent communication

via Office Memorandum issued by the Ministry of Social Justice and

Empowerment on 8

th July, 2013 relied upon by the respondents

cannot be read and employed to the detriment of the appellants

because the same does not have retrospective application.

17. Learned counsel further submitted that the Division Bench of

the Karnataka High Court erred in denying relief to the appellants by

relying upon the judgment in the case of Chairman and Managing

Director Food Corporation of India and O thers v. Jagadish

13

Balaram Bahira and Others

2 because the ratio of the said

judgment is based on the interpretation of the “Maharashtra

Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta

Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and Special

Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste

Certificate Act, 2000”, which was a special enactment specific to the

State of Maharashtra. No such enactment exists in the State of

Karnataka, which, in contrast, had issued circulars dated 11

th

March, 2002 and 29

th March, 2003, protecting those individuals who

had obtained Caste Certificates on the basis of pre-existing circulars

issued by the State by referring to the synonymous castes.

18. On these grounds, learned counsel for the appellants implored

the Court to accept the appeals; set aside the impugned orders; and

command the respondents to protect the services of the appellants.

Submissions on behalf of the respondents:-

19. E-converso, learned counsel representing the respondents,

vehemently and fervently opposed the contentions advanced on

behalf of the appellants. They urged that the appellants had

2

(2017) 8 SCC 670

14

procured employment against the reserved category seats based on

false Caste Certificates and thus, they are not entitled to protect their

services. It was submitted that the Government circulars dated 11

th

March, 2002 and 29

th March, 2003 issued by the Government of

Karnataka provided protection only to the individuals employed in

the State services and thus, the said circulars could not have enured

to the benefit of individuals akin to the appellants who procured

employment with the Central Government/Government of India

Undertakings/Autonomous Institutions over which the Government

of India has deep and pervasive control.

20. Learned counsel for the respondents stressed upon the Office

Memorandum dated 8

th July, 2013 issued by the Ministry of Social

Justice and Empowerment, Government of India referring to the

Government of Karnataka circular dated 11

th March, 2002 and urged

that the synonymous castes, Kotegara, Kotekshathriya, Koteyava,

Koteyar, Ramakshathriya, Sherugara, and Sarvegara , etc. are not

mentioned in the Scheduled Castes list of the State of Karnataka and

therefore, the members of these synonymous castes i.e., the

appellants herein cannot claim the benefits of the Scheduled Caste

category even in the State of Karnataka.

15

21. Learned counsel submitted that the controversy at hand is

squarely covered by the Constitution Bench judgment of this Court

in the case of Milind(supra), wherein it has been laid down beyond

the pale of doubt that the States have no power to amend the

Presidential Orders issued under Article 341 of the Constitution of

India. The power to include or exclude, amend or alter the

Presidential Order is expressly and exclusively conferred on and

vested with the Parliament, and that too by making law in this regard,

and thus, the appellants were rightly denied relief by the Division

Bench of the Karnataka High Court.

22. Learned counsel representing the respondent No.1-bank, urged

that the appellants are not entitled to claim protection of their

services which they procured against the reserved seats on the basis

of false or fake Caste Certificates.

23. Learned counsel representing the other respondents-employers

adopted the above submissions and implored the Court to dismiss

the appeals and affirm the judgments rendered by the High Court.

24. We have given our thoughtful consideration to the submissions

advanced at the bar and have gone through the impugned judgments

and the material placed on record.

16

Discussion and Conclusion: -

25. At the outset, it is to be noted that there is no dispute over the

fact that the appellants obtained their Caste Certificates(under the

Scheduled Castes category) by following the due process of law. When

these Caste Certificates were issued, the synonymous caste, as of the

appellants had been included in the list of Scheduled Castes by virtue

of the circular issued by the Government of Karnataka, albeit by

exercising powers that were not vested in the State.

26. As held by the Constitution Bench in Milind(supra), any

inclusion or exclusion in or from the list of Scheduled Castes can

only be made through an Act of Parliament under Articles 341 and

342 of the Constitution of India. As a corollary thereto, neither the

State Government nor the Courts have the authority to modify the

list of Scheduled Castes as promulgated by the Presidential order

under the above Articles.

27. For this precise reason, pursuant to the judgment in

Milind(supra), the Government of Karnataka took the only

permissible decision to de-schedule the castes to which the

appellants herein belonged. However, considering the fact that the

Caste Certificates issued to the appellants under the previous

17

inclusions made by the State Government to the Scheduled Castes

list, albeit under a legal misconception was not obtained through

misrepresentation or fraud, the State Government took the pragmatic

decision to protect the employment of those individuals who had been

benefited by these Caste Certificates obtained prior to issuance of the

Government circulars dated 11

th March, 2002 and 29

th March, 2003.

There is no dispute on the fact that each of the appellants herein fall

within this category. These Government circulars clearly stipulate

that individuals who secured employment based on the Caste

Certificates issued under the erroneous Government

circulars/orders would no longer be entitled to claim future benefits

under such certificates and would henceforth be treated as General

Merit category candidates for all practical purposes.

28. The Ministry of Finance, Government of India, while referring to

the Government of Karnataka's circular dated 29

th March 2003,

clarified and recommended that in cases where a Scheduled Caste

employee(s) has been de-scheduled after an appointment in the

Bank, the concerned employee(s) may be treated under the General

Merit category, and any disciplinary cases pending against him/her

18

should be withdrawn, and such employee(s) would have to surrender

the original Caste certificate to the Competent Authority.

29. There cannot be any two views on the proposition that with the

issuance of the Government of Karnataka’s circulars dated 11

th

March, 2002 and 29

th March, 2003, the Scheduled Caste Certificates

held by the appellants herein stood automatically revoked and they

were brought under the unreserved category with effect from 12

th

March, 1987.

30. In the case of Milind(supra), this Court was dealing with the

issue regarding the State’s power to amend the Presidential Order. It

was held that the State has no jurisdiction to tinker with the

Presential Orders issued under Article 341 of the Constitution of

India. It was not even urged by the learned counsel for the appellants

that the certificates held by the appellants based on the erroneous

list of inclusion issued by the State Government were valid or should

be protected. Their only prayer was to protect the services of the

appellants while conceding that their Caste Certificates would be

deemed invalid and that they would not be entitled to any future

benefits under the reserved category.

19

31. Even in the case of Milind(supra), while concluding the

judgment, this Court saved the services of the respondents therein

in the following manner:-

“38. Respondent 1 joined the medical course for the year 1985-

86. Almost 15 years have passed by now. We are told he has

already completed the course and may be he is practising as a

doctor. In this view and at this length of time it is for nobody's

benefit to annul his admission. Huge amount is spent on each

candidate for completion of medical course. No doubt, one

Scheduled Tribe candidate was deprived of joining medical course

by the admission given to Respondent 1. If any action is taken

against Respondent 1, it may lead to depriving the service of a

doctor to the society on whom public money has already been

spent. In these circumstances, this judgment shall not affect the

degree obtained by him and his practising as a doctor. But we

make it clear that he cannot claim to belong to the Scheduled Tribe

covered by the Scheduled Tribes Order. In other words, he cannot

take advantage of the Scheduled Tribes Order any further or for

any other constitutional purpose. Having regard to the passage

of time, in the given circumstances, including interim orders

passed by this Court in SLP (C) No. 16372 of 1985 and other

related matters, we make it clear that the admissions and

appointments that have become final, shall remain unaffected

by this judgment.”

(emphasis added)

32. The circulars dated 11

th March, 2002 and 29

th March, 2003

were issued by the Government of Karnataka whereby, protection

was extended to the persons who had taken advantage of the Caste

Certificates issued prior to issuance of the letter dated 12

th March,

1987, by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Finance, Government of India vide

office memorandum dated 17

th August, 2005 also ratified this

20

decision of the State, and extended the protection granted by the

Government of Karnataka to the employees of the respondent No.1-

bank.

33. On a close scrutiny of the Office Memorandum dated 8

th July,

2013, which was heavily relied upon by the learned counsel for the

respondents, it transpires that the concerned authority in para 3 of

the Office Memorandum referred only to the Government circular

dated 11

th March, 2002 issued by the Government of Karnataka for

excluding certain castes from the umbrella of protection. It states

that “the Government Notification dated 11th March 2002 related to

Parivara, Talwar, Maleru, Kuruba, Besta, and Koli communities,

whose members had obtained Scheduled Tribe certificates. In the said

order there is no mention of Kotegara, Kotekshathriya, Koteyava,

Koteyar, Ramakshathriya, Sherugara, and Sarvegara, etc castes.”

34. Apparently thus, the above Office Memorandum was issued in

ignorance of the Government of Karnataka’s circular dated 29

th

March 2003, which further extended the protection granted by the

earlier Government circular dated 11

th March, 2002 to the

communities including Kotegara, Kotekshathriya, Koteyava, Koteyar,

Ramakshathriya, Sherugara, and Sarvegara as well. This

21

Government circular seems to have completely escaped the notice of

the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of

India while issuing the Office Memorandum dated 8

th July, 2013.

Clearly thus, the Office Memorandum suffers from the vice of non-

consideration of a vital document being the circular dated 29

th

March, 2003 issued by the Government of Karnataka. Hence, we

have no hesitation in holding that the Office Memorandum dated 8

th

July, 2013, cannot supersede the communication dated 17

th August,

2005 issued by the Ministry of Finance and the same cannot be read

to the prejudice of the appellants.

35. In wake of the discussion made above, we conclude that the

appellants are entitled to protection of their services by virtue of the

Government circular dated 29

th March, 2003 issued by the

Government of Karnataka as ratified by communication dated 17

th

August, 2005 issued by the Ministry of Finance. The circular dated

29

th March, 2003 issued by the Government of Karnataka specifically

extended protection to various castes, including those which were

excluded in the earlier Government circular dated 11

th March, 2002.

This subsequent circular covered the castes such as Kotegara,

Kotekshathriya, Koteyava, Koteyar, Ramakshathriya, Sherugara,

22

and Sarvegara, thus, ensuring that individuals of these castes,

holding Scheduled Castes Certificates issued prior to de-scheduling,

would be entitled to claim protection of their services albeit as

unreserved candidates for all future purposes. Additionally, the

communication issued by the Ministry of Finance dated 17

th August,

2005 reinforced the protective umbrella to the concerned bank

employees and also saved them from departmental and criminal

action.

36. There is an additional feature in Civil Appeals @ SLP(C) Nos.

23500-23501 of 2019, that must be highlighted. The appellant, in

the said appeals namely Smt. Hemavathy, contends that she secured

8

th rank in the Bachelor of Engineering course with a specialization

in Industrial Production from Mysore University in 1995. It was

argued on her behalf that regardless of the Caste Certificate, the

appellant would have secured a job at Hindustan Aeronautics

Limited(hereinafter being referred to as ‘HAL’) based on her merit in

engineering degree and that the show cause notice was issued as

women employees are not welcome in the institution (HAL). This

significant contention raised by the appellant has not been

23

adequately traversed by the respondent-HAL in their counter

affidavit.

37. Consequently, we hold that the proposed action of the

respondent banks/undertakings in issuing notice(s) to the appellants

to show cause as to why their services may not be terminated cannot

be sustained and are hereby quashed.

38. As a result, the impugned judgments rendered by the Division

Bench do not stand to scrutiny, and hence, the same are quashed

and set aside.

39. The appeals are accordingly allowed in these terms. No costs.

40. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.

………………….……….J.

(HIMA KOHLI)

.………………………….J.

(SANDEEP MEHTA)

New Delhi;

August 28, 2024