Case: Sushil Kumar Singhal Vs. Regional Manager Punjab National Bank

as under :- "No banking company –(a) .......(b) Shall employ or continue the employment of any person –(i) who is, or at any time has been, adjudicated insolvent, or has suspended payment or has compounded with his creditors, or who is, or has been, convicted by a criminal court of an offence involving moral turpitude." (emphasis supplied) The aforesaid provision makes it clear that the Management is under an obligation to discontinue the services of an employee who is or has been convicted by a Criminal Court for an offence involving moral turpitude. 21. Moral Turpitude means [Per Blacks Law Dictionary (8th Edn.,2004)] :- "Conduct that is contrary to justice, honesty, or morality. In the area of legal ethics, offenses involving moral turpitude such as fraud or breach of trust. Also termed moral depravity.Moral turpitude means, in general, shameful wickedness- so extreme a departure from ordinary standards of honest, good morals, justice, or ethics as to be shocking to the moral sense of the community. It has also been defined as an act of baseness, vileness, or depravity in the private and social duties which one person owes to another, or to society in general, contrary to the accepted and customary rule of right and duty between people." 22. In Pawan Kumar Vs. State of Haryana & Anr., AIR 1996 SC 3300 , this Court has observed as under:- "`Moral turpitude is an expression which is used in legal as also societal parlance to describe conduct which is inherently base, vile, depraved or having any connection showing depravity." 23. The aforesaid judgment in Pawan Kumar (supra) has been considered by this Court again in Allahabad Bank & Anr. Vs. Deepak Kumar Bhola, (1997) 4 SCC 1 ; and placed reliance on Baleshwar Singh Vs. District Magistrate and Collector, AIR 1959 All. 71 , wherein it has been held as under:- "The expression `moral turpitude is not defined anywhere. But it means anything done contrary to justice, honesty, modesty or good morals. It implies depravity and wickedness of character or disposition of the person charged with the particular conduct. Every false statement made by a person may not be moral turpitude, but it would be so if it discloses vileness or depravity in the doing of any private and social duty which a person owes to his fellow men or to the society in general. If therefore the individual charged with a certain conduct owes a duty, either to another individual or to the society in general, to act in a specific manner or not to so act and he still acts contrary to it and does so knowingly, his conduct must be held to be due to vileness and depravity. It will be contrary to accepted customary rule and duty between man and man." 24. In view of the above, it is evident that moral turpitude means anything contrary to honesty, modesty or good morals. It means vileness and depravity. In fact, the conviction of a person in a crime involving moral turpitude impeaches his credibility as he has been found to have indulged in shameful, wicked, and base activities. 25. Undoubtedly, the embezzlement of Rs.5000/- by the appellant, for which he had been convicted, was an offence involving moral turpitude. The Statutory provisions of the Act, 1949, provide that the Management shall not permit any person convicted for an offence involving moral turpitude to continue in employment. 26. In Manish Goel Vs. Rohini Goel, AIR 2010 SC 1099 , this Court after placing reliance on large number of its earlier judgments held as under :- "No Court has competence to issue a direction contrary to law nor the Court can direct an authority to act in contravention of the statutory provisions. The courts are meant to enforce the rule of law and not to pass the orders or directions which are contrary to what has been injuncted by law." Thus, in such a fact-situation, it is not permissible for this Court to issue any direction as had been issued in the case of Shankar Dass (supra). 27. In view of the above, we reach the conclusion that once a Criminal Court grants a delinquent employee the benefit of Act, 1958, its order does not have any bearing so far as the service of such employee is concerned. The word "disqualification" in Section 12 of the Act, 1958 provides that such a person shall not stand disqualified for the purposes of other Acts like the Representation of the People Act, 1950 etc. The conviction in a criminal case is one part of the case and release on probation is another. Therefore, grant of benefit of the provisions of Act, 1958, only enables the delinquent not to undergo the sentence on showing his good conduct during the period of probation. In case, after being released, the delinquent commits another offence, benefit of Act, 1958 gets terminated and the delinquent can be made liable to undergo the sentence. Therefore, in case of an employee who stands convicted for an offence involving moral turpitude, it is his misconduct that leads to his dismissal.28. Undoubtedly, the appellant was convicted by the Criminal Court for having committed the offence under Section 409 IPC and was awarded two years sentence. The appellate court granted him the benefit of Act, 1958. The Tribunal rejected his claim for re-instatement and other benefits taking note of the fact that appellant was given an opportunity by the Management to show cause as to why he should not be dismissed from service. The appellant submitted his reply to the said show cause notice. The Management passed the order of dismissal in view of the provisions of the Act, 1949. The Tribunal also took into consideration the contents of the Bi-Partite Settlement applicable in the case and rejected the appellants claim. The High Court considered appellants grievance elaborately as is evident from the impugned judgment. We could not persuade ourselves, in the aforesaid fact-situation, that any other view could also be possible.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 0

Explanation:
0[ds]27. In view of the above, we reach the conclusion that once a Criminal Court grants a delinquent employee the benefit of Act, 1958, its order does not have any bearing so far as the service of such employee is concerned. The word "disqualification" in Section 12 of the Act, 1958 provides that such a person shall not stand disqualified for the purposes of other Acts like the Representation of the People Act, 1950 etc. The conviction in a criminal case is one part of the case and release on probation is another. Therefore, grant of benefit of the provisions of Act, 1958, only enables the delinquent not to undergo the sentence on showing his good conduct during the period of probation. In case, after being released, the delinquent commits another offence, benefit of Act, 1958 gets terminated and the delinquent can be made liable to undergo the sentence. Therefore, in case of an employee who stands convicted for an offence involving moral turpitude, it is his misconduct that leads to his dismissal.28. Undoubtedly, the appellant was convicted by the Criminal Court for having committed the offence under Section 409 IPC and was awarded two years sentence. The appellate court granted him the benefit of Act, 1958. The Tribunal rejected his claim forand other benefits taking note of the fact that appellant was given an opportunity by the Management to show cause as to why he should not be dismissed from service. The appellant submitted his reply to the said show cause notice. The Management passed the order of dismissal in view of the provisions of the Act, 1949. The Tribunal also took into consideration the contents of theSettlement applicable in the case and rejected the appellants claim. The High Court considered appellants grievance elaborately as is evident from the impugned judgment. We could not persuade ourselves, in the aforesaidthat any other view could also be possible.