Supreme Court Partly Sets Aside Calcutta High Court Ruling in BSNL Disciplinary Case.


26 September 2025 Disciplinary Proceedings >> Workplace/ Professional Related  

The Supreme Court has partially set aside a Calcutta High Court ruling that had set aside disciplinary action brought by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) against one of its staff members for irregularities that went back to 1999–2001.

The controversy followed after BSNL filed a charge sheet against Tapan Kumar Das in May 2010, who had joined the company in 2006 after the formation of the company from the Department of Telecommunications. The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) had in November 2019 reserved the charge sheet, which was subsequently confirmed by the High Court in February 2023. The High Court had explained that since the alleged indiscipline had taken place while the employee was still under the Department of Telecommunications, any disciplinary action could only be regulated by the Central Civil Services (CCA) Rules, 1965, and not the BSNL Conduct, Discipline and Appeal Rules, 2006.


 

 

Opposing this, Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee, on behalf of the Union of India, presented that Rule 58 of the 2006 Rules of BSNL clearly makes past malfeasance, in case it was punishable under the previous regulations, qualify as misconduct under the 2006 regime. He again submitted that the High Court had gone wrong in holding that documents pertaining to the matter had not been furnished to the respondent.

The bench of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice S.V.N. Bhatti was of the view that the Centre's arguments had merit, holding that the High Court's determination that the 2006 Rules did not apply could not be upheld and must not be accorded precedent value.

But keeping in view the fact that the respondent was already a retired person and that the financial irregularities in question concerned only slightly more than one lakh rupees, the Court did not disturb the already awarded benefits under the orders of the Tribunal and the High Court. The Court noted that "a quietus shall be given to the entire controversy" and ordered that no recovery would be made from the retired employee.

With this clarification, the Special Leave Petition was dismissed, and all pending applications were shut down.