"The inquiry may go on, however final order may not be passed until further orders," Justice VM Kanade and Justice AR Joshi observed in a brief order.
The Central Bank of India employees union led by Sawant had taken out a procession against the bank in November. The union's contention was that the bank was facing a heavy resource crunch owing to steady growth in non-performing assets and poor recovery.
The union had demanded that the bank issue a red-corner notice against defaulters who had fled the country and that the management should take all employees and unions into confidence to draft a strategy to improve the performance of the bank.
Taking strong objection to the union's stand, a show-cause notice was served on Sawant, who retired six years ago, under the Pension Regulations, 1995. The bank contended that as a retired employee, Sawant's action had damaged the image of the bank and it amounted to misconduct.
Assistant general manager PN Ramanarayana wrote in a two-page notice to Sawant: "As a retired employee, Sawant has failed to maintain good conduct, which is evident from the news appearing in a section of the media ... he has disclosed the names of borrowers... his act constitutes a grave misconduct."
In his reply, Sawant submitted that the trade union had informed the management about the agitation and its intention to disclose the list of defaulters.
"The list of defaulters was on the bank's notice board," Sawant said.
Both the union as well as Sawant filed a writ petition before the high court, saying it was beyond the powers of the bank to conduct a departmental inquiry against a retired employee and reduce his pension.
A week ago, the court passed a three line order restraining the bank from passing a final order in the departmental inquiry until further orders.
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