India, June 15 -- Unauthorised absence from work by a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) official would be detrimental to the public interest and amount to grave misconduct, the Bombay High Court has said, refusing relief to an employee who was removed from service.

The petitioner, Animesh Bakuli, was a senior assistant with the RBI and would undoubtedly be occupying a responsible post from which he was unauthorisedly absent for a long period, a bench of Justices RI Chagla and Advait Sethna noted in the order passed on June 10.

"Such unauthorised absence would undoubtedly be detrimental to the public interest and a grave misconduct which would warrant dismissal from service," the court said.

Dismissing Bakuli's plea, it said the RBI's decisio...