PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK vs VIRENDER KUMAR GOEL .

The Supreme Court clarified that an employee's request for voluntary retirement is not effective until accepted in writing by the competent authority, thereby upholding the right to withdraw such requests prior to acceptance. The Court emphasized that employees who accepted ex-gratia payments under a retirement scheme could not later withdraw from the agreement, as the scheme is contractual in nature. The appeals from nationalized banks were dismissed except for cases where employees had accepted benefits and subsequently retired, which were remitted back to the High Court for fresh consideration.