Important point
Unless the punishment imposed by Disciplinary Authority or Appellate Authority shocks the conscience of Court/Tribunal, there is no scope for interference.

Headnote:Labour Law—Order of termination of services—Appellant, a conductor in State Road Transport Corporation was charged with misconduct in not issuing tickets to passengers—Enquiry Officer found him guilty of charges and order of removal from service was passed after opportunity of hearing—High Court after considering effect of acquittal in criminal case and issue smallness of amount involved dismissed the writ—Appeal—Scope of interference with quantum of punishment—Court should not interfere with administrator’s decision unless it was illogical or suffered from procedural impropriety or was shocking to conscience of Court—No interference was warranted.
       Held : In Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation v. B.S. Hullikatti (JT 2001(2) SC 72), it was held that misconduct in such cases where the bus conductor either had not issued tickets to a large number of passengers or had issued tickets of lower denomination, punishment of removal is proper. It is the responsibility of the conductors to collect correct fare charges from the passengers and deposit the same with the Corporation. They act in fiduciary capacity and it would be a case of gross misconduct if they do not collect any fare or the correct amount of fare. A conductor holds a post of trust. A person guilty of breach of trust should be imposed punishment of removal from service. The factual position shows that the appellant’s conduct in collecting fare at the designated place and not collecting fare from persons who had already travelled were in violation of various Regulations contained in The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation Employees (Conduct) Regulations, 1963 (in short ‘Regulations’). In the Karnataka State Road Transport case (supra) it was held that it is misplaced sympathy by Courts in awarding lesser punishments where on checking it is found that the Bus Conductors have either not issued tickets to a large number of passengers, though they should have, or have issued tickets of a lower denomination knowing fully well the correct fare to be charged. It was finally held that the order of dismissal should not have been set aside. (Para 4)
       Lord Greene said in 1948 in the famous Wednesbury case (1948(1) KB 223) that when a statute gave discretion to an administrator to take a decision, the scope of judicial review would remain limited. He said that interference was not permissible unless one or the other of the following conditions was satisfied, namely the order was contrary to law, or relevant factors were not considered, or irrelevant factors were considered; or the decision was one which no reasonable person could have taken. These principles were consistently followed in the UK and in India to judge the validity of administrative action. It is equally well known that in 1983, Lord Diplock in Council for Civil Services Union v. Minister of Civil Service [(1983) 1 AC 768] (called the CCSU case) summarized the principles of judicial review of administrative action as based upon one or other of the following viz., illegality, procedural irregularity and irrationality. He, however, opined that “proportionality” was a “future possibility”. (Para 7)
       The common thread running through in all these decisions is that the Court should not interfere with the administrator’s decision unless it was illogical or suffers from procedural impropriety or was shocking to the conscience of the Court, in the sense that it was in defiance of logic or moral standards. In view of what has been stated in the Wednesbury’s case (supra) the Court would not go into the correctness of the choice made by the administrator open to him and the Court should not substitute its decision to that of the administrator. The scope of judicial review is limited to the deficiency in decision-making process and not the decision. To put differently unless the punishment imposed by the Disciplinary Authority or the Appellate Authority shocks the conscience of the Court/Tribunal, there is no scope for interference. Further to shorten litigations it may, in exceptional and rare cases, impose appropriate punishment by recording cogent reasons in support thereof. In a normal course if the punishment imposed is shockingly disproportionate it would be appropriate to direct the Disciplinary Authority or the Appellate Authority to reconsider the penalty imposed. (Paras 11 and 12)

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Here are the key points from the provided legal document:

Judicial review of administrative actions is limited to examining whether the decision was illogical, procedurally improper, or shocking to the conscience of the court. Unless the punishment imposed by the disciplinary or appellate authority is disproportionate or in defiance of logic, courts generally refrain from interfering with the decision (!) (!) (!) (!) .
The scope of judicial review does not extend to substituting the court’s judgment for that of the administrator unless the decision is manifestly unreasonable or in blatant violation of procedural fairness. The court’s role is primarily to ensure that the decision-making process was fair and reasonable (!) (!) (!) .
In disciplinary cases, the courts recognize the authority of disciplinary and appellate bodies to determine appropriate punishment based on the facts and evidence. Interference is only warranted if the punishment shocks the conscience or is grossly disproportionate (!) (!) (!) (!) .
The principles of proportionality and "Wednesbury" reasonableness serve as the basis for judicial review. The courts will assess whether relevant factors were considered, irrelevant factors were excluded, or if the decision was otherwise unreasonable or arbitrary (!) (!) (!) .
The courts generally do not have a primary role in assessing the reasonableness of administrative decisions affecting non-fundamental rights. They act as secondary reviewers, ensuring procedural fairness and rationality, but not substituting their judgment for that of the administrator unless the decision is egregiously unreasonable (!) (!) (!) .
In cases where the punishment is not illegal, procedurally flawed, or irrational, and does not violate fundamental rights, courts will typically uphold the decision. Only in exceptional cases, where the punishment is shockingly disproportionate or arbitrary, will courts direct reconsideration or substitute their own decision (!) (!) (!) (!) .
The decision to impose or modify punishment should be supported by cogent reasons if the court is to consider interference. However, routine interference in disciplinary punishments is discouraged unless the decision is clearly unjustified (!) (!) (!) .
Ultimately, courts aim to respect the discretion of administrative authorities while ensuring that procedural fairness and reasonableness are maintained. The decision of the appellate or disciplinary authority should be upheld unless it is fundamentally flawed (!) (!) .

Please let me know if you need a more detailed analysis or specific guidance based on this document.

Judgment

Arijit Pasayat, J.—Challenge in this appeal is to the legality of the judgment rendered by a Full Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court holding that the order of termination passed in the departmental proceedings against the appellant was justified.

2. The factual background is essentially as follows:

The appellant was working as a Conductor in the organization of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation. Charges were made against him which related to not issuing tickets at the boarding point itself to the passengers who were in the bus, failure to collect fare and issue tickets to persons who were alighting at a particular destination and not properly maintaining records of tickets and fare. Explanation of the appellant was considered and was found to be not satisfactory and disciplinary proceedings were initiated. The Enquiry Officer found him guilty of the charges levelled and after giving him opportunity of hearing as regards the quantum of punishment, order of removal from service was passed.

3. Questioning correctness of the said order, writ petition filed. Learned Single Judge before whom the matter was placed held that there was some divergence of view in the judgments of learned Single Judges and, therefore, referred the matter to a larger Bench. The reference was as regards the effect of acquittal in the criminal case and smallness of the amount involved. The High Court by the impugned judgment held that the acquittal of the case was really of no consequence and small amount of discrepancy was equally inconsequential.

4. In support of the appeal learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the High Court should have considered the question of quantum of punishment by applying the principles of Section 11-A of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (in short the ‘Act’). It was further submitted there were minor lapses and smallness of the amount has not been considered in the proper perspective and order of termination of service should not have been passed. Learned counsel of the respondent-Corporation supported the order of the Tribunal and judgment of the High Court. In Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation v. B.S. Hullikatti (JT 2001(2) SC 72), it was held that misconduct in such cases where the bus conductor either had not issued tickets to a large number of passengers or had issued tickets of lower denomination, punishment of removal is proper. It is the responsibility of the conductors to collect correct fare charges from the passengers and deposit the same with the Corporation. They act in fiduciary capacity and it would be a case of gross misconduct if they do not collect any fare or the correct amount of fare. A conductor holds a post of trust. A person guilty of breach of trust should be imposed punishment of removal from service. The factual position shows that the appellant’s conduct in collecting fare at the designated place and not collecting fare from persons who had already travelled were in violation of various Regulations contained in The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation Employees (Conduct) Regulations, 1963 (in short ‘Regulations’). In the Karnataka State Road Transport case (supra) it was held that it is misplaced sympathy by Courts in awarding lesser punishments where on checking it is found that the Bus Conductors have either not issued tickets to a large number of passengers, though they should have, or have issued tickets of a lower denomination knowing fully well the correct fare to be charged. It was finally held that the order of dismissal should not have been set aside. The view was reiterated by a three Judge Bench in Regional Manager, RSRTC v. Ghanshyam Sharma (2002(1) LLJ 234), where it was additionally observed that the proved acts amount either to a case of dishonesty or of gross negligence, and Bus Conductors who by their actions or inactions cause financial loss to the Corporations are not fit to be retained in service.

5. The principle was reiterated i

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2005 Supreme(SC) 1148

Important pointUnless the punishment imposed by Disciplinary Authority or Appellate Authority shocks the conscience of Court/Tribunal, there is no scope for interference.

Cases Referred (7)

Important point
Unless the punishment imposed by Disciplinary Authority or Appellate Authority shocks the conscience of Court/Tribunal, there is no scope for interference.