important Point
A conductor holds a post of trust and a person guilty of breach of trust should be imposed punishment of removal from service.

judgment

Dr. Arijit Pasayat, JJ.

1.In this appeal, Uttaranchal Roadways Transport Corporation (in short the ‘Corporation’) calls in question legality of the judgment rendered by a learned Single Judge of the Uttaranchal High Court partly allowing the writ petition filed by the appellant-Corporation. Before the High Court the Corporation had challenged the order passed by the Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Dehradun in Reference Case No. 25 of 2000 whereby it had ordered that respondent shall be re-instated into service with 50% back wages with minor punishment of stoppage of two increments without cumulative effect.

2.Background facts in a nutshell are as follows :

Sanjay Kumar Nautiyal-respondent was employed as conductor in the appellant-establishment and was posted at Saharanpur Depot at the relevant time. On 22.4.1996 respondent was assigned duty of conductor in bus having registration No.UP-15-9496. Duty of respondent included booking of tickets and collecting money when the said bus plied on its assigned route. The respondent was duty bound to keep correct accounts by filling details of tickets and making entry in the waybill sheet provided by the appellant, thereby showing number of passengers travelling, place of boarding and destination of passengers.

On the same day i.e. 22.4.1996, surprise checking was conducted by the personnel of appellant under the supervision of Jamil Ahmad, Traffic Inspector with M.A. Khan and Nandan Singh, Assistant Traffic Inspectors. The bus was plying on the Saharanpur Haridwar route. On checking by the above-mentioned persons it was found that the respondent had not mentioned the destination and boarding places of the passengers in the waybill. The column pertaining to above-mentioned details was left blank deliberately in order to mis-appropriate public money. Further, the respondent had also manipulated the entries and had entered wrong/lesser amounts charged from the passengers. Tickets issued by the respondent also did not clearly show the destination and boarding places of the passengers and it was deliberately written in the said manner, by the respondent in order to conceal the correct information in case of any cross verification. Some tickets issued by the respondent did not show any destination or boarding place, which was left blank deliberately. The respondent had not issued tickets to about half of the total passengers travelling on the bus and had also charged money against the un-issued ticket, from the passengers. Entry regarding the above-mentioned irregularities by the respondent had been made by checking staff in the waybill. Therefore, it is absolutely clear that respondent had mis-appropriated the public money, and had deliberately made wrong entries to such effect in the way bill.

Checking staff of the Corporation made the complaint against respondent on the same day i.e. 22.4.1996. The conduct of respondent from the above-mentioned facts was treated to be grossly improper and against the Service Rules as framed for the employees of appellant. The conduct also amounts to mis-appropriation of public money and cheating.

On receiving complaint from checking staff, Assistant Regional Manager, Saharanpur issued directions to Senior Station-in-charge, Saharanpur to give report after examining the documents regarding the previous way bills and ticket counter foils submitted by the respondent. On examination of the way bills and ticket counter foils by Senior Station-in-charge it was found that the respondent attended duties only for four days in the relevant month before the surprise checking was conducted. It was found that on all occasions respondent had taken recourse to similar tactics in filling up of passenger tickets and waybills, as was found by checking staff on 22.4.1996. Over writing in the tickets, destination and boarding place of passenger not mentioned in the ticket, if it was mentioned, the same was not clear or legible or readable. There was no carbon impressi