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1992 Supreme(AP) 212

Andhra Pradesh High Court
Judges : SARDAR ALI KHAN
M.Ram Mohan Rao - Appellant
Versus
A.P.State Road Transport Corporation rep.by its General Manager, Hyderabad - Respondent
W.A.No.94/97
Decided On : 03-31-92
Advocates Appeared :
Mr. G. Raghuram,Mr. K. Harinath

Headnote:A.P. State Road Transport Corporation Employees (Conduct) Regulations, Regulations 28(x) and (xv) and 17 and A.P.S.R.T.C. Employees (Classification control and Appeal) Regulations, Regn. 9 and Constitution of India, Art.226 - Dismissal from I service of an Engineer for remaining absent for 2 days and conducting a course for Productivity Council in a place - Not sustainable - High Court can set aside, order of dismissal and award Proportionate punishment.

       Held ; In this case, penalty of dismissal cannot be imposed on the appellant under Regulation 9 of the A.P. State Road Transport Corporation Employees (Classification, Control and Appeal) Regulations as he has not committed any serious misconduct or any as envisaged under Clause VII of the note therein constituting moral turpitude which could be punishable under the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The case of the appellant does not fall under Clause (x) of Regulation 28 which deals with the question of committing fraud, dishonestly or misappropriation in connection with the business or the property of the Corporation. The appellant has not been charged with any theft, fraud or dishonesty or misappropriation in connection with the property of the Corporation. The act to come within the purview of the term moral turpitude under the Regulations will have to be of a rather higher nature in the sense that it must involve some criminal action committed by the employee to bring him within the sphere of moral turpitude committed under the Regulations punishable under the Indian Penal code.

       In this case, the imposition of penalty of dismissal against the appellant is not only vastly disproportionate to the wrong committed by him, but it shocks the judicial conscience of the High Court that a person should be punished in such a severe fashion for a wrong, which at the most, will merit a minor punishment under the C.C.C. Regulations. The question of proportionality of the punishment metedout to a person is a relevant circumstance of the case which has to betaken into consideration while awarding punishment. The High Court has jurisdiction not merely to quash the penalty of dismissal imposed upon he delinquent Officer in this case, but also to scale it down suitably, so that he may not go unpunished as such.

       W. A. Partly Allowed.

MOHAMMED SARDAR ALI KHAN, J.

( 1 ) THIS Writ Appeal is out of the judgment delivered in Writ Petition no. 15477/84 dated 11th August, 1986, whereina learned single Judge dismissed the writ petition filed for quashing the proceedings of the 2nd respondent, i. e. , the Board of Directors of the A. P. Road Transport Corporation represented by its Chairman as manifested in Resolution No. 124/1984 dated 7-8-1984 communicated to the petitioner in Reference No. A1/27 (22)/84-PD dated 29-8-1984 confirming the proceedings of the first respondent dated 8-11-1983 bearing Ref. No. Ea/138 (4)/82-PD.

( 2 ) THE facts of the case as emerging from a reading of the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition are as follows: the petitioner entered into the service of the first respondent-Corporation in the year 1965 as Probationary Assistant Mechanical Engineer. For his selection, he had qualified himself in a competitive examination. He holds the - degree of B. E. (Mechanical) and has also acquired the Post-Graduate degree of m. Tech. in Plant Engineering and Management and M. B. A. , after joining the service. He claims that he is fully qualified to hold the responsible post of assistant Mechanical Engineer (Industrial Engineering) when disciplinary proceedings were initiated in April 1982. The petitioner had completed 18 years of service, which according to him, has been of unblemished nature and he had received letters of appreciation and merit service from the higher authorities. He had also received an award of merit from His Excellency the Governor of andhra Pradesh. By proceedings dated 12-4-1982, the petitioner was placed under suspension. A charge memo was communicated to him stating, inter alia, that he had associated himself with the Andhra Pradesh Productivity council for conducting a training programme on "office clerical efficiency" at nirmal for Andhra Pradesh Girijan Co-operative Corporation from 16-12-1981 to 19-12-1981 in consideration of remuneration without sanction of competent authority. It is further stated in the charge memo that he remained absent from duty unauthorisedly on two days, 16th and 17th December 1981 and failed to obtain sanction for regularisation of such unauthorised absence. Further more, it is stated that he left headquarters without permission and drew wages for 16th and 17th December 1981, suppressing the fact of such unauthorised absence. The petitioner is also supposed to have collected a sum of rs. 2,100/- from the Andhra Pradesh Girijan Co-operative Corporation and misappropriated the said amount representing himself as the representative of the Andhra Pradesh Productivity Council. The petitioner submitted his explanation dated 21-4-1982 denying all the charges. He also stated that he was placed under suspension without any preliminary enquiry which was initiated with a mala fide intention to damage his career. He denied receipt of any remuneration of Rs. 2,100/- and stated that he had merely designed the course schedule on the request of the Andhra Pradesh Productivity Council and the first respondent Corporation is an institutional member of the Andhra Pradesh productivity Council. By virtue of the said association, he was entitled to render scientific expertise and service at the disposal of the Productivity Council. He also denied the charge of unauthorised absence on the said alleged dates and misappropriation.

( 3 ) THE then Chief Mechanical Engineer (Production), Sri J. Radhakrishna reddy was appointed as the enquiry officer to conduct an enquiry under regulation 12 of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation employees (Classification, Control and Appeal) Regulations, 1967. In support of the charge memo, the Corporation examined some witnesses, who also relied on certain documents, which according to the petitioner, are of impeachable authenticity. He submitted his own documents. Apart from himself, he examined three witnesses. A show cause notice proposing the penalty of dism













































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