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2002 Supreme(Bom) 1017

IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY
Kochar R.J., J.
Sanjiv Kumar Mahapatra .... Petitioner.
Versus
A.L. Alaspurkar another.... Respondents.
Writ Petition No. 1887 of 1998, decided on 18-9-2002.
Advocates appeared :
Bhavesh Parmar i/b. Colin Gonsalves, for petitioner.
Kuldeep Singh i/b. R.V. Paranjape, for respondent No. 2.

Headnote:Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971 - Sections 28, 30 and 44, Schedule IV, Items 1(a), (d), (f) and (g) - Unfair labour practice - Appointment of driver - To perform official and domestic services of Director - Termination of services - Due to alleged threatening to Accounts Officer - No domestic enquiry conducted - Order challenged - It was not proper termination of services - Driver threatening to kill whole family of officer if not granted increment in salary - Termination on grounds of loss of confidence not unjust - Incident proved beyond any reasonable doubt - No fault in termination order. - In such matters no risk of any nature can be taken and the respondents have rightly not taken any risk. Poison can never be tasted and the respondent-company rightly did not want to taste the poison in the mind of the driver. It is not that the post of cashier or some such post alone is the post of confidence. A cashier might commit a fraud and might misappropriate money from the coffers of the company but he will not take away the life of the people. The post of driver is a post of more confidence than the post of a cashier. The life of the passengers sitting in the vehicle is in the hands of the driver who is holding the wheel.

JUDGMENT - KOCHAR R.J., J.:---Originally the petition was filed by the petitioner who was alive at that time. He was aggrieved by the judgment and order dated 29-7-1997 passed by the Industrial Court in the Revision Application No. 5/96 and 24/96 filed by both the parties i.e. the petitioner driver and the respondent company, the employer, against the order of the Labour Court dated 22-12-1995 in the Complaint U.L.P. No. 133/89 filed by the petitioner against the respondent-company challenging the order of termination dated 7-4-1989. The petitioner had filed the said complaint under section 28 read with section 30 and Items 1(a), (d), (f) and (g) of Schedule IV of the M.R.T.U. P.U.L.P. Act, 1971. The Labour Court had granted reinstatement with 50% of backwages. Both the parties were not satisfied with the said judgment and, therefore, they preferred revision application as aforesaid under section 44 of the M.R.T.U. P.U.L.P. Act, 1971.

2. The facts in the present case are in a very narrow compass. The petitioner was employed by the respondent company as a driver by letter of appointment dated 21-2-1986. He was required to drive the official car of the company provided to its Director (Technical). It appears that he was also attached with the family of the said Director and was also required to do the domestic duties as and when required by the family members. It appears that the relationship between the Director and his family vis a vis the petitioner driver were cordial barring the last incident which became the cause for his termination from employment. Though the petitioner has averred another small incident at the house of the Director with Directors wife there is no material or evidence on record to prove or disprove the said incident. The main cause of termination appears to be that while collecting his wages from Shri Gautam Dutta, the Accountant of the Company, the petitioner uttered the following words:

"AGAR SAB KO GAREB KO SATANAKA HAI TO MUGE TIME NAHE LAGEGA BADLA LENA KO DO MINUTE LAGTA HAI GADI KO SIDE MAR KE MIA BIVI KO UDANE KO AAP KO JO ACCHA LAGTA HAI KARO".

It appears that he was not in a normal mood but was in a temperament of taking some kind of revenge against the Director himself and his family members. It further appears that the Accountant Gautam Dutta informed Shri Guha what actually had transpired. It further appears that Shri Guha told Shri Gautam Dutta that he would think over the matter and take decision, it further appears that after giving serious thought to the incident the services of the petitioner were terminated by order dated 5-4-1989 in terms of the letter of appointment and also in terms of the standing orders governing the employment of the petitioner, who was offered one months wages in lieu of notice and he was also advised to collect from the Accounts Department his legal dues. The tenor of the termination letter was discharge simplicitor and not punitive. Though however it was mentioned in the termination letter that he was terminated with immediate effect from the reasons recorded separately. It appears that by a letter dated 12-4-1989 the petitioner protested against the said order of termination. He also requested the company to furnish the reasons separately recorded by the company. In reply to the said letter the respondent company sent a letter dated 17-4-1989 giving the break-up of the dues as requested by the petitioner and also a copy of the reasons which was separately recorded by the company was forwarded. In the statement of reasons for termination of the petitioner the incident offer the demand of an increment was mentioned and it was also recorded that the language or the words which he had used to Shri Gautam Dutta in respect of Mr. and Mrs. Guha, the Director and his wife. On receipt of the said letter the petitioner again replied by letter dated 19-4-1989 denying the contents of the statement of the reasons and protested that the entire story was manipulated and
















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