The main legal point established in the judgment is that the findings of a disciplinary enquiry must be based on reliable evidence, and the charges against an employee must be sustained by evidence to warrant dismissal.

JUDGMENT

Milind N. Jadhav, J. - By the present petition, the Petitioner has prayed for the following reliefs:-

"(a) Issue Writ of Certiorari and/or Mandamus or any other Writ/Direction/Order in the nature of these Writs or any other Writ/Direction/Order calling for record and proceedings of Revision application (ULP) No.55 of 2019 (filed by the Respondents) with Revision application (ULP) No. 103 of 2019 (filed by the Petitioner) and of complaint (ULP) no.6 of 2018 and after going through the legality and propriety of the of the Common Judgment and order dated 14/12/2020 at Exhibit G passed by the Hon'ble Industrial Court, Maharashtra at Thane thereby dismissing the Revision application of the Petitioner and allowing the Revision application of the Respondents and remanding the matter on the issue of the quantum of punishment and final order dated 08/07/2019 passed by the Hon'ble Labour Court at Mahad in Complaint (ULP) No. 6 of 2018 at Exhibit F, to The extent of denial of backwages and after hearing the parties to quash and set aside the impugned order dated 14/12/2020 passed by the Ld. Industrial Court at Thane and order dated 08/07/2019 passed by the Ld. Labour Court Mahad to the extent to denial of back wages once reinstatement is awarded;

(b) To hold and declare that termination of the Petitioner workman is illegal, bad in law and unjustified;

(c) To direct the respondents to reinstate the workman with continuity of service and full back wages with effect from 16/01/2018.

2. Briefly the relevant facts are stated as under:-

2.1. Petitioner was employed as driver at Mangaon depot with Respondent No. 1 Corporation since 2010 as a permanent employee. Services of the Petitioner were terminated on 16.01.2018.

2.2. On 11.08.2017 at around 11.30 a.m., Petitioner approached Kondiba Balu Dadas, assistant Traffic Inspector ("aTI") in the duty allocation room to seek assignment of duty on Devli - Mumbai route for himself in place of the duty which was allocated to him. Petitioner told the aTI that after completing Devli - Mumbai duty, since there was a national holiday thereafter (15th august), he wanted to take leave in conjunction and go to meet his parents and therefore sought assignment of Devli - Mumbai duty. The aTI told the Petitioner that Devli - Mumbai duty was already allocated to driver Dhaigude and did not accede to his request. It appears from the record that there were certain comments made by the aTI pertaining to compensatory off, double duty etc. against the Petitioner which enraged the Petitioner leading to a physical altercation between the two. at that time Petitioner intended to see the duty allocation register, as according to the Petitioner the request for allocation of Devli - Mumbai duty was made by him to the aTI well in advance; the request was granted and the name of Petitioner was inscribed for the said duty in the register, but was erased later on. The Petitioner was restrained by the aTI to see the duty allocation register, which led to further altercation.

2.3. It is the Petitioner's case that during the altercation, the aTI fell down from his chair and sustained a minor bleeding injury on his right hand because of which he became angry, hence he abused and abused and assaulted the Petitioner.

2.4. It is the Corporation's case that during the altercation Petitioner rushed towards the aTI, abused, threatened and assaulted him by pushing him from his chair forcefully leading to his fall and sustaining the injury on his right hand. The aTI got up and while leaving the duty allocation room to report the matter to his superior was threatened by the Petitioner once again which led to further altercation between the two. Thereafter both of them rushed towards each other and held each other by their shirts and were separated by other employees who were present.

2.5. From the record it appears that when the altercation took place between the two, driver Mahagade, body fitter Dharmendra Jadhav, driver Suresh Shinde and d