AHMEDABAD: A GSRTC bus conductor fought a legal battle for 18 years to no gain after the department stopped his increment for six months as his punishment for not issuing ticket to a passenger even after charging him Rs 6 towards the fare.
The Gujarat high court last week cancelled a tribunal’s order of quashing his punishment saying charging fare and not issuing ticket was not an act of not just misconduct but corruption.
The case involved Rameshbhai Kodinariya, who was a conductor in a bus on Jamnagar-Kalawad-Dhoraji route.
On August 5, 2003 during a trip, it was found that Kodinariya had collected Rs 6 from a passenger but did not issue him a ticket.
An inquiry was held.
The conductor was found guilty of irregularity and he was punished by the department with stoppage of his increment for six months with permanent effect.
Kodinariya moved the industrial tribunal against the punishment but did not question the outcome of the inquiry.
In August 2014, the tribunal quashed the punishment order and directed the department to fix pay after considering notional pay during the period in question and pay him all consequential benefits.
The tribunal even quashed the inquiry.
The Rajkot divisional manager approached the high court against the tribunal’s decision and said that the tribunal had quashed the inquiry, though the conductor had not challenged the inquiry process and its outcome.
The department cited the Supreme Court’s observation in service matters that a tribunal cannot weigh the quantum of penalty in golden scales.
When the inquiry was legal, the tribunal cannot interfere on the aspect of punishment.
After hearing the case, Justice A P Thaker observed, “…the conductor enjoys the position of trust and confidence and acts as a trustee of the Corporation and it is his duty to safeguard the interest of the Corporation.
The act of the conductor in not issuing the tickets after receiving the amount from the passenger is not an act of not only misconduct, but it is corruption.” The HC quashed the tribunal’s decision of quashing Kodinariya’s punishment and said that the tribunal’s getting into the merit of department inquiry was beyond tribunal’s scope because the conductor had not challenged it at all.