THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE GODA RAGHURAM AND THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE G.KRISHNA MOHAN REDDY WRIT APPEAL No. 1980 of 2003 Dated: 1-2-2011 Between The Depot Manager, APSRTC, Vizianagaram Depot, Vizianagaram Dist. and another ...Appellants And K.S.N.Murthy (died) per L.Rs. and others …Respondents Judgment: (Per Hon’ble Sri Justice Goda Raghuram) This appeal is by the A.P.S.R.T.C. filed against the order of the learned single Judge of this Court dated 7-2-2003 in W.P.No. 16518 of 2000. The 1st respondent was appointed as a driver in the appellant- Corporation. While he was working in the Vizianagaram depot, he was in-charge of a bus on the route Parvathipuram to Kakinada. The bus met with an accident on 21-5-1984 whereat he suffered grievous injuries and some other passengers received minor injuries. The accident occurred near Koppaka Railway gate. After a due process of inquiry, the punishment of removal from service was inflicted on the workman, by an order dated 16-3-1985 and an unsuccessful appeal and review to the employer-authorities was followed by an application to the Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court, Visakhapatnam by way of I.D.No. 42 of 1997. By the award dated 9-9-1999 the Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court, Visakhapatnam declined to interfere with the order of removal passed by the employer and rejected the I.D. Aggrieved, the workman preferred the writ petition. It is required to be noticed and this fact is not disputed that a criminal case for rash and negligent driving was also instituted against the petitioner in C.C.No. 241 of 1984. The prosecution was however withdrawn by an application under Section 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 by the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor concerned and at the instance of the appellant-Corporation. Further the evidence on record in the domestic inquiry and as considered by the Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court also discloses that the road at which the vehicle was driven by the workman at the time of the accident was extremely narrow and was of 23 feet in width; that there were heaps of gravel on either side of the road and at the time of the accident there was a cyclist proceeding in the left side in front of the bus and there was a Tipper lorry coming from the opposite side. In order to avoid hitting the cyclist on account of the obstruction of gravel on the road, the workman swerved the vehicle he was driving, to the right aspect and there was a collision with the Tipper lorry coming on the opposite side. In the accident, the workman suffered very serious injuries while the passengers suffered minor injuries. Taking all these circumstances into consideration including the withdrawal of the prosecution in C.C.No. 241 of 1984, the learned single Judge found that the findings of guilt against the workman in respect of rash and negligent driving was misconceived and that concurrence with the said findings by the Labour Court was also unsustainable. However, the learned single Judge was pleased, in the plenitude of discretion, to confine the relief to one of the reinstatement of the workman into service as a fresh appointee within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the order of this Court. The judgment of the learned single Judge is dated 7-2-2003. It is represented by the learned Standing Counsel for the appellant- Corporation that the workman expired in the year 2007 and his legal representatives have also been brought on record as respondents 3 to 5 therein. In the totality of the circumstances, we are not inclined to interfere in the appeal. The legal representatives of the deceased-workman, respondents 3 to 5 shall be entitled to the wages payable to the deceased-workman from the period of four weeks subsequent to the date of the judgment of the learned single Judge till the date of his death. These amounts shall be paid to the legal representatives within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. The appeal is dismissed. However, there shall be no order as to costs. __________________________ GODA RAGHURAM, J 1st February, 2011 ________________________________ G.KRISHNA MOHAN REDDY, J GRR