IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD THURSDAY, THE THIRD DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT HON'BLE SRI ANIL R. DAVE, THE CHIEF JUSTICE And HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE R.SUBHASH REDDY WRIT APPEAL NO : 640 of 2008 (Writ Appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent against the Order dated 24/04/2008 in WP NO : 11259 OF 2001 on the file of the High Court.) Between: The Depot Manager, APSRTC., Shadnagar Depot, Mahabubnagar District. ..... APPELLANT AND 1 M. Basava Raju S/o M. Tammanna R/o 20-70, Farooq Nagar, Srinivas Colony Shadnagar, Mahabubnagar district 2 The Presiding Officer, Labour Court-II, Hyderabad. .....RESPONDENTS Counsel for the Appellant : SMT.B.G.UMA DEVI Counsel for the Respondents : GP FOR LABOUR The Court made the following : HON'BLE SRI ANIL R. DAVE, THE CHIEF JUSTICE And HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE R.SUBHASH REDDY WRIT APPEAL NO : 640 of 2008 JUDGMENT : (Per Hon’ble Sri Anil R.Dave, CJ) Being aggrieved by an order passed in writ petition No.11259 of 2001, dated 24th April 2008, this appeal has been filed by the employer/APSRTC. 2. The facts giving rise to the present case in a nutshell are as under— Respondent No.1 was a Conductor and as he had not issued tickets to certain passengers, Departmental inquiry had been initiated and ultimately he was removed from service. Being aggrieved by the order of removal, the 1st respondent/Conductor had approached the Labour Court and the Labour Court confirmed the order of removal. In the circumstances, the aforesaid writ petition was filed by the 1st respondent/Conductor. 3. After hearing the learned advocates and looking to the facts of the case, the learned single Judge has allowed the petition by directing reinstatement of the 1st respondent/Conductor without backwages. 4. Being aggrieved by the aforesaid order passed by the learned single Judge, the appellant/employer has approached this Court. 5. We have heard the learned advocate appearing for the appellant. It has been submitted by him that the learned single Judge has quashed and set aside the order passed by the employer as well as the order passed by the Labour Court on the ground that the 1st respondent/Conductor had committed first mistake after his joining in to service. It has been submitted by the learned advocate that as the charge is very serious, and, therefore, the learned single Judge should not have shown any sympathy even if it was a case of first mistake. 6. After hearing the learned advocate appearing for the appellant and looking to the facts of the case, we do not accept the submission for the reason that there was another important factor which was considered by the learned single Judge. It is not in dispute that at the time when a surprise check had taken place, there was a passenger with heavy luggage in the bus and because of the said fact, some difficulty was created for the 1st respondent/Conductor in issuance of tickets. The said factor has weighed substantially in favour of the 1st respondent/Conductor, and, therefore, the learned single Judge has quashed and set aside the impugned order passed by the Labour Court by directing reinstatement without backwages. 7. Looking to the facts of the case, in our opinion, the view taken by the learned single Judge cannot be said to be incorrect. There was a justifiable reason for the 1st respondent/Conductor, and, therefore, he could not issue tickets. It appears from the record that the said fact could not be even disputed by the appellant/employer. 8. For the aforesaid reason, we dismiss the appeal. At the time of hearing it has been submitted by the learned advocate appearing for the appellant that the 1st respondent/Conductor was appointed as a casual Conductor, and, therefore, he can be given appointment only as a casual Conductor and not as a regular Conductor. If it is so, it is needless to say that the 1st respondent/Conductor will be appointed as a casual Conductor and not as a regular Conductor and he shall be given benefits to which a casual Conductor is entitled to. 9. The appeal is dismissed accordingly. No order as to costs. _________________ ANIL R. DAVE, CJ 3rd July 2008 ______________________ R. SUBHASH REDDY, J ajr To 1.The Depot Manager, APSRTC, Shadnagar Depot, Mahabubnagar District. 2.The Presiding Officer, Labour Court-II, Hyderabad.