THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.RAMULU W.P.No.2891 of 2010 ORAL ORDER: This writ petition is directed against the award made in I.D.No.142 of 2009 dated 6.10.2009 on the file of the Labour Court-III, ,Hyderabad, whereunder the claim petition filed under Section 2-A(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 was rejected in toto. Petitioner is the workman and respondent is the management. According to the petitioner, while he was working as Driver in the respondent Depot, absented from duty from 18.4.2005 to 24.4.2005 and he was issued with a charge sheet and an enquiry was conducted. However, no final orders were passed and he was permitted to join the duty and has been working as such upto 27.11.2005. According to the petitioner, due to sudden sickness, he was admitted into APSRTC Headquarters Hospital, Tarnaka, Hyderabad on 28.11.2005 and taken treatment upto 3.12.2005. On 4.12.2005, when the petitioner reported to duty, he was allowed to duty, but during the course of day, he was served with order of removal dated 4.12.2005 stating that the earlier charge of absenteeism from 18.4.2005 to 24.4.2005 was proved and apart from that the period from 28.11.2005 to 30.11.2005 was also treated as unauthorized absence. According to the petitioner, no charge was framed for the second period of absenteeism, but the same was taken into consideration and he was removed from service by order dated 4.12.2005. Aggrieved thereby, he filed appeal before the appellate authority, however the same was rejected. Thereafter, he raised a dispute under Section 2- A(2) of the I.D. Act before the Labour Cour-III, Hyderabad. It was the case of the petitioner before the Labour Court that the enquiry was not properly conducted and the charges were not proved. However, after evaluation of the material placed before it, the Labour Court while holding that the enquiry conducted by the respondents is just, proper and valid, further came to the conclusion that the petitioner was guilty of the charge and therefore liable to be removed from service and the punishment imposed by the management cannot be said to be either arbitrary or illegal or disproportionate to that of the misconduct and therefore rejected the claim petition. Aggrieved by the same, the present writ petition is filed. There is no necessity of going into all the details. Insofar as second period of absenteeism from 28.11.2005 to 30.11.2005 is concerned, during which period, according to the petitioner, he was admitted in APSRTC Headquarters Hospital, Tarnaka, Hyderabad, no enquiry was conducted and no explanation was called for, however the same was also taken into consideration while removing the petitioner from service by order dated 4.12.2005. This approach made by the respondents is erroneous one and cannot be approved. It is well settled law that a misconduct which could not form part of charge and enquiry, cannot be considered for the purpose of inflicting punishment. The said principle is also approved by a Division Bench of this Court in the judgment in W.A.No.769 of 2005. In view of the above, removal order passed by the disciplinary authority dated 4.12.2005 as confirmed by the appellate authority dated 18.10.2006 and the consequential award passed by the Labour Court dated 6.10.2009 are liable to be set aside and accordingly set aside. Though this is a case for remand for reconsideration of penalty to the disciplinary authority, instead of doing the same, I deem it appropriate to give a quietus to the litigation here itself, by modifying the award passed by the Labour Court as under: “In the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, the respondent-management is directed to reinstate the petitioner into service with continuity of service, but without any attendant benefits and back wages”. The writ petition is accordingly allowed. There shall be no order as to costs. _____________ C.V.RAMULU, J Date: 6.7.2010. DA THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.RAMULU W.P.No.2891 of 2010 6.7.2010 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.RAMULU W.P.No.2891 of 2010 Date: 6th July, 2010 Between: A.M.Kumar (A.Mahender Kumar) .. Petitioner And The Depot Manager, APSRTC, Rajendranagar Bus Depot, Ranga Reddy district. .. Respondent