IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. LPA No. 1311 of 2009 (O&M) Date of Decision: August 4, 2010 Baldev Singh …Appellant Versus The Presiding Officer, Labour Court, U.T., Chandigarh and another …Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.M. KUMAR HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE A.N. JINDAL Present: Mr. Ashwani K. Bakshi, Advocate, for the appellant. 1. To be referred to the Reporters or not? 2. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? M.M. KUMAR, J. The instant appeal has been filed by the workman (who was working as a Conductor with the Punjab Roadways) against the judgment dated 12.8.2009, passed by the learned Single Judge upholding the award of the Labour Court. The workman-Conductor was dismissed from service in pursuance of a departmental inquiry holding that he had embezzled an amount of Rs. 124.75/- by issuing old tickets to passengers and then running away from the scene without delivering the advance booking vouchers when the checking staff stopped the bus. The abandonment of the duty has also been subject of complaint by LPA No. 1311 of 2009 (O&M) inspection staff at the Morinda Police Station. The Labour Court rejected his claim that dismissal was illegal, which he challenged in the writ petition. The learned Single Judge has examined various submissions made by the counsel for the workman-Conductor and has concluded that a regular departmental inquiry, by following the procedure religiously, has been held in accordance with the rules. All the objections taken by the workman-Conductor have been dealt with by the Labour Court and it has rightly come to the conclusion that the penalty of dismissal inflicted on him was fully justified. We have heard learned counsel and find that no case is made out for admission of the appeal. It has become a common practice for the Conductors to indulge in mal-practice of issuing old ticket vouchers or charging the passengers without even issuing the vouchers. Such a menace needs to be curbed without any leniency. The Labour Court as well as the learned Single Judge have taken the correct view by upholding the dismissal of the workman-Conductor. Accordingly, the appeal fails and the same is dismissed. In view of the fact that the appeal has been dismissed on merits, we do not feel the necessity of passing any order on the miscellaneous applications filed along with the appeal. (M.M. KUMAR) JUDGE (A.N. JINDAL) August 4, 2010 JUDGE 2 LPA No. 1311 of 2009 (O&M) Pkapoor 3