IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE TWENTIETH DAY OF FEBRUARY TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE NOOTY RAMAMOHANA RAO WRIT PETITION No : 667 of 1999 Between: Md. Fayazuddin, S/o. Md. Niyazuddin, E.62264, Budhwarpet, Nirmal, Adilabad District. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 Chairman-cum-Presiding Officer, Industrial Tribunal-cum- Labour Court, Godavarikhani. 2 The Depot Manager, A.P.S.R.T.C. Bus Depot, Mancherial. .....RESPONDENTS Petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Affidavit filed herein the High Court will be pleased to issue an order, direction or writ more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Certiorari after calling for the records pertaining to award made in I.D.No.35/1989 dt.20.10.1993 on the file of the 1st respondent and quash the same as illegal, arbitrary and without jurisdiction and consequently of service back wages and other attendant benefits and grant such further or other orders as this Hon'ble court deems fit and proper in the circumstances of the case. Counsel for the Petitioner : Sri P. Sudheer Rao Counsel for Respondent No.2 : Smt. P. Rajani Reddy The Court made the following O R D E R: This writ petition is directed against the award passed by the Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court, Godavarikhani on 20.10.1993 in I.D. No. 35 of 1989 which was instituted by the writ petitioner raising the dispute concerning the punishment of removal from service imposed on him by the respondent – Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (for short, ‘the Corporation’). The petitioner was employed as a conductor by it. On 23.08.1977, while he was conducting the bus belonging to the respondent-Corporation on the route Mandamarri market – B. Zone, the bus was subjected to a check by the officials of the Corporation between stages 13 and 14 at about 07.30 p.m. They have noticed certain irregularities committed by the conductor in the matter of issuing tickets to the passengers. Essentially, the irregularities relate to recycling of four tickets which have already been issued before and not issuing tickets to several passengers and issuing tickets of lesser denomination to certain others. The Corporation has also charged the writ petitioner to have committed the irregularity of violating the instructions issued to close the statistical return. Domestic enquiry followed and based upon the report of the Enquiry Officer, punishment of removal from service has been inflicted. With a view to provide a fair and reasonable opportunity to the writ petitioner-workman, the disciplinary proceedings/enquiry was ordered to be re-conducted before the Labour Court by way of examining the witnesses. Learned counsel for the writ petitioner would urge that because of the darkness surrounding at the time the check has been undertaken, his client could not notice the fact that few other passengers in the bus have not yet been issued the tickets, that he could not notice that the statistical return has not been closed and that these are technical violations for which a severe punishment of removal from service should not have been imposed. Learned counsel for the writ petitioner would also urge that the past conduct of the writ petitioner has not been properly appreciated for the purpose of assessing the gravity of the punishment imposed against him by the respondent-Corporation. Heard Smt. P. Rajani Reddy, learned Standing Counsel for the respondent-Corporation. I am afraid, the contentions canvassed on behalf of the petitioner do not carry much of a conviction. In paragraph 33 of the award, the Labour Court had noticed, with reference to the service record of the writ petitioner, that he had received as many as six punishments in between 29.02.1975 and 25.03.1978. It is, therefore, incorrect for one to plead that no weightage has been accorded for the quality of service rendered by the writ petitioner to the respondent-Corporation. As is noticed supra, the Labour Court had looked into the service record of the writ petitioner which is maintained by the Corporation, whose authenticity is beyond dispute only for the purpose of assessing the quality of service rendered by the writ petitioner. Now dealing with the first contention, it has been marshalled by way of evidence before the Labour Court that the tickets which have been used once before have been recycled by the writ petitioner in favour of other passengers. This is a grave irregularity that causes a dent to the revenue of the Corporation. The public sector institutions like the respondent-Corporation survive essentially on the revenue generated from the collection of passenger fare. If the tickets once issued before are recycled, the revenue of the Corporation would suffer a direct impact. The fare collected by the conductors would not be reaching the coffers of the Corporation, but would be appropriated for themselves. It is, therefore, a grave misdemeanor which warrants appropriately severe punishment. In spite of receiving as many as six punishments in a short span of three years of service, the writ petitioner does not seem to have improved his style of performing his duties. Therefore, it is wholly inappropriate for this Court to seek to substitute any other punishment to the one that is imposed by the respondent-Corporation. There are no warranting circumstances for this Court to interfere with the punishment imposed by the Labour Court. Hence, the writ petition is dismissed, however, without costs. (NOOTY RAMAMOHANA RAO,J) 20th February 2008 ksld .... REGISTRAR // TRUE COPY // SECTION OFFICER To 1.2CCs to 2.2CD copies Form-NIC-OGS/WP{PRASAD}