The Managing Director The North East ... vs K. Murti

The sole respondent was served through the Court on 10.1.2005. However, nobody has appeared for the respondent. We heard Mr. Basava Prabhu S. Patil, learned counsel appearing for the appellant-Management. This appeal is directed against the final order dated 25.2.2005 passed by the High Court of Karnataka at Bangalore in Writ Appeal no.1565 of 2004, wherein Division Bench of the High Court rejected the appeal filed by the appellant herein and ordered accordingly. This Court on 22.8.2005 issued notice to the sole respondent and interim stay was granted in the meantime. The respondent was in the employment of the appellant Corporation as a badli conductor . During his course of employment as badli conductor between the period from 1992 to 1995, he had an unedifying history of misconduct and had been punished by imposing fine. While he was conducting the bus on 12.8.1992, the said bus came to be checked by the checking squad at stage no.2 and it was noticed that the respondent had failed to issue tickets to 6 passengers despite collection of money, failed to issue tickets to 4 passengers who were travelling from Sanganakal to KEB, Bellary and had not collected the requisite fare. The respondent had closed the stage no.3 by keeping single digit blank in respect of Rs.1.25 denomination with an intention to re-issue the said denomination tickets in the next trip and the respondent had closed the CWP against the stage no.2 except the Rs.1.75 denomination. The Disciplinary authority directed holding of an enquiry into the articles of charge in terms of the Corporation C & D Regulations, 1971 by appointing an Inquiry Officer. The Inquiry Officer after having issued notices to both the parties conducted a detailed enquiry in respect of the charges levelled against the respondent. The proceedings were conducted following the mandatory provisions of the Corporation C & D Regulations, 1971 and affording adequate opportunity to the delinquent workman to defend his case. The Disciplinary Authority, on re-appraisal of the connected records, came to the conclusion as of the Inquiry Officer and looking at the nature of the offence and its result passed an order on 18.5.1998 removing the name of the respondent from the list of badli conductors.

Aggrieved by the order of dismissal, the respondent approached the Labour Court by filing a petition under section 10(4-A) of the Industrial Disputes (Karnataka Amendment) Act, 1947 challenging the legality and correctness of the dismissal order passed against him on 18.5.1998. The Labour Court after issuing process to the parties concerned by its order dated 2.1.2002 passed an order holding that the enquiry held was fair and proper. After passing of the preliminary order on issue no.1, i.e. whether the domestic enquiry conducted by the respondent against the claimant is fair and proper, the matter was posted for recording of evidence. The respondent, however, failed to appear before the Court and accordingly the evidence was taken as closed. Later after hearing the arguments, instead of dismissing the petition, vide order dated 25.3.2003 the Labour Court set aside the termination order dated 18.5.1998 and directed the appellant- Management to take the respondent back on the list of badli conductors. However, the Labour Court held that the respondent was not entitled for any back wages and continuity of service.

The following judgments can be usefully referred to for the above proposition. They are: