and has not been disputed in the counter affidavit, I find, has not found any reference in the order of disciplinary authority. There is no finding also recorded to the effect that as to whether there was any misuse or likely misuse of paper tickets and the way bills lost. The promptness with which the FIR was got lodged by the petitioner in the following morning of the loss of the bag in the midnight hours, shows that there was no deliberate act of negligence. The act of negligence has come to be defined by the Supreme Court as well as by this Court. The element of deliberate act to do a thing not warranted or not to do an act warranted, makes the act of negligence a 'guilt'. In other words, negligence acquires gravity where one has reason to believe that a particular act or conduct of an employee is such an act which, in ordinary course of discharge of duty, is not likely to be committed, and if it committed, then such act or conduct is liable to be punished. In the present case, an act is where the conductor was sleeping inside the bus along with the driver and that all the windows were closed and the bus was locked from inside. If during the midnight hours somebody managed to open the window panes, then in ordinary course it will not amount to an act or conduct by a person sleeping inside the bus which is locked from inside, such an act or conduct of negligence in order to make it a deliberate one. For an act to be negligent to hold it punishable it should be circumstanced by other factors also like leaving the bag on some seat near the window, or on upon the shelf meant for baggage of passengers etc., but there was nothing like that in the present case. In the background of these circumstances, the disciplinary authority ought to have considered as to whether it was a deliberate act of negligence or it was a mere negligence. In the event of former it will attach more severity to render it misconduct and such act will certainly warrant graver punishment, but in case of later the disciplinary authority has to adopt a very pragmatic approach looking to the facts and circumstances of the case.
