3.�Mr.Dagli, the learned advocate invited attention
of the Court to the fact that on the day of the incident,
i.e. 26.8.1994 the workman was on duty as driver during
night hours, from Talaja to Mahuva. The case of the
petitioner corporation is that the workman gave the bus
to an unknown person to drive. While the bus was driven
by an unauthorised person the bus met with an accident
and damage to the extent of Rs.40,000/- was caused to the
bus and five persons sustained serious injuries. The
workman had given a statement (a copy of which is
produced at Annexure 'G') to the effect that he was not
well and that an unknown person wearing 'Khaki' clothes
offered his services to drive the bus, which the workman
accepted under an assumption that the said person was an
ST Driver. He has further stated in his statement that
he did not that persons at all, but only because he was
wearing Khaki clothes he trusted that unknown person
because he was not well. The offence committed by the
workman is grave enough to warrant punishment of
dismissal form service, more particularly, when a person
holding the post of driver, having responsibility of
lives of the passengers of the bus cannot be expected to
behave in this irresponsible manner. Instead of handing
over the bus to an unknown person, he ought to have
preferred to stop the bus. Instead of that he handed
over the bus to an unknown person, which is grave and
grave enough to justify the punishment imposed by the
Department.
