A KSRTC conductor dismissed for issuing fake manual tickets and misappropriating revenue challenged the Labour Court's order confirming dismissal. The High Court found the misconduct grave, involving breach of trust and pilferage, held the dismissal proportionate, and dismissed the writ petition, confirming the Labour Court's order.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
NC: 2024:KHC:5723 WP No. 26602 of 2018
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
DATED THIS THE 5TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2024
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MRS JUSTICE K.S. HEMALEKHA
WRIT PETITION NO.26602 OF 2018 (L-KSRTC)
BETWEEN:
SRI ESHWARAPPA .B S/O. BHARMA BHOVI, AGED ABOUT 38 YEARS, R/O. B. BIRANAHALLI, TQ. & DISTRICT: SHIVAMOGGA–577 201. ... PETITIONER
(BY SRI K. GOVINDARAJ, ADVOCATE)
AND:
THE DIVISIONAL CONTROLLER, K.S.R.T.C. DAVANAGERE, DAVANAGERE – 557 501. ... RESPONDENT
Digitally signed by MAHALAKSHMI B M Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA
(BY SMT. H.R. RENUKA, ADVOCATE)
THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLE 226 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, PRAYING TO QUASH THE ORDER DATED 26.09.2017 I.E., ANNEXURE-B PASSED IN K.I.D. NO.133/2014 BY THE LABOUR COURT, HUBBALLI; DIRECT THE RESPONDENT TO REINSTATE THE PETITIONER INTO SERVICE WITH ALL CONSEQUENTIAL BENEFITS.
THIS WRIT PETITION COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING IN ‘B’ GROUP, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
ORDER
Petitioner joined the respondent-Corporation as conductor, and while on duty, articles of charge were issued for issuing manual tickets instead of ETM tickets and having been found by the Checking Officials that the petitioner used two-way bills and issued two fake tickets to all the passengers, enquiry was initiated, report was submitted by the enquiry officer, holding that having charges proved against him, the disciplinary authority accepted the report of the enquiry officer and the material placed before it, imposed the punishment of dismissal of service from the Corporation.
NC: 2024:KHC:5723 WP No. 26602 of 2018
statement, inter alia , contending that the workman has committed misconduct as alleged in the charge-sheet and the enquiry officer conducted a detailed enquiry after following the principles of natural justice and the workman having participated in the enquiry, the disciplinary authority, on consideration of all the material on record, has rightly passed the order of dismissal.
NC: 2024:KHC:5723 WP No. 26602 of 2018
that the workman has committed a grave misconduct by causing loss of revenue to the Corporation and the Corporation having lost confidence in the workman had rightly dismissed the workman from service.
petitioner and Smt. H.R. Renuka, learned counsel for the respondent.
NC: 2024:KHC:5723 WP No. 26602 of 2018
tickets worth Rs.13,224/-. The workman submitted reply stating that the ETM machine was not working, the Checking Officials recovered the ETM machine and found that the ETM machine was functioning properly and this finding place in the report of the Checking Official at Ex.M.4.
guilty of misconduct, indulging in misappropriation of the money of the Corporation, non-issuance of tickets from the ETM machine and issuing fake manual tickets amounts to serious misconduct and dishonesty with the intention of causing a wrongful gain to himself and a wrongful loss to the Corporation. The type of duty performed by the workman is a position of trust where honesty and integrity are inbuilt requirements of functioning and the trust on the workman is by the employer, who believes that the employee deals with financial transactions in a fiduciary capacity for the employer. The act of the workman for the charges leveled against him and the punishment of
NC: 2024:KHC:5723 WP No. 26602 of 2018
dismissal imposed by the disciplinary authority cannot, at any stretch of imagination, be held to be disproportionate.
ORDER
Sd/JUDGE
MBM
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the dismissal of a KSRTC conductor for issuing fake manual tickets was disproportionate to the misconduct.
Whether the Labour Court rightly declined to exercise its Section 11A jurisdiction to interfere.
3 provisions across 2 enactments
Eshwarappa .B
The Divisional Controller, K.S.R.T.C., Davanagere
K.S. Hemalekha
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
