For 59 ticketless passengers, conductor lost govt job
On June 23, 2004, Mr Prasad was working as a conductor on a government bus in Uttar Pradesh, traveling from Faizabad to Akbarpur. About 12 km into the journey, a surprise inspection was conducted and it was found that he had failed to issue tickets to 59 passengers in the bus though he had filled out paybills.
As a result, he received a charge sheet and on September 19, 2004, an inquiry report was presented. Following this, the Assistant Regional Manager, Akbarpur, issued a second show-cause notice, leading to his termination from service. Although he had filed a representation, the charge was partly proved.
The Allahabad High Court referenced a related case (MD, North-East Karnataka Road Transport Corpn. v. K. Murti, (2006) 12 SCC 570) and held that carrying passengers without ticket or discounted tickets means dishonesty or gross negligence and making such conduct unacceptable for continued service as it can cause financial loss to the government.
The Court observed that the bus was inspected 12kms from the starting point and the conductor had sufficient time to distribute tickets to the passengers, reported Livelaw.
The high court pointed out that carrying passengers without ticket is a serious misconduct and in this regard, they took note of the aforementioned judgments and that Mr Prasad failed to provide any reasonable explanation for how he could fill out paybills in advance without issuing tickets to passengers. Therefore, Allahabad High Court said that they do not find any reason to interfere with impugned order in limited writ jurisdiction.
Accordingly, the writ petition was dismissed and his termination was confirmed.
As a result, he received a charge sheet and on September 19, 2004, an inquiry report was presented. Following this, the Assistant Regional Manager, Akbarpur, issued a second show-cause notice, leading to his termination from service. Although he had filed a representation, the charge was partly proved.
The Allahabad High Court referenced a related case (MD, North-East Karnataka Road Transport Corpn. v. K. Murti, (2006) 12 SCC 570) and held that carrying passengers without ticket or discounted tickets means dishonesty or gross negligence and making such conduct unacceptable for continued service as it can cause financial loss to the government.
The Court observed that the bus was inspected 12kms from the starting point and the conductor had sufficient time to distribute tickets to the passengers, reported Livelaw.
The high court pointed out that carrying passengers without ticket is a serious misconduct and in this regard, they took note of the aforementioned judgments and that Mr Prasad failed to provide any reasonable explanation for how he could fill out paybills in advance without issuing tickets to passengers. Therefore, Allahabad High Court said that they do not find any reason to interfere with impugned order in limited writ jurisdiction.
Accordingly, the writ petition was dismissed and his termination was confirmed.
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