A Haryana Roadways driver has been dismissed from service for smoking hookah while driving on the Delhi-Chandigarh road.
The matter came to light after a motorist driving alongside the bus recorded the incident on his mobile phone and the video went viral.
Om Prakash was suspended on September 26, soon after the matter came to the notice of the Haryana Roadways authorities. He was dismissed two days later, under Section 311 (b) of the Constitution, after he admitted to smoking hookah while driving. The video was shot by an unidentified man while the bus was on its way to Delhi from Shimla.
The driver was earlier terminated from service in connection with a road accident. He was, however, reinstated temporarily following a lower court order. The matter is still pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, said Mahipal Yadav, general manager, Haryana Roadways, Delhi.
Viral video
Mr. Yadav said that the matter came to the department's notice after Haryana Roadways director Vikas Gupta saw the clip and referred it to Gurugram, general manager, Roadways, since the bus is registered there. “It was later found that the bus belonged to Haryana's Mukherjee Nagar Depot in Delhi and the driver was identified. He was immediately suspended. On Monday, I spoke to him over the phone seeking explanation and he admitted to having smoked hookah while driving. He was dismissed from service. Besides, we also wrote to Kurukshetra Police to register a case against him under relevant sections,” said Mr. Yadav.
Govt writes letter
The driver purportedly told Mr. Yadav that the bus conductor has asked him to take a break at Pipli bus stand and smoke hookah, but a few passengers objected to this saying that they were getting late.
The video, meanwhile, prompted the Delhi government to lodge complaints with the Transport Commissioners of the Capital and Haryana.
Additional Director (Health department), Delhi, S.K. Arora wrote a letter last week stating that the driver was smoking hookah “very proudly”, without any fear while passing through the Capital.
“Smoking hookah in public service vehicle is violating Section 4 of COTPA 2003,” Mr Arora wrote.
He also wrote that the display of a tea ad on the bus was a violation of Section 5 of COTPA as it was a surrogate advertisement of a tobacco product. Mr. Arora said he had not received any reply to his letter yet.