The Madras High Court has upheld the dismissal of a government bus conductor who did not issue tickets to 25 passengers during a trip after collecting the fare from them.
When an employee was assigned the job of collecting money, the degree of trust and confidence in him/her was more. Even miscalculation of a small amount could not be ignored, a Division Bench comprising Justices Satish K. Agnihotri and K.K. Sasidharan observed in its judgment.
S.K. Suriyamoorthi was working as a conductor in the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, Dharmapuri. On June 2, 1992, he was on duty in a bus between Tirupattur and Harur. Checking Inspectors (CIs) who intercepted the bus at Mannadipatti found that Mr. Suriyamoorthi had not issued tickets to 25 passengers, but had collected the money from them.
After an inquiry, he was dismissed on March 27, 1993. He moved the Labour Court which in 2001 confirmed the dismissal. He filed a writ petition before the Madras High Court. Challenging the single Judge’s order, the dismissed conductor filed the present appeal.
