Resale of Rs 20 ticket cost SETC conductor his job

Chennai:

A resale of used Rs 20 bus ticket by State Express Transport
Corporation bus conductor and unaccounted cash of Rs 14 in his cash
bag cost him his job.

N Namachivayam, who joined the State Express Transport Corporation as
conductor in May 1995, was removed from service 15 years ago after a
inspection team found that he resold an old ticket to a passenger
while plying between Tiruvallur and Tiruttani in November 1997. The
team also found unaccounted cash worth Rs 14 in his bag in 1997.
During the enquiry, he admitted his guilt and was removed from service
in 1999.

Interestingly, the bus conductor challenged his dismissal and a labour
court set aside the order stating that inquiry was not held properly.
However, SETC challenged the labour court order in 2012 and Madras
High Court upheld his dismissal.

Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice M Sathyanarayanan in their
judgement stated that whether the amount of money involved is small or
big, once a misconduct by a public servant is confirmed then there is
nothing wrong in removing him from service.

“Whether the amount is big or small, the conduct of the person at the
relevant point of time assumes importance...N Namachivayam was a
conductor and he has to deal with cash. Being in that position of
trust and confidence, he is expected to act diligently and honestly.
He has not chosen to offer any plausible explanation as to his acts of
misconduct," the judges said.

Rejecting his appeal, the bench cited apex court rulings and said once
a serious charge is proved and the employee is removed from service,
labour court could not order his reinstatement because there is loss
of confidence by the management against the employee.

Also, he had admitted to his mistake and chosen to explain it away by
saying it was only a simple and inadvertent mistake, the judges
stated.