YALLAPPA Vs. THE DIVISIONAL CONTROLLER, NWKRTC

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant herein was working as a conductor during the relevant period; he absented himself from duties without taking permission from the department; Therefore, charge is framed against him with regard to unauthorised absence for a period of 158 days; Departmental enquiry was conducted and ultimately Disciplinary Authority dismissed the workman from service, on the basis of the proved charges; The workman/appellant herein approached the Labour Court in Reference No. 3/2010; The Labour Court having found that the dismissal of the workman is disproportionate to the proved charges, modified the punishment by imposing stoppage of four increments with cumulative effect, denying continuity of service and backwages; The award of the Labour Court is questioned by the workman/appellant herein before this court in Writ Petition No. 79199/2013.

(2.) SRI . Hatti, learned Advocate for the appellant drawing the attention of the court to the leave application submitted by the appellant with a medical certificate, contends that the workman was suffering from Hepatitis -B disease and consequently he could not attend the duty during the relevant period for about 158 days. It is further contended by him that, it is only because of health problem, the workman could not attend the duties.

(3.) ON facts, the Labour Court has concluded that the workman was not sanctioned leave on medical grounds; The copy of the leave application was also not placed before the Labour Court. Be that as it may, the workman has no antecedents of his bad conduct in his service career and having regard to the fact that the workman was suffering from Hepatitis -B, we prefer to take lenient view in this matter by altering the punishment to 'stoppage of four increments without cumulative effect'.