DELHI TRANSPORT CORPORATION Vs. OM KANWAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) It was the sixth day of January, 1993. Bus No. 990 belonging to the Delhi Transport Corporation was plying on the route : Chandigarh - Delhi. Om Kanwar, the respondent in the two captioned appeals, was the conductor. The bus was intercepted by a checking squad of DTC at the Karnal Bye -Pass. The squad claimed that five passengers were caught while de -boarding at the Karnal Bye -Pass and failed to produce tickets; and claimed that each told having paid Rs. 12/ - to Om Kanwar for travelling from Shahbad with the destination being Karnal. Their statements were recorded. In spite of being directed to hand over the complaint book, Om Kanwar refused to do so. A report was prepared.

(2.) Om Kanwar was served with a charge -sheet on January 18, 1993 containing the memorandum of the charge listing the gravamen as per para 1 above. Om Kanwar denied the charge and this necessitated the appointment of an Inquiry Officer. Serving Om Kanwar with the notice of conducting the inquiry and completing the preliminaries such as insuring that Om Kanwar had received the charge memorandum, the relied upon documents and the list of witnesses through whom the charge was intended to be proved, the Inquiry Office commenced recording the statements of the witnesses of the Delhi Transport Corporation. The Record of the Inquiry shows that Sh.Nathu Ram, Ticket Inspector and Jagdish Chandra, Assistant Ticket Inspector were examined as the witnesses on March 26, 1993. Before examining the witnesses, obtaining Om Kanwar's signatures, the Inquiry Officer recorded that there was no need for any presenting officer to represent DTC and Om Kanwar did not desire to be defended by any friend of the charged officer. Nathu Ram and Jagdish Chandra deposed in harmony as per the charge and stated that they had intercepted five passengers who de -boarded the bus of which Om Kanwar was the conductor and none produced a ticket and claimed having paid the fare of Rs. 12/ - each to Om Kanwar to travel from Shahbad to Karnal and that Om Kanwar did not issue any ticket to them. The two further proved that in spite of being called upon to produce the complaint book Om Kanwar did not do so. They proved the statements of the passenger, the report prepared by them at the spot and other documents. The Inquiry Officer asked some questions from the two witnesses seeking clarifications. Given an opportunity to cross - examine the two witnesses, Om Kanwar refused to do so. His signatures were obtained at the bottom of the deposition of the two witnesses. Recording that the evidence of the management was closed, the Inquiry Officer recorded that Om Kanwar desires to examine witnesses, being the five passengers who were allegedly intercepted by the checking squad. The Inquiry Officer recorded that the witnesses may be produced on May 11, 1993.

(3.) Om Kanwar examined one Paphu Ram S/o Netra Ram on May 11, 1993 who deposed that on the day in question they de -boarded a bus belonging to Haryana Roadways and were accosted by a checking squad of DTC which required them to produce the ticket issued by the conductor of the DTC bus but since they had not travelled by any DTC bus, telling so to the checking squad, they did not produce any ticket.