Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court dismissed a petition filed by the Maharashtra state road transport corporation (MSRTC) and upheld Labour and Industrial Court orders, ruling that even a show-cause notice can be challenged if found unjust. Justice Siddheshwar S. Thombre held that there was no illegality or error in the lower courts’ findings.
Uttam Bhagat Singh Padvi, appointed as an MSRTC clerk in 1989, was accused of involvement in an alleged Rs 1.46 lakh misappropriation by a conductor. MSRTC issued a show-cause notice proposing dismissal. Padvi challenged it before the Labour Court in Dhule, which stayed and later quashed the notice; the Industrial Court upheld the decision. MSRTC then moved the High Court. The corporation argued that a complaint against a mere show-cause notice was not maintainable and that departmental inquiry was necessary in a serious financial matter. Respondent’s counsel, adv Gajendra Jain, contended that as a criminal case had already been registered, departmental action would amount to double jeopardy, making the notice illegal.
The bench found the lower courts’ orders well-reasoned, with no grounds for interference. Noting that the employee had since died and reinstatement did not arise, the High Court dismissed the petition.