Supreme Court: Coming down heavily upon the courts granting leniency in matters relating to corruption, the Court held that a legal forum should not allow itself to imagine facts and conceive of perverted situations to brush aside the material brought on record and then for contrived reasons arrive at a conclusion that there was possibly no embezzlement or personal gain.
In the present case where a conductor had allowed 25 passengers to travel in the bus without ticket as if the fare was paid, thereby pocketing the money, the bench of Dipak Misra and P.C. Pant, JJ said that the Labour Court had been swayed away by the concept “forgiveness is the economy of the heart” and dominantly affected by the conception “mercy among the virtues is like the moon among the stars” but had totally ignored the basic principle that when the workman shatters the “institutional trust” and his act has the potentiality to corrode the faith and belief of the employer. It was further held that it is not the quantum per se but the breach of trust with reference to duty and obligation of the employee that must be the edifice of consideration for imposition of punishment.
Holding that the Labour Court and High Court, both, have been at error by imposing a lesser punishment on the respondent whereas the only punishment, on establishment of the charges which have been accepted by the labour court, should have been dismissal and not a lesser one, the Court termed the respondent’s act as reprehensible and further said that he had harboured the notion that when the cancerous growth has affected the system, he can further allow it to grow by covering it like an octopus, with its tentacles disallowing any kind of surgical operation or treatment so that the lesion continues. Restoring the dismissal order by the Corporation, the Court held that the respondent did not deserve any leniency. U.P. State Road Transport Corp. v. Gopal Shukla, 2015 SCC OnLine SC 791, decided on 01.09.2015