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Delhi Transport Corporation (D.T.C.) vs. Rajender Prashad

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2026:DHC:7487Decided 2 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
W.P.(C) 11107/2005CNR: DLHC010644462005
Justice Amit Mahajan

Background

Rajender Prashad, a bus conductor with DTC, was accused in 1994 of collecting fares from three passengers without issuing them tickets. Although the departmental enquiry officer found the charges not established, DTC's disciplinary authority disagreed and removed him from service in 1996. On appeal, DTC's own Chairman-cum-Managing Director set aside the removal but imposed a reduced punishment, reverting him to the initial pay scale for two years without back wages for the intervening period. Rajender Prashad challenged this before the Industrial Tribunal, which ruled the punishment illegal and awarded him full wages, including for the period he was out of service.

Decision Breakdown

The High Court held that its power to interfere with an Industrial Tribunal's award is limited to cases of patent illegality or perversity, and found none here. Critically, DTC's disciplinary authority had disagreed with the enquiry officer's finding of innocence without first issuing a proper "disagreement note" giving Rajender Prashad a chance to respond before deciding to remove him: a legal requirement when overturning a favourable enquiry finding. Since DTC also never produced the enquiry report before the Tribunal to justify its position, the Tribunal's conclusion that the punishment was baseless was upheld, as was the award of full wages for the disputed period. The Court dismissed DTC's petition and, noting that DTC had been fighting over roughly 17 months' back wages for 32 years, imposed Rs. 1,00,000 in costs on DTC (split between a legal aid fund, the PM Relief Fund, and the employee), with liberty to recover it from the responsible officer.

Lesson Learnt

An employer that wants to overrule a departmental enquiry officer's finding of "not guilty" must first share its tentative reasons with the employee and give them a chance to respond before finalising a harsher punishment, skipping this step can render the punishment legally invalid, and courts may penalise government departments for pursuing minor disputes through decades of litigation at public expense.

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