**

Acquittal does not mean

one can't be sacked: SC
Dhananjay.Mahapatra
@timesgroup.com
Govt employee can't reject promotion and
Seek pay upgrade later, says apex court
New Delhi: In an important
he Supreme Court on Monday held thata government
ruling, the Supreme Court on
Monday said an employee can employee who refuses to accept promotion and prefers to
be dismissed from service on remain on the same post for years cannot claim benefit of thhe
the basis of findings of adisci-i Assured Career Progression Scheme for financial upgradation to
plinary proceedings for mis- the next higher pay grade which is granted to those who could not
conduct even though he has get promotion after 12 years of service. Holding that a government
been acquitted of the charges employee cannot "eat his cake and have it too", a
benchof Justices
by a court of law citinglack of RSubhash Reddy and Hrishikesh Roy allowed the plea ofthe
clinchingevidence. Centre and set aside the order of Delhi high courtwhich had held
The fortunes of the em- that the government cannot deny the benefits ofthe scheme in
ployee, a driver with Maha- thosecases where employees refused to accept promotion. TNN
rashtra State Road Transport
Corporation, went through a The Bombay HC went a step with different objectives."
roller coaster after the bus he further and directed payment Writing the judgment,
was driving met with an acci- of back wages. MSRTC ap- Justice Shah said, "The work
dent in October 1992 in which pealed in the SC. manhas been held to be guilty
four persons died. In a disci Upholding the dismissal, for a particular charge and
plinary proceeding, he was bench of Justices MR Shah
a
particular misconduct. As
found guilty of negligent and B VNagarathna said, "As per MSRTC the workman was
driving. MSRTC took into ac- per the cardinal principle of in service for three years and
Count his service record and law, an acquittal in a criminal
dismissed him. The labour trial has no bearing or rele- during three years' service
tenure he was punished four
courtupheld the dismissal de-vanceon the disciplinary pro- times. Therefore, it cannot be
spite acquittal in the criminal ceedings as the standard of said that the order of dismiss
case by the trial court. The in-
proof in both the cases are dif- al was without having any re-
dustrial court reversed it and ferentand
ordered his reinstatement. erate in theproceedings op- gard to the past record of the
different fields and service of the workman."