Delhi HC pulls up Delhi Transport Corporation for indiscriminate litigation, imposes One Lakh as cost

Pulling up the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) for its “unnecessary/indiscriminate litigation”, the Delhi High Court has imposed costs of Rs 1 lakh on it, while suggesting that it revamp its legal department..Recording that DTC is one of the major litigants before it, the Court has stated that it must examine all its writ petitions and challenges to awards by Industrial Tribunals and Labour Courts, and “assess if they are worth being continued on settled position in law and take a final call within three months”..Unnecessary or indiscriminate litigation not only clogs the justice delivery system, but also burdens the public exchequer and wastes precious time of the courts, the Court observed..The judgment was delivered by a Single Judge Bench of Justice Vinod Goel in a writ petition moved by DTC against an award passed by the Industrial Adjudicator, holding the premature retirement of the respondent workman to be illegal and unjustified..The workman was permanently retired from his services by the DTC management under Clause 10 of the D.R.T.A (Conditions of Appointment and Service) Regulations, 1952, on the basis of a report of the Medical Board. The Board had declared him permanently unfit for the post of driver after he sustained injuries during the course of his duty. The retirement was forced upon the workman even after an alternative employment at the Ticket Section was given to him during the interval between his injury and retirement..Aggrieved by his removal, the workman filed a civil suit, which was rejected for lack of jurisdiction. He then filed his Statement of Claim before the Conciliation Officer, Delhi. On failure of the conciliation proceedings, a reference under Section 12 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 was made..The Industrial Adjudicator held that the services of drivers who are disabled during the course of their employment could not have been dispensed with and that they cannot be discriminated against..Upholding this award, the High Court stated it it did not find any illegality or infirmity in it..The Industrial Adjudicator as well as the Court relied on the well-settled principle that in case of injury in the course of employment as a result of which an employee is incapacitated, he shall be rehabilitated either in the equivalent post or lower, subject to his educational and medical qualification..The Court thus took the opportunity to come down heavily on the DTC management for failing to introspect and examine the legal position..“The management continued to fight the reference tooth and nail – which ultimately resulted in the impugned Award dated 01.03.2001 – and boldly filed this writ petition on 21.11.2001 assailing the award. At every stage from the date of pre-maturely retiring the workman till now, the management has failed to introspect and examine the legal position.”.The result, the Court states, is an unnecessary loss to the public exchequer, waste of precious court time, and undue mental and physical pain and agony to the workman, who died during the pendency of the writ petition..Therefore, the Court imposed costs of one lakh rupees on DTC, which would be payable to the legal heirs of the deceased workman..“The petition is dismissed with costs of Rs.1,00,000/- to be deposited with the Registry, which shall be payable equally to all four Legal Heirs of the workman. Amount shall be kept in FDRs for a period of three years.”.It further directed DTC to make payment of all dues of the workman as per the award and provide all retiral benefits to his legal heirs within one month..DTC was represented by Advocate UN Tiwary. The workman was represented by Advocate Rashmi B Singh. .Read the Judgment: