Court orders attachment of Punjab Roadways workshop for failure to release conductor’s salary, pension

Kumar had been forcibly retired in 2013. In subsequent proceedings, the court held the department’s action to be illegal and directed that his retiral dues be cleared.

Appearing for Kumar, advocate D R Kaith contended that the departmental inquiry against his client was flawed and conducted in violation of due process. He argued that Kumar was neither given a fair hearing nor an adequate opportunity to defend himself, and that the decision was taken unilaterally.

Kumar joined the Punjab Transport Department as a conductor in November 1981 and was posted at the Jagraon depot. In 2007, he was booked in connection with a fatal road accident. A trial court in Bathinda later convicted him and awarded a sentence.

Kumar challenged the conviction, and in 2014, an appellate court in Bathinda acquitted him of all charges.

Before this acquittal, however, the department had in 2012 held him guilty in the same case, forcibly retired him, and imposed a 5 per cent cut in his pension. Kumar appealed against the departmental action, and on June 10, 2015, the appellate authority set aside the orders and remanded the matter for reconsideration.

Despite this, the department in 2016 issued a fresh order largely reiterating its earlier decision, maintaining his forced retirement without granting him a proper hearing. Aggrieved, Kumar approached the district court, which eventually ruled in his favour and directed the release of his dues — orders that have now led to the attachment proceedings due to non-compliance.