NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has expressed its concern over the rise in corruption cases in the system and said that, at a time when graft has affected the system like a cancer, courts should not get swayed by the concept of mercy while awarding punishment to the corrupt.
The apex courts’ observation came while terminating the services of a conductor employed in Uttar Pradesh State Transport Corporation for carrying 25 passengers without tickets in 1992.
A Bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Prafulla C Pant observed, “In the case at hand, as we perceive, the delinquent employee has 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. The whole act is reprehensible and such a situation does not even remotely commend any lenience.”
The Bench said both the Labour Court and the Allahabad High Court had committed error by imposing lesser punishment and granting chance of reformation to Gopal Shukla as the only punishment should have been dismissal.
The Bench said the HC appeared to have been swayed by the concept of forgiveness and mercy while remaining oblivious to the great harm caused to the transport corporation.
“When such indiscipline causes financial loss to the Corporation, adequate punishment has to be imposed ,” it said.