NEW DELHI: Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) V M Saudagar, who was dismissed from service in 1996 for allegedly accepting a Rs 50 bribe from passengers for berth allotment , could have been a relieved man today if he were alive. His legal heirs continued the case for after his death, leading to the Supreme Court’s final ruling clearing his name.
The Supreme Court gave him a clean chit by noting that no case had been made out against him.
In its 10-page verdict, a copy accessed by TNIE, the top court observed with regret that Saudagar “is no longer alive to hear the good news as he died during the pendency of the case in the High Court.”
“All the charges have not been found to be proved conclusively against the appellant and CAT, on the basis of the material on record, had rightly interfered with the penalty of dismissal from service against the appellant. The High Court has failed to take note of the legal position that when the findings of the Enquiry Officer were perverse based on completely misleading materials produced before the Enquiry Officer, CAT was fully justified in setting aside the order of penalty,” the two-judge bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra noted.
Saudagar’s legal heirs, who fought the battle for almost 30 years, heaved a sigh of relief as the top court finally brought curtains down on the litigation, directing that all consequential monetary benefits, including pension, be released to his family.
According to the prosecution, the incident dates back to May 1988, when Saudagar was on duty in the second-class sleeper coach of the Dadar–Nagpur Express. During a surprise check, he was allegedly caught accepting Rs 50 as a bribe from passengers for allotment of berths.
The vigilance department alleged that Saudagar had demanded illegal gratification from passengers — Rs 25 from Hemant Kumar, an unrefunded Rs 20 from Dinesh Choudhary, and an unrefunded Rs 5 from Rajkumar Jaiswal — all in connection with berth allotments.
Further charges against him included being found in possession of excess cash of Rs 1,254 (excluding personal and railway cash), failure to recover Rs 18 as fare difference from a passenger (for Ticket No. 444750), and forging a duty card pass by extending its validity without authority.
A departmental inquiry was subsequently initiated against him, with the Railways alleging that Saudagar had exhibited lack of integrity and devotion to duty under Rule 3(1)(i) and (ii) of the 1966 Rules. He was dismissed from service in 1996 after the inquiry.
Undeterred, Saudagar challenged the dismissal before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which in 2002 directed the Railways to reinstate him. However, the government moved the Bombay High Court against the CAT order, which immediately stayed it. The case then remained pending in the High Court for 15 years, during which Saudagar passed away.
In 2017, the High Court quashed the CAT order and upheld his termination. His family members, however, continued to contest the bribery charges and took the case to the Supreme Court.
