The Delhi High Court has imposed costs of ₹1 lakh on the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) for keeping a service dispute alive for more than three decades over a conductor’s claim for back wages.
The dispute had its origins in an allegation involving just ₹67.
In DTC vs Rajender Prashad, Justice Amit Mahajan declined to interfere with an Industrial Tribunal award passed in 2004 and criticised the prolonged litigation as an unnecessary drain on public resources.
The Court noted that pursuing such a limited dispute for an extraordinarily long period amounted to an abuse of the legal process and resulted in avoidable expenditure of public money.
The controversy dates back to 1994, when DTC initiated action against bus conductor Rajender Prashad on allegations that he had collected ₹67 from passengers without issuing them tickets.
Disciplinary proceedings followed, and Prashad was removed from service in 1996. However, after he challenged the decision before DTC’s Managing Director, he was reinstated, though without back wages.
Prashad subsequently raised an industrial dispute seeking the wages denied to him. The Industrial Tribunal ruled in his favour, holding that the punishment was unjustified and directing DTC to pay wage arrears for the relevant period.
DTC challenged the Tribunal’s decision before the Delhi High Court, where the award was stayed in 2005.
More than two decades later, the High Court has brought the matter to a close, finding the Tribunal’s decision to be reasonable and plausible.
The Court also took exception to the manner in which DTC continued to pursue the case, concluding that costs were warranted.
Of the ₹1 lakh imposed as costs, ₹25,000 will be paid to the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee, ₹50,000 to the Prime Minister Relief Fund, and ₹25,000 to Prashad.
Significantly, the Court permitted DTC to recover the amount from the officer responsible for continuing what it described as an insignificant dispute.
The ruling draws the curtain on a legal battle that began with an allegation involving ₹67 but continued for nearly 32 years, leaving the public exchequer to bear the consequences of prolonged litigation.
