C.A. Vaidialingam, J. - (1.) This appeal, by special leave, is directed against the judgment and order dated January 17, 1966 of the High Court of Assam and Nagaland, in Civil Rule No. 201 of 1965 quashing the award dated March 3, 1965 of the Labour Court of Assam in Reference No. 98 of 1961, in and by which the Labour Court had set aside the order dated April 19, 1960 of the management terminating the services of the workman B.N. Thakur.
(2.) The workman was employed as the head godown clerk in the first respondent's engineering godown in Sadar office. He was mainly responsible for receipts and issue of stores from the engineering godown of the company; and, according to the management, he was holding a position of trust and responsibility. On March 12, 1960 the manager of Rungagora Tea Estate had sent a lorry to Sadar office to collect certain stores for the garden. The said lorry was being driven by a garden lorry driver Jamiruddin. When the driver was collecting stores from the engineering godown, the workman who was at that time the head godown clerk instructed the former to take three used pulleys belonging to the company in the lorry and to drop them at M/s. Sharma and Company at Jorhat. The driver was also informed that the pulleys were being returned to M/s. Sharma and Company as they belonged to the latter. The lorry driver loaded the pulleys in the garden lorry as directed by the workman. But as he forgot to drop them at the depot of M/s. Sharma and Company, the pulleys were taken to Rungagora Tea Estate. On March 16, 1960 the driver of the lorry informed the manager of Rungagora Tea Estate that the three pulleys had been brought to the garden godown by mistake instead of delivering them to M/s. Sharma and Company, as directed by the workman. As there was no challan produced by the driver for clearing the goods from the engineering office, the manager informed the assistant manager of Sadar office on March 18, 1960. On instructions from the Sadar office, the pulleys were returned to the garden office.
(3.) A preliminary investigation was held by the management regarding the circumstances under which the three pulleys came to be removed from the engineering godown. As the workman was not able to give any satisfactory explanation for the removal of the goods from the engineering godown, a charge-sheet was served on him by the management on March 21, 1960. In the charge-sheet it was alleged that the workman' Bhola Nath Thakur had removed three pulleys on March 12, 1960 from the company godown and loaded them in the garden lorry without authority and had instructed the lorry driver to drop them at the godown of M/s. Sharma and Company at Jorhat. It was further stated that the allegations, if proved, would constitute an offence under the standing orders of the company.;