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Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the respondent.

2. The petitioner before the court is the employer/Corporation. The respondent is its employee discharging his duties as conductor and assigned badge No.3613 and working in depot No.2 of the KSRTC.

3. It is submitted by the petitioner that the respondent was on duty on the bus bearing registration No.KA 01 F8049 while plying on Bangalore-Kodaikanal route and that at about 11.45 p.m., the checking officials of the petitioner/Corporation are said to have intercepted the bus when it had stopped at a hotel and on checking the cash in possession of the respondent/workman, it was found that he was in possession of an amount of Rs.489/- in excess of the amount declared by him i.e. by way of personal cash and amounts collected by way of sale of tickets. Checking officials thereafter issued offence memo which is marked as Ex.M5 and the same has been received by the delinquent workman on 12.8.2005 (though in the offence memo it is stated as 11.8.2005). Thereafter they submitted a report dated 20.8.2005 to the Security Department, the same is also marked as Ex.M5. The way bill, in which the workman is required to declare the cash possessed by him, is marked as Ex.M6. The said exhibit also bears the endorsement of the checking staff, delinquent workman and the depot staff, who have received the amount. The said way bill is said to have been submitted in the depot on 14.8.2005.

3. It is the case of the workman that when he was checked at about 11.45 p.m. he had in his possession an excess sum of Rs.513/- which belonged to one passenger who had bought two separate tickets, one upto Salem and the other in respect of his friend who was traveling upto Vattalagund and that the said passenger had given him a one thousand rupee note and as he did not possess the requisite change, he intimated the passenger that he would get exchanged the rupees One Thousand in the hotel when they stop for meals and return the remaining amount to him. It is also asserted by the delinquent workman that he had in fact endorsed the balance amount to be given on the reverse of the ticket issued to the said passenger but the Checking Officials refused to accept the explanation when they checked the vehicle as the vehicle had been stopped near the hotel and the passengers had alighted and gone to the hotel. Based on the offence memo the Disciplinary Authority without accepting the explanation given by the workman, initiated a domestic enquiry by appointing the Assistant Accounts Officer of the Bangalore Central Division as Enquiry Officer by order dated 30.9.2005. On conclusion of the enquiry, a report was submitted to the Disciplinary Authority and the Disciplinary Authority by its proceedings dated 26.3.2007 imposed the punishment of reduction of basic pay of the workman by two annual incremental stages and further directed that the period of suspension be treated as 'not on duty'.