₹10 Mistake, 21-year fight: HC slams railways' 'harsh' sacking, delivers belated justice

Jabalpur (The Uttam Hindu): In a highly emotional and shocking decision, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has overturned the dismissal of Narayan Nair, a former railway employee. After 21 years of searching for justice, the employee has finally received significant relief from the court. Shockingly, this employee was fired for an alleged misappropriation of just 10 rupees. This High Court decision has exposed the insensitivity of the system, in which a person had to spend more than two decades of his life trying to prove his innocence.

Alleged misappropriation of Rs 10 and job taken away without hearing

This story of injustice began on January 4, 2002. Narayan Nair was on duty at the ticket counter at Shridham Railway Station. Amid long queues and heavy crowds, a vigilance team arrived with a decoy passenger. The decoy passenger alleged that Nair was supposed to refund 31 rupees, but he only returned 21 rupees, keeping 10 rupees for himself. Nair repeatedly insisted that it might have been an unintentional mistake due to the heavy rush, but he was ignored. Without a hearing or a chance to explain, his years-long service was abruptly terminated on a mere 10-rupee charge.

The money for the sick wife's medicine was made 'evidence'

The vigilance team's excesses didn't stop there. The team claimed to have found an extra ₹450 from Nair. Nair pleaded that it was his personal money, kept for his ailing wife's medicine, but the officials completely ignored this explanation. Furthermore, a bundle of tickets lying on the floor near the counter was used as a weapon against him, even though Nair had no knowledge of it. The investigation also revealed significant discrepancies. Initially, it was reported that ₹778 had been found in excess, but a subsequent investigation reduced this amount to just ₹7. However, by then, Nair had lost both his job and his reputation.

The court revealed: no witnesses, rules were flouted

When the case finally reached the High Court in 2026, the court thoroughly examined the entire case. It revealed that this was not a case of crime, but a gross failure of due process. The court was astonished to find that there were no independent witnesses to the alleged 10 rupee charge. The only evidence was that of a decoy passenger, who was part of the vigilance team. Furthermore, no ordinary passenger had ever complained against Nair. Most shockingly, the investigating officer in the case was also acting as the prosecution, a direct violation of the principles of natural justice.

Dismissal for minor omissions is an extremely harsh and unfair punishment

Taking a tough stand on the entire matter, the High Court stated that the allegations made were not substantiated even on the basis of probability. The court upheld the tribunal's decision and dismissed the railway's petition outright. The court clearly remarked that even assuming a minor lapse, dismissal from service was an extremely "harsh and disproportionate" punishment.