In Brief
The Supreme Court held that the High Court erred in granting continuity of service to a contractual bus driver whose termination was upheld after a valid departmental enquiry found misconduct proved. The Court established that continuity of service cannot be granted without first setting aside the termination order. Granting continuity to an employee with a misconduct record would unfairly place him on equal footing with unblemished contractual employees. The Court also found the High Court mechanically applied a prior batch judgment without considering the individual facts of this case, where a full enquiry was actually conducted. The appeal was allowed and both the High Court orders were set aside.
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