High Court defers decision to stall increment of TMT officials

THANE: The civic chief's decision to stall the increment of 27 officials from the transport department came up for hearing in the Bombay high court on Monday. However, the court deferred the hearing till next fortnight after the officers requested some more time to present their version.
Jaiswal had ordered a roll back of the hike for 27 of the 32 traffic inspectors with the TMT after an inquiry found that they were not working as per the mandate.However, the employees approached the industrial court in June which granted them relief by staying the order. Following this, the administration filed a writ petition before the Bombay high court in July.
The case came up for hearing on Monday. However, the counsel for the officers sought another date to present their version before the court, said an official. The case is likely to come up for hearing next fortnight. The officials said that the action was unjustified as they were not given any notice or time to justify their case after the administration found them to be not performing. During a review session by Jaiswal, it was noticed that officials who were supposed to keep a tab on ticketless travellers on TMT buses were unable to do so.
"These officials were collecting only Rs 300 as penalty daily which was measly as compared to a high number of passengers usually found travelling in these buses, following which they were punished. The case will now be heard next fortnight," said a civic official.