The Bombay high court on Monday questioned the Maharashtra government on what basis it issued a termination letter to Jeevanrao Gore, chairman of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), without assigning any valid reason.
The Bombay high court on Monday questioned the Maharashtra government on what basis it issued a termination letter to Jeevanrao Gore, chairman of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), without assigning any valid reason.
A division bench of justices Abhay Oka and Anil Menon has asked for a reply from the government by January 19. The court was hearing a petition by Gore, an engineering graduate who has held various prestigious posts in Maharashtra since 1991.
The government had issued a notification on December 23, 2014, saying that the appointment of Gore and other directors of MSRTC was terminated. They were given one month's notice. The notification, however, did not mention any reason for terminating the appointments before completion of their three-year tenure.
Petitioner's advocate Pooja Thorat alleged that the government had used its powers with malafide intentions to accommodate its party workers.
Gore, was appointed the MSRTC chairman in September 2012 for a period of three years.
Challenging the legality and validity of the government, Gore claimed that the government has no powers under the Road Transport Corporation Act, 1950 to terminate the MSRTC chairman's job.
The petition reads: "The scheme therefore makes it clear that directors can be removed under sub-section 1 of Section 8, but there is no provision of removing the chairman and the chairman can be removed only by invoking powers under Section 38 and not otherwise."
He has contended that even if there is power under Section 8 (2) to remove the director, the same cannot be automatic and arbitrary and there has to be some valid reason for such termination.
"The government cannot have its sweet will to appoint and terminate for no reason. Though there is a power to terminate the director, even then the same power cannot be used to terminate the director without any reason," adds his petition.
Gore has prayed that the high court call for the relevant government records and after going into the legality of the same, quash and set aside the notification terminating his service.
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