A civil court in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has directed a former employee of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to repay over Rs 10.26 lakh along with interest and compensation. The court found him guilty of misappropriating public funds collected from student concession passes.
The order was passed on 1 January by the 5th Joint Civil Judge, Senior Division, while partly allowing a recovery suit filed by MSRTC against Rajesh Kashinath Sonawne, its dismissed traffic controller. The court also directed him to pay Rs 2 lakh as compensation for the financial loss caused to the public transport utility.
According to court records, Sonawne was posted at the ST Bidkin control point and bus stand and was responsible for selling monthly student concession passes issued by the Paithan depot. These passes, priced between Rs 20 and Rs 307, were required to be sold after proper entries in official registers, with the full proceeds deposited with the concerned depot.
The court noted that internal records showed Sonawne had collected passes worth Rs 11.08 lakh but failed to deposit the corresponding amount. During inspections conducted in 2011, MSRTC officials found that he avoided record verification and left the control cabin repeatedly. Further scrutiny revealed that the sale proceeds were never deposited and were instead used for personal purposes.
Following the detection of irregularities, MSRTC conducted a departmental inquiry, which confirmed misappropriation of Rs 10.26 lakh. Sonawne was subsequently dismissed from service, and a police complaint was also registered.
In 2015, MSRTC approached the civil court seeking recovery of the amount along with interest and compensation. During the trial, the corporation presented witnesses and documentary evidence. The defendant did not appear despite summons, leading the case to proceed ex parte.
While rejecting MSRTC’s demand for 18 per cent interest, the court allowed interest at six per cent per annum from the date of filing until recovery, along with costs.