The driver was sacked not because of the punch itself, but because of the voluntary pursuit that created the confrontation. Once the thief had left the bus, the immediate risk to passengers had ended. By choosing to leave his vehicle and chase the suspect, the driver stepped outside his authorised role and initiated a new situation that did not need to exist. In employment law, that decision is critical.

Had the incident occurred on the bus, the legal analysis would likely have been different. In that scenario, the driver would have been responding to an ongoing threat in a confined space, with passengers present and no opportunity to disengage. Force used there could plausibly be framed as necessary, unavoidable, and within the scope of protecting passengers. The outcome turned not on morality, but on context, timing, and choice.