Former Indian consulate chauffeur Hitender Kumar Credit:Christopher Pearce The acting consul-general tried and failed to have public reporting of the case, which is being heard in the Fair Work Commission, suppressed to ensure the "government of India's reputation is not adversely affected". Mr Kumar claims he was sacked after raising concerns about the consulate's failure to conduct required police clearance checks before issuing Indian passports in Sydney. He says he was reprimanded for seeking the advice of the Roads and Maritime Service which told him an e-TAG, which waives any fee tolls, could only be used in the official consular car. Mr Kumar said his employer had asked him to use the e-TAG in a Toyota while the consular car was being serviced. Indian media have reported that the Indian consulate in Sydney unwittingly issued a fake passport to underworld figure Chhota Rajan who was wanted in India. According to media reports, Rajan was deported from Bali to India late last year. His passport was reportedly issued under a different name in Sydney.

Mr Kumar believes he was sacked because he started "blowing the whistle" on questionable practices at the consulate. He is also preparing to lodge a claim for alleged underpayment. "My dismissal was unfair. It happened when I started raising my voice about things they were doing against Australian law," Mr Kumar said. "They were not giving us penalty rates and overtime rates." Mr Kumar said the consulate had told him it was immune from Australian workplace laws. The consulate has declined to comment in response to Fairfax Media's inquiries about Mr Kumar's case.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade protocols advise diplomatic missions and consular posts that their employment of staff is subject to state and federal laws. This means that locally engaged staff are entitled to minimum employment conditions, including wages, leave and safety conditions and protection from unlawful discrimination and harassment. The department declined to comment about Indian passports saying questions should be referred to Indian and Indonesian authorities. The Transport Workers Union, which is representing Mr Kumar, says he was underpaid at $12.74 per hour in 2010 and at $16.33 per hour in 2015. The current hourly rate is $17.29. The union says the consulate advised it terminated Mr Hitender's employment for insubordination after he approached the Roads and Maritime Service about the use of the e-TAG. It has also claimed he was not performing his work unless instructed in writing.

Mr Kumar has provided copies of two positive references from former consular officials including Arun Goel when he was consuL-general in March, 2014 and Biren Nanda in January 2015 when he was High Commissioner of India. Mr Goel said Mr Kumar had been "observed to be very reliable and efficient in performing his assigned duties" and "an asset to this Consulate". Mr Nanda said he found Mr Kumar to be "an outstanding driver, very reliable and helpful and an asset to the Consulate General of India, Sydney". Mr Kumar's employment was terminated by deputy consul-general Vinod Bahade on March 13 last year. WorkCover investigated the consulate over claims it was not keeping required records of its employees and their wages.

The State Insurance Regulatory Authority said it was notified in August last year that the Indian consulate did not have a current workers compensation policy. It took out a policy in October. A spokesman for the authority said the consulate was not fined and "the employer has since provided evidence that it has a current workers compensation policy".