UTTAR BHARTIYA EDUCATION SOCIETY Vs. NARESH TEJAN THAKUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The concept of 'principles of natural justice', devised essentially to achieve procedural fairness, ensures correct or appropriate decisions. The principle finds embedded in almost all service-related rules and regulations and its incorporation is aimed at offering full opportunity to an employee to defend himself/herself in respect of accusations made by the employer. However many times, the intricate procedure prescribed for conduct of domestic enquiries result in counterproductive results where the employer is unable to punish an employee who has conducted misconduct. It sometimes becomes a tool in the hands of errant employees to avoid punishments. It is for this precise reason that in State Bank of India and Others Vs. S. K. Sharma,(1996) 3 SCC 364. the Apex Court was required to make following observations :

(2.) I am faced with somewhat similar position where a Peon working in a School was accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl and terminated from services is directed to be reinstated in service and rewarded with full backwages by the School Tribunal essentially on grounds of non-following of procedural rules of conducting inquiry.

(3.) Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith. With the consent of the learned Counsel for parties, Petition is called out for hearing.