MANOHAR LAL Vs. STATE OF J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant appeal challenges the judgment and order dated 07.05.2009 rendered by the learned Single Judge of this Court, holding that the appellant-petitioner was given promotion as Master on 25.05.2005 on the assumption that he was appointed as Teacher on 13.12.1988. The respondent-Department later on found that in fact he was appointed as Teacher on 10.09.1992 and was thus not eligible for promotion to the post of Master.

(2.) The appellant-petitioner approached the Writ Court with the prayer that order dated 08.11.2005 cancelling the order of promotion was passed by the Director School Education Jammu, without following the principles of natural justice. The learned Single Judge, rejected his prayer by holding that the rules of natural justice are not a mere ritual but their noncompliance must adversely affect the rights of a person.

(3.) Having perused the memo of appeal and the impugned judgment of the learned Single Judge, we fully concur with the view taken in the impugned judgment and order. It is well settled that rules of natural justice are not always necessary to be applied if the result would be to revive an illegal order. In that regard reliance may be placed on various judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. In that regard reliance may be placed on the judgment rendered in the case of Gadde Venkateswara Rao v. Govt. of A.P, 1966 AIR(SC) 828; para 38 of the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Maharaja Chintamani Saran Nath Shahdeo v. State of Bihar and ors, 1999 8 SCC 16 and para 17 of the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in case of M. C. Mehta v. Union of India and ors, 1999 6 SCC 237. After placing reliance on various observations made in Gadde Venkateswara's case , their Lordships of the Supreme Court in the concluding part of para 17 of the judgment in M. C. Mehta's case proceeded to observe as under:-