The Delhi High Court allowed a petition filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, seeking to assail the order dated 04.09.2018 passed by the learned Central Administrative Tribunal in a batch of O.As. The Court observed that the petitioners have been held guilty of having indulged in unfair means without even being made aware of the material against them or the specific act of unfair means alleged to have been committed by them.
Brief Facts:
Upon an advertisement being issued by respondent no.2, the petitioners’ who were desirous of applying for different posts therein submitted their application and appeared in the written examination held on 23.11.2014. When the result of this examination was declared on 20.02.2015, the petitioners were informed that their result had been withheld. Upon their repeated requests, they were on 16.04.2015, informed by way of their result published on the website of respondent no.2 that their candidature had been rejected on account of having resorted to the use of unfair means in the written examination. Being aggrieved they approached the learned Tribunal which has vide impugned orders dismissed their OAs, leading to the filing of the present petition
Contentions of the Petitioner:
The Learned Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the Learned Tribunal has failed to appreciate that the rejection of their candidature was wholly illegal as a decision to hold them guilty of having indulged in unfair practices in the written examination was passed without even putting them to any notice. He submits that the petitioners’ candidature has been rejected merely based on some purported information available with the respondents.
Contentions of the Respondent:
The Learned Counsel for the Respondent submitted that the petitioners do not have any vested right for appointment and therefore prays that the writ petition be dismissed. The decision to cancel the candidature of the petitioners was taken based on a report furnished by an expert committee.
Observations of the Court:
The Court noted that even if the respondents’ plea that they were justified in cancelling the candidature of the petitioners based on the report furnished by the expert committee, were to be accepted, the fact remains that the petitioners have been held guilty of having indulged in unfair means without even being made aware of the material against them or the specific act of unfair means alleged to have been committed by them.
The Court observed that it was still incumbent upon the respondents to put the petitioners to notice and accord an opportunity to them to submit their explanation. One of the essential components of the fair procedure is that the person against whom any penal action is taken must be put to adequate notice and an opportunity ought to have been granted to him/her to put up their best defence. We need not reiterate that the principles of natural justice are not merely an empty formality and ought to be fully complied with, especially in a case like the present where the young petitioners are looking to begin their careers.
The Decision of the Court:
The Delhi High Court, allowing the petition, held that the impugned orders passed by the learned Tribunal and the decision of the respondent to reject the candidature of the petitioners are set aside.
Case Title: Jitender v Union of India & Ors.
Coram: Hon’ble Mrs. Justice Rekha Palli and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar
Case No.: W.P.(C) 10621/2018
Advocate for the Petitioner: Mr. Nitin K. Gupta
Advocate for the Respondents: Mr. Shiva Lakshmi
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