Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 28: High Court has held that rules of natural justice are not rigid but flexible and their application depends upon the setting and background of statutory provisions, nature of right in the facts and circumstances of each case.
These observations were made by Justice Janak Raj Kotwal while dismissing a petition filed by Jabeen Akhter Lone seeking quashing of Government Order No.263-Home of 2015 dated July 8, 2015 whereby the Government has accorded sanction to the cancellation of the stopgap placement of the petitioner as Incharge Deputy Superintendent of Police under the RBA Category vide Government Order No. Home-328 of 2014 dated July 11, 2014 and to the placement of Inspector Himat Singh as Incharge DySP under the RBA category.
Following placement of petitioner and other as DySP vide Order dated July 11, 2014, Inspector Himat Singh submitted his representation to the Police Headquarters for his promotion as Incharge DySP on the ground that he belongs to the RBA category and his two juniors of the same category including the petitioner have been placed as Incharge DySPs ahead of him.
The Home Department found that Inspector Himat Singh satisfied all the conditions for promotion as Incharge DySP and accordingly he was promoted as incharge DySP and stop-gap placement of petitioner was cancelled in view of non-availability of vacancy.
Aggrieved over this, Jabeen Akhter Lone filed a petition in the High Court challenging cancellation of her promotion on the ground that she was not heard in violation of the principles of natural justice.
However, Additional Advocate General, Wasim Sadiq Nargal appearing for the Home Department submitted that by promoting the petitioner over and above Inspector Himat Singh, great injustice was done to the latter and for correcting such injustice no notice was required to be issued to the petitioner.
After hearing both the sides, Justice Janak Raj Kotwal, while quoting the Supreme Court judgments, observed, “if a decision has been arrived at by the Government on the administrative side it could be altered if the Government is satisfied that the decision was wrong and in such a case there is no violation of the principles of natural justice”.
“It is well established that the rules of natural justice are not rigid rules, they are flexible and their application depends upon the setting and the background of statutory provisions, nature of the right which may be affected and the consequences which may entail in the facts and circumstances of each case”, Justice Kotwal further said while dismissing the petition for being without any merit.
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