disciplinary action - The Legal Chamber

The Supreme Court held that the Ombudsman's proceedings lacked transparency and violated principles of natural justice by not providing the appellant with copies of orders and a fair hearing. The subsequent blacklisting by the cricket association, based on these flawed proceedings, was also set aside. The matter was remanded for a fresh hearing. Facts Of The Case: The appellant, a former Ranji Trophy player and member of a district cricket association, filed an original application before the Ombudsman of the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA). He sought directions to frame and implement uniform model bye-laws for all district associations, based on the Lodha Committee recommendations, and to ensure elections were conducted in conformity with these bye-laws. The Ombudsman dismissed his app...

The Supreme Court held that natural justice violations must cause actual prejudice to invalidate disciplinary proceedings. Technical non-compliance with procedural rules doesn't automatically vitiate departmental action. Courts assess whether different outcomes would emerge if procedures were followed. Preponderance of probability standard applies in disciplinary cases, not criminal proof standards. Facts Of The Case: S. Janaki Iyer was appointed as a Hindi trained graduate teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghathan, Bangalore on probation from January 11, 1989, and became permanent from April 16, 1992. Since her husband worked in Mumbai, she sought transfer from Bangalore to Mumbai or Pune. A transfer order dated October 1, 1991, allegedly signed by VK Jain, Assistant Commissioner (Headqu...

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Supreme Court Quashes Life Ban on Kerala Cricketer, Slams “Non-Transparent” Ombudsman Process

Supreme Court Upholds Teacher’s Dismissal Over Fake Transfer Order – Natural Justice Principles Explained