Legal Reference Library

The Supreme Court in HP State Electricity Board Ltd vs Mahesh Dahiya, has observed that in disciplinary proceedings, before making opinion with regard to punishment which is to be imposed on a delinquent, the delinquent has to be given an opportunity to submit representation/reply on the inquiry report which finds a charge proved against the delinquent. A bench comprising Justice SA Bobde and Justice Ashok Bhushan made this observation while upholding a high court judgment setting aside the punishment order on a delinquent employee charged with willful absentation from official duty and disobeying the directions of the superiors. On the facts of the case, the court observed that before forwarding the copy of the report, the disciplinary authority had already formed an opinion to punish the delinquent with major penalty. The bench said that a delinquent employee is entitled to point out any defect in the procedure, a defect of substantial nature in appreciation of evidence, any misleadi...

Ex parte hearing, disposal, conviction or sentences are concepts unknown to criminal law and hence neither trial nor appeal against conviction or acquittal could be conducted in the absence of the counsel for the accused, the Madras High Court Bench here has said. Justice P. Devadass made the observation while reversing the dismissal of a criminal appeal by a Sessions Court in Tirunelveli on December 1, 2015. The appeal, preferred by a person convicted by a Judicial Magistrate in a cheque bounce case, had been dismissed for default. “As per Article 22(1) of the Constitution, a person accused of a crime is entitled to be defended by a lawyer of his choice. It is a fundamental right. It is a constitutional right. It is a basic human right. In the absence of counsel for the accused, conducting trial and punishing the accused is against law. It is not fair trial. “If criminal proceedings are conducted in the absence of a lawyer, it is like conducting trial with a deaf an...