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Hriday Shankar Tiwari v. District Cooperative Bank Ltd.

Civil Appeal · 2017 INSC 624Decided 17 Jul 2017
Civil Appeal No. 9137 of 2017
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

The appellant's service had been terminated by the respondent bank in 2000, and he filed a writ petition before the Allahabad High Court seeking reinstatement with full back wages. When the matter came up, none appeared to press the petition, so the High Court examined the record itself and dismissed the writ petition for want of any ground to grant relief. The appellant then approached the Supreme Court, arguing he had no other remedy to challenge his termination.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that since the appellant had no alternative remedy available to challenge his termination, the High Court ought to have given him an actual opportunity of hearing rather than deciding the matter without any appearance on his behalf. The Court set aside the High Court's judgment and restored the writ petition, requesting the High Court to dispose of it afresh after properly hearing the appellant. The appeal was accordingly disposed of with no order as to costs.

Lesson Learnt

A court should not finally decide a case on its merits without giving the affected party a genuine chance to be heard, especially where that party has no other legal remedy available: procedural fairness cannot be bypassed even if no one appears on a particular hearing date.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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