Assignment: Principles of Natural Justice

Name : - Yash Singh

Email ID :- yashsingh1465@gmail.com

Contact no. – 7081172398

Principles of Natural Justice (ASSIGNMENT)

The LAW Learners thelawlearners.com 1|Page
I. One- Liners 2 Marks each

1. The Belief on which the 1st Principle of Natural Justice, i.e. NemoDebetsuacausa is based on?

Answer 1 :-Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done.

2. The Landmark Case after which the Principle of Natural Justice were started to be applied on
administrative bodies also?

Answer 2 :-Maneka Gandhi Vs Union of India AIR 1978 597

3. The defence of interim actions can be undertaken only in cases pertaining to?

Answer 3 :- Public safety or public health

4. Which law[act] in India provides Principles of Natural Justice?

Answer 4 :- Indian Constitution Act.

5. Which Fundamental Right is inclusive of Principles of Natural Justice to some extent?

Answer 5 :- Article 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty).

SUBJECTIVE QUESTIONS [Within 100 Words] 5 Marks Each

1. What do you understand by the phrase “Justice must not always be done, but also seen to
be done”? Explain with reference to the Principles of Natural Justice.

Answer 1 :-It means that justice should be open and public, we should not punish the guilty
in secret and in isolation as we see in the movies… Transparency is not only necessary for
the system to remain corruption free but also to remind everyone of the toll they have to pay
while satisfying the victim that the state will not spare anyone who violates the law…It
means that the punishment must be just and deserved, and seen as such. This means that the
processes by which someone is judged must be clear and transparent.
Principles of Natural Justice (ASSIGNMENT)
The LAW Learners thelawlearners.com 2|Page
 2. What is the position of the principle of Audi AlteramPartem in India? Where is it granted
under Indian Statutes?

Answer 2:-InManeka Gandhi case, the circumstances were such, that having a hearing before
impounding a passport would defeat and paralyse the administration of the law, so the rule
of “audialterampartem”  ought not to be applied. The court however held that merely
because the traditional methodology of a formalised hearing may have the effect of
stultifying the exercise of the statutory power, did not mean that the “rule” should be wholly
excluded. The court must make every effort to salvage this cardinal rule to the maximum
extent permissible in a given case. It is granted under Article 14.

3. How is useless formality, an exception to the principle of audialterampartem?

Answer 3:-Useless formality’ is yet another exception to the application of the principles of
natural justice. Where on the admitted or undisputed facts only one conclusion is possible
and under the law only one penalty is permissible, the Court may not insist on the observance
of the principles of natural justice because it would be futile to order its observance.
Therefore, where the result would not be different, and it is demonstrable beyond doubt,
order of compliance with the principles of natural justice will not be justified.

4. What was the need to amend the defence of necessity as “absolute necessity” in
NemoDebet in suacausa?

Answer 4:-The doctrine of necessity can be invoked in cases of bias where there is no
authority to decide the issue. If the doctrine of necessity is not allowed full play in certain
unavoidable situations, it would impede the course of justice itself and the defaulting party

Principles of Natural Justice (ASSIGNMENT)

The LAW Learners thelawlearners.com 3|Page
 would benefit from it. If the choice is between either to allow a biased person to act or to
stifle the action altogether. The Supreme Court made it clear that Doctrine of Necessity can
not be invoked every now and then, it might lead to absence of Rule of Law in the Society.

ANALYTICAL QUESTIONS [Within 200 Words] 10 Marks Each

1. Imagine if your college takes disciplinary action against you. The investigation officer
was himself the complainant and he gave no hearing opportunity to you. Moreover, you
were rusticated from college without any notice. How will you claim violation of your
Principles of Natural Justice?

Answer 1:-Firstly, the complainant himself is the investigating officer, which means that he
might have used his position to alter or mutilate the evidences or have made wrong
investigation with malafide intention to reach the decision in his favor, clearly proves the
“reasonable suspicion of bias” or a “real likelihood of bias”. The principle of 'No man shall
be judge in his own cause' says that no one should be a judge in cases in which he have
interest, but in this case the complainant have the interest which prove the test of likelihood
of bias.

Secondly, I was not given any opportunity to present my pleading/reasoning which clearly
violate the principle of 'Audi Alteram Partem' or the rule of fair hearing. If a person is given
opportunity to take part or to present his side, before a decision is taken, then such decision
will be unjust and bad.

Thirdly, notice is said to be important point of hearing, but in this case, notice was not given
to me before the decision of rustication was taken though I had right to notice.

In the end, the decision is unjust and my rustication was against the principle of natural
justice.

Principles of Natural Justice (ASSIGNMENT)

The LAW Learners thelawlearners.com 4|Page
 2. If you were to remove any Exception of Principles of Natural Justice, what would it be
and why?

Answer 2 :-I would like to remove the exception of Emergency or where prompt action is
needed, because many a times when the principle of natural justice is not followed because of
prompt or emergency situation, the rights of people are violated for which they have no
remedy and they not only suffer mentally, but they also lose faith in the principle of natural
justice, which they consider to be the guiding force of every decision that involves the
question of natural rights and liberties.

In Maneka Gandhi case, the authority had stopped her, because according to them prompt
action was needed for which her passport was seized. Not only, she was not served with
notice but also she was not provided with the opportunity to present or give reasoning.

In the case of emergency, both the principles of natural are not followed, which make the role
of justice administration weak in the eyes of the society. There should be some sort of
procedure where people should be given reason for actions taken against them so that they
can understand what wrong is done by them.

Principles of Natural Justice (ASSIGNMENT)

The LAW Learners thelawlearners.com 5|Page
Principles of Natural Justice (ASSIGNMENT)
The LAW Learners thelawlearners.com 6|Page