REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 5341 OF 2006

Union of India & Others ..Appellants

versus

S.K. Kapoor ..Respondent

O R D E R

Heard learned counsel for the parties. This  Appeal  has  been  filed  against  the  impugned  

judgment and order dated 25th April, 2005 passed by the High  

Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in Special Civil Application  

No.7201 of 2005.

It  appears  that  the  respondent  had  been  charge  

sheeted for absence without leave and a dismissal order was  

passed against him on 01.11.2001.   

The respondent approached the Central Administrative  

Tribunal,  Ahmedabad Bench,  which by  its order  dated 20th  

July,  2004  quashed  the  dismissal  order  and  directed  the  

authorities to proceed from the stage of making available a  

copy of the Report of the Union Public Service Commission.

Being aggrieved by the order of the Tribunal, the  

appellants herein filed a writ petition in the High Court of  

Gujarat  at  Ahmedabad  being   Special  Civil  Application  

No.7201 of 2005, which has been dismissed by the impugned  

order.  Hence, this appeal.

We  have  perused  the  impugned  order  and  find  no

infirmity in the same.

It is a settled principle of natural justice that if  

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any  material  is  to  be  relied  upon  in  departmental  

proceedings, a copy of the same must be supplied in advance  

to the charge sheeted employee so that he may have a chance  

to rebut the same.

Mr.  Qadri,  learned  counsel  for  the  appellant  

submitted that the copy of the Report of the Union Public  

Service Commission was supplied to the respondent-employee  

along with the dismissal order. He submitted that this is  

valid in view of the decision of this Court in  Union of  

India vs. T.V.Patel, (2007) 4 SCC 785.

We do not agree.

In the aforesaid decision, it has been observed in  

para 25 that 'the provisions of Article 320(3)(c) of the  

Constitution of India are not mandatory'.  We are of the  

opinion that although Article 320(3)(c) is not mandatory, if  

the  authorities  do  consult  the  Union  Public  Service  

Commission and rely on the report of the commission for  

taking disciplinary action, then the principles of natural  

justice require that a copy of the report must be supplied  

in advance to the employee concerned so that he may have an  

opportunity of rebuttal.  Thus, in our view, the aforesaid  

decision in T.V.Patel's case is clearly distinguishable.

There may be a case where the report of the Union  

Public  Service  Commission  is  not  relied  upon  by  the  

disciplinary authority and in that case it is certainly not  

necessary to supply a copy of the same to the concerned  

employee.  However, if it is relied upon, then a copy of the  

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same must be supplied in advance to the concerned employee,  

otherwise,  there  will  be  violation  of  the  principles  of  

natural justice.

This is also the view taken by this Court in the  

case  of  S.N.Narula  vs.  Union  of  India  &  Others,  Civil  

Appeal No.642 of 2004 decided on 30th January, 2004.

It may be noted that the decision in  S.N.Narula's  

case  (supra) was  prior  to  the  decision  in  T.V.Patel's  

case(supra).  It is well settled that if a subsequent co-

ordinate bench of equal strength wants to take a different  

view,  it  can  only  refer  the  matter  to  a  larger  bench,  

otherwise  the  prior  decision  of  a  co-ordinate  bench  is  

binding on the subsequent bench of equal strength.  Since,  

the decision in S.N.Narula's case (supra) was not noticed in  

T.V.Patel's case(supra), the latter decision is a judgment  

per incuriam.  The decision in S.N.Narula's case (supra) was  

binding on the subsequent bench of equal strength and hence,  

it could not take a contrary view, as is settled by a series  

of judgments of this Court.

For the aforesaid reasons, this appeal is dismissed.  

Parties shall bear their own costs.

...........................J. [MARKANDEY KATJU]

NEW DELHI; ...........................J. MARCH 16, 2011 [GYAN SUDHA MISRA]