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    Audi Alteram Partem

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    Aniketh ku
    The document discusses the legal principle of "audi alteram partem" or "hear the other side". It states that this principle, along with impartiality, protects individuals from arbitrary administrative actions. It involves affording a fair hearing to both sides before making an order. While no strict procedural rules exist, courts emphasize the need for fairness. A fair hearing involves adequate notice, disclosure of materials, the right to present one's case and rebut evidence, and the right to receive assistance from a counsel or friend.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Audi Alteram Partem

    Uploaded by

    Aniketh ku
    212 views20 pages
    The document discusses the legal principle of "audi alteram partem" or "hear the other side". It states that this principle, along with impartiality, protects individuals from arbitrary administrative actions. It involves affording a fair hearing to both sides before making an order. While no strict procedural rules exist, courts emphasize the need for fairness. A fair hearing involves adequate notice, disclosure of materials, the right to present one's case and rebut evidence, and the right to receive assistance from a counsel or friend.

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    The document discusses the legal principle of "audi alteram partem" or "hear the other side". It states that this principle, along with impartiality, protects individuals from arbitrary administrative actions. It involves affording a fair hearing to both sides before making an order. While no strict procedural rules exist, courts emphasize the need for fairness. A fair hearing involves adequate notice, disclosure of materials, the right to present one's case and rebut evidence, and the right to receive assistance from a counsel or friend.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    212 views20 pages

    Audi Alteram Partem

    Uploaded by

    Aniketh ku
    The document discusses the legal principle of "audi alteram partem" or "hear the other side". It states that this principle, along with impartiality, protects individuals from arbitrary administrative actions. It involves affording a fair hearing to both sides before making an order. While no strict procedural rules exist, courts emphasize the need for fairness. A fair hearing involves adequate notice, disclosure of materials, the right to present one's case and rebut evidence, and the right to receive assistance from a counsel or friend.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 20

    Audi Alteram Partem

    Dr. Anu Prasannan


    • Second long arm of NJ which protects the little
    man from arbitrary administrative actions is
    Audi Alteram Partem
    • It means ‘hear the other side’, ‘no man should
    be condemned unheard’, ‘both the sides must
    be heard before passing any order’.
    • While the first principle is on impartiality,
    second principle deals with fairness
    • While there is no code of procedural rules to
    be followed by administrative bodies, it is for
    the courts to articulate from case to case
    • Courts do not like the idea of confining the
    rules of NJ within any rigid formula
    • Courts insist that what is required is fair play
    in action
    • Many a times a statute under which an
    adjudicatory body functions may itself lay down
    a procedure
    • But if the statutory procedure has gaps, it may
    have to be supplemented by bringing in norms
    of NJ.
    • Courts cannot supplant the law but can only
    supplement procedure laid down in legislature
    where they find it necessary to make it fair
    Three basic elements
    • A person against whom an order is required to
    be passed must be given an opportunity of
    being heard
    • Authority concerned should provide a fair and
    transparent procedure
    • Authority concerned must apply its mind and
    dispose of the matter by a reasoned or
    speaking order
    Components of fair hearing
    1. Notice
    -the term notice originated from the latin word ‘notifia’
    which means ‘being known’
    -notice is the starting point of any hearing
    -only when a person knows the formulation of the subjects
    and issues involved in the case he can defend himself
    -it is a minimum obligatory condition
    -importance of notice in adjudicatory proceedings has
    been underlined by the SC in Olga Tellis v Bombay
    Municipal Corpn.
    a. Service of notice
    A notice to be valid and effective must be
    properly served on the concerned person
    -K.A. Abdul Khader v Dy. Director court ruled that
    notice had not been served on the concerned
    person and in the absence of its service, no
    proceedings could be initiated against him
    -U.P Singh v Board of Governors, MACT
    • b. sufficient time to reply
    -it depends on the facts of each case
    -Kamalakumari v Municipal Corpn. of Hyderabad
    giving of merely 3days notice to the
    concerned person to show cause against
    demolition of a house was held to be an
    inadequate notice and the notice was quashed
    See K.C. Cyriac v Vice Chancellor
    • c. notice to be effective must be adequate
    -notice means an adequate notice and should indicate
    1.Time and place of hearing
    2. Specific case or allegations
    3. Must not be vague
    4. Must be adequate and give concerned party
    enough information about issues involved.
    See Joseph Vilangandan v Executive Engineer (PWD)
    • d. form of notice
    -statutory provision may prescribe the form in
    which the notice is to be issued to the affected
    party
    2. Disclosure of materials to the party
    -if the adjudicatory body is going to reply on any
    material, evidence or document for its
    decision against a party
    ↓
    The same must be brought to his notice and he
    be given an opportunity to rebut it
    • Non-disclosure of materials to the affected
    party has been held fatal to the validity of the
    hearing proceedings
    • See Kashinath Dikshita v Union of India
    • The question now is the extent and content of
    the information to be given to him
    -it is not necessary to disclose such materials to
    the party concerned which are not going to be
    relied upon
    -If the gist of the documents has been brought to
    his notice, then the non-supply of the copies of
    the same may not violate natural justice
    3. Hearing/Right to present case and evidence
    • Next stage is the giving of an opportunity to the
    concerned party to rebut the allegations made
    against him and of presenting his own case
    • It varies from situation to situation
    • Hearing may be oral or personal hearing
    • Courts are unanimous on the point that oral
    hearing is not an integral part of fair hearing
    • In many instances personal hearing are
    dispensed with
    -See Union of India v J.P.Mitter
    • However, when complex and technical qns of
    lawor fact are involved fairness may dictate on
    oral hearing
    -Travancore Rayons v Union of India
    • 4. Receiving evidence in the presence of the concerned
    party
    -ordinarily in oral hearing the ideal procedure is to take
    evidence against the party concerned in his presence
    UP Warehousing Corpn v Vijay Narayan
    -However, statement of witnesses may even be recorded
    in the absence of the concerned party
    -No breach of NJ occurs if the gist of these statements is
    supplied to him
    -Refer Blaze & Central (P) Ltd. V Union of India
    • There may also be circumstances when it may not be
    expedient to disclose the sources of information
    against the concerned party
    • Thus due to some exigencies identity of the
    witnesses will be kept confidential.
    • For this refer Hira Nath Mishra v Rajendra Medical
    College
    • 36girl students of a medical college filed a report
    with the principal regarding misbehavior of the boys
    in the girls hostel.
    • Whatever evidence collected in this case at the back
    of the appellants were brought to their notice and
    were provided opportunity to rebut the evidence.
    5. Receiving evidence produced by the concerned
    person
    -the right to rebut adverse evidence presupposes that
    the person has been informed about the evidence
    against him
    -the opportunity to rebut evidence involves
    consideration of 2 factors:
    a. Cross examination [read scanned copy]
    -it is one of the most efficacious methods of
    establishing truth and exposing falsehood
    -but court asserted that right to cross examine
    witnesses is not an essential part of natural justice
    Refer State of J& K v Bakshi Gulam Mohammad
    b. Right to Counsel
    -The right of representation by a lawyer is never
    considered to be part of NJ
    -It cannot be claimed as a right unless the said
    right is conferred by the statute
    -some statutes do not permit appearance of
    legal practitioners
    Eg. Factory laws
    • c. right of friend
    -in departmental proceedings and domestic
    enquiries an employee is normally allowed to
    represent his case through his friend, co-
    worker etc.
    A K Roy v Union of India SC held that a detinue
    had a right to be assisted by a friend

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