ons Nos 173 to 175 of 1967
Petition under article 32 of the Constitution of India for enforcement of the fundamental rights
A K Sen and E C Agrawala for the petitioners in WP No 173 of 1967
Frank Anthony E C Agrawala and A T M Sampat for the petitioners in WP No 174 of 1967
C K Daphtary E C Agrawala A T M Sampat section R Agarwala and Champat Rai for the petitioners in WP No 175 of 1967
Niren De Attorney General N section Bindra and R N Sachthey for respondents Nos 1 to 6 in all the petitions
H R Gokhale and Harbans Singh for respondents Nos 7 and 26 in all the petitions
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Hegde J
These petitions are brought by some of the Gazet ted Officers serving in the forest department of the State of Jammu and Kashmir
Some of them are serving as Conservators of Forests some as Divisional Forest Officers and others as Assistant Conservators of Forests
All of them feel aggrieved by the selections made from among the officers serving in the forest department of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian Forest Service a service constituted in 1966 under section 31 of the All India Services Act 1951 and the rules framed thereunder
Hence they have moved this Court to quash notification No 32466 A 15IV dated the 29th July 1967 issued by the Government of India Ministry of Home Affairs as according to them the selections notified in the said notification are violative of articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution and on the further ground that the selections in question are vitiated by the contravention of the principles of natural justice
They are also challenging the vires of section 3 of the All India Services Act rule 4 of the rules framed under that Act and Regulation 5 of the Indian Forest Service Initial Recruitment Regulations 1966 framed under the aforementioned rule 4
Section 2A of the All India Services Act 1951 authorises the Central Government to constitute three new All India Services 460 including the Indian Forest Service
Section 3 provides that the Central Government shall after consulting the Government of the States concerned including that of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to make rules for the regulation of recruitment and the conditions of service of persons appointed to those All India Services
Sub section
2 of section 2 prescribes that all rules made under that section shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before Parliament as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modifications whether by way of repeal or amendment as Parliament may make on a motion made during the session in which they are so laid
 In pursuance of the power given under section 3 rules for the recruitment to the Indian Forest Service were made in 1966 Indian Forest Service Recruitment Rules 1966
The only rule relevant for our present purpose is rule 41 which reads  As soon as may be after the commencement of these rules the Central Governme nt May recruit to the service any person from amongst the members of the State Forest Service adjudged suitable in accordance with such Regulations as the Central Government may make in consultation with the State Governments and the Commission
 The Commission referred to in the above rule is the Union Public Service Commission
The Proviso to that sub rufe is not relevant for our present purpose
We may next come to the Regulations framed under rule 41
Those Regulations are known as the Indian Forest Service Initial Recruitment Regulations 1966
They are deemed to have come into force on July 1 1966
Regulation 2 defines certain expressions
Regulation 3 provides for the constitution of a special selection board
It says that the purpose of making selection to State cadre the Central Government shall constitute a special selection board consisting of the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or his nominee the Inspector General of Forests of the Government of India ad officer of the Government of India not below the rank of Joint Secretary the Chief Secretary to the State Government concerned or the Secretary of that Government dealing with the forests and the Chief Conservator of Forests of the State Government concerned
Regulation 4 prescribes the conditions of eligibility
That Regulation contemplates the formation of a service in the senior scale and a service in the junior scale
Regulation 5 is important for our present purpose
It deals with the preparation of the list of suitable candidates
It reads  1 The Board shall prepare in the order of preference a list of such officers of State Forest Service who 461 satisfy the conditions specified in regulation 4 and who are adjudged by the Board suitable for appointment to posts in the senior and junior scales of the Service
2 The list prepared in accordance with sub regulation 1 shall then be referred to the Commission for advice by the Central Government along with  a the records of all officers of State Forest Service included in the list b the records of all other eligible officers of the State Forest Service who are not adjudged suitable for inclusion in the list together with the reasons as recorded by the Board for their non inclusion in the list and c the observations if any of the Ministry of Home Affairs on the recommendations of the Board
On receipt of the list along with the other documents received from the Central Government the Commission shall forward its recommendations to that Government
 Regulation 6 stipulates that the officers recommended by the Commission under sub r
3 of Regulation 5 shall be appointed to the service by the Central Government subject to the availability of vacancies in the State cadre concerned
In pursuance of the Regulation mentioned above the Central Government constituted a special selection board for select ing officers to the Indian Forest Service in the senior scale as well as in the junior scale from those serving in the forest department of the State of Jammu and Kashmir
The nominee of the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission one M A Venkataraman was the Chairman of the board
The other members of the board were the Inspector General of Forests of the Government of India one of the Joint Secretaries in the Government of India the Chief Secretary to the State Government of Jammu and Kashmir and Naqishbund the Acting Chief Conservator of Forests of Jammu and Kashmir
The selection board met at Srinagar in May 1967 and se lected respondents 7 to 31 in Writ Petition No 173 of 1967
The cases of respondents Nos 32 to 37 were reserved for further consideration
The selections in question are said to have been made solely on the basis of the records of officers
Their suitability was not tested by any examination written or oral
 Nor were they interviewed
For several years before that selection the adverse entries made in the character rolls of the officers had not been 462 communicated to them and their explanation called for
In doing so quite clearly the authorities concerned had contravened the instructions issued by the Chief Secretary of the State
Sometime after the afore mentioned selections were made at the instance of the Government of India the adverse remarks made in the course of years against those officers who had not been selected were communicated to them and their explanations called for
Those explanations were considered by the State Government and on the basis of the same some of the adverse remarks made against some of the officers were removed
Thereafter the selection board reviewed the cases of officers not selected earlier as a result of which a few more officers were selected
The selections as finally made by the board were accepted by the Commission
On the basis of the recommendations of the Commission the impugned list was published
Even after the review Basu Baig and Kaul were not selected
It may also be noted that Naqishbund s name is placed at the top of the list of selected officers
Naqishbund had been promoted as Chief Conservator of Forests in the year 1964
He is not yet confirmed in that post
G H Basu Conservator of Forests in the Kashmir Forest Ser vice who is admittedly senior to Naqishbund had appealed to the State Government against his supersession and that appeal was pending with the State Government at the time the impugned selections were made
M I Baig and A N Kaul Conservators of Forests also claim that they are seniors to Naqishbund but that fact is denied by Naqishbund
Kaul had also appealed against his alleged supersession but it is alleged that appeal had been rejected by the State Government
Naqishbund was also one of the candidates seeking to be selected to the All India Forest Service
We were told and we take it to be correct that he did not sit in the selection board at the time his name was considered for selection but admittedly he did sit in the board and participate in its deliberations when the names of Basu Baig and Kaul his rivals were considered for selection
It is further admitted that he did participate in the deliberations of the board while preparing the list of selected candidates in order of preference as required by Regulation 5
The selection board was undoubtedly a high powered body
That much was conceded by the learned Attorney General who appeared for the Union Government as well as the State Government
It is true that the list prepared by the selection board was not the last word in the matter of the selection in question
That list along with the records of the officers in the concerned cadre selected as well as not selected had to be sent to the Minis 463 try of Home Affairs
We shall assume that as required by Regulation 5 the Ministry of Home Affairs had forwarded that list with its observations to the Commission and the Commission had examined the records of all the officers afresh before making its recommendation
But it is obvious that the recommendations made by the selection board should have weighed with the Commission
Undoubtedly the adjudging of the merits of the candidates by the selection board was an extremely important step in the process
It was contended before us that section 3 of the All India Services Act rule 4 of the rules framed thereunder and Regulation 5 of the Indian Forest Service Initial Recruitment Regulations 1966 are void as those provisions confer unguided uncontrolled and uncanalised power on the concerned delegates
So far as the vires of section 3 of the Indian Administrative Act is concerned the question is no more res integra
It is concluded by the decision of this Court in D section Garewal vs The State of Punjab and Anr1 We have not thought it necessary to go into the question of the vires of rule 4 and Regulation 5 as we have come to the conclusion that the impugned selections must be struck down for the reasons to be presently stated
There was considerable controversy before us as to the nature of the power conferred on the selection board under rule 4 read with Regulation 5
It was contended on behalf of the petitioners that that power was a quasi judicial power whereas the case for the contesting respondents was that it was a purely administrative power
In support of the contention that the power in question was a quasi judicial power emphasis was laid on the language of rule 4 as well as Regulation 5 which prescribe that the selections should be made after adjudging the suitability of the officers belonging to the State service
The word adjudge  we were told means to judge or decide
It was contended that such a power is essentially a judicial power and the same had to be exercised in accordance with the well accepted rules relating to the exercise of such a power
Emphasis was also laid on the fact that the power in question was exercised by a statutory body and a wrong exercise of that power is likely to affect adversely the careers of the officers not selected
On the other hand it was contended by the learned Attorney General that though the selection board was a statutory body as it was not required to decide about any right the proceedings before it cannot be considered quasi judicial its duty was merely to select officers who in its opinion were suitable for being absorbed in the Indian Forest Service
According to him the word adjudge  in rule 4 as well as Regulation 5 means found worthy of selection
1 1959 1 Supp
SCR 792
464 The dividing line between an administrative power and a quasi judicial power is quite thin and is being gradually obliterated
For determining whether a power is an administrative power or a quasi judicial power one has to look to the nature of the power conferred the person or persons on whom it is conferred the framework of the law conferring that power the consequences ensuing from the exercise of that power and the manner in which that power is expected to be exercised
Under our Constitution the rule of law pervades over the entire field of administration
Every organ of the State under our Constitution is regulated and controlled by the rule of law
In a welfare State like ours it is inevitable that the jurisdiction of the administrative bodies is increasing at a rapid rate
The concept of rule of law would lose its vitality if the instrumentalities of the State are not charged with the duty of discharging their functions in a fair and just manner
The requirement of acting judicially in essence is nothing but a requirement to act justly and fairly and not arbi trarily or capriciously
The procedures which are considered inherent in the exercise of a judicial power are merely those which facilitate if not ensure a just and fair decision
In recent years the concept of quasi judicial power has been undergoing a radical change
What was considered as an administrative power some years back is now being considered as a quasi judicial power Me following observations of Lord Parker CJ in Regina vs Criminal Injuries Compensation Board exhibit Parte Lain1 are instructive
With regard to Mr Bridge s second point I cannot think that Atkin LJ intended to confine his principle to cases in which the determination affected rights in the sense of enforceable rights
Indeed in the Electricity Commissioners case the rights determined were at any rate not immediately enforceable rights since the scheme laid down by the commissioners had to be approved by the Minister of Transport and by resolutions of Parliament
The commissioners nevertheless were held amenable to the jurisdiction of this court
Moreover as can be seen from Rex
vs Postmaster General Ex parte Carmichael 2  and Rex
vs Boycott Ex parte Keasley3 the remedy is available even though the decision is merely a step as a result of which legally enforceable rights may be affected
The position as I see it is that the exact limits of the ancient remedy by way of certiorari have never been and ought not to be specifically defined
They have varied 1  881
2 1928 1 KB291
3 465 from time to time being extended to meet changing conditions
At one time the writ only went to an inferior court
Later its ambit was extended to statutory tribunals determining a lis inter parties
Later again it extended to cases where there was no lis in the strict sense of the word but where immediate or subsequent rights of a citizen were affected
The only constant limits throughout were that it was performing a public duty
Private or domestic tribunals have always been outside the scope of certiorari since their authority is derived solely from contract that is from the agree ment of the parties concerned
Finally it is to be observed that the remedy has now been extended see Reg
vs Manchester Legal Aid Committee Ex parte R A Brand  Co Ltd1 to cases in which the decision of an administrative officer is only arrived at after an inquiry or process of a judicial or quasi judicial character
In such a case this court has jurisdiction to supervise that process
We have as it seems to me reached the position when the ambit of certiorari can be said to cover every case in which a body of persons of a public as opposed to a purely private or domestic character has to determine matters affecting subjects provided always that it has a duty to act judicially
Looked at in this way the board in my judgment comes fairly and squarely within the jurisdiction of this court
It is as Mr Bridge said a servant of the Crown charged by the Crown by execu tive instruction with the duty of distributing the bounty of the Crown  It is clearly therefore performing public duties
 The Court of Appeal of New Zealand has held that the power to make a zoning order under Dairy Factory Supply Regulation 1936 has to be exercised judicially see New Zealand and Dairy Board vs Okita Co operative Dairy Co Ltd 2
This Court in The Purtabpore Co Ltd vs Cane Commissioner of Bihar and Ors3 held that the power to alter the area reserved under the Sugar Cane Control Order 1966 is a quasi judicial power
With the increase of the power of the administrative bodies it has become necessary to provide guidelines for the just exercise of their power
To prevent the abuse of that power and to see that it does not become a new despotism courts are gradually evolving 1  2 1953 New Zealand Law Reports p 366
3  466 the principles to be observed while exercising such powers
In matters like these public good is not advanced by a rigid adherence to precedents
New problems call for new solutions
It is neither possible nor desirable to fix the limits of a quasi judicial power
But for the purpose of the present case we shall assume that the power exercised by the selection board was an administrative power and test the validity of the impugned selections on that basis
It is unfortunate that Naquishbund was appointed as one of the members of the selection board
It is true that ordinarily the Chief Conservator of Forests in a State should be considered as the most appropriate person to be in the selection board
He must be expected to know his officers thoroughly their weaknesses as well as their strength
His opinion as regards their suitability for selection to the All India Service is entitled to great weight
But then under the circumstances it was improper to have included Naquishbund as a member of the selection board
He was one of the persons to be considered for selection
It is against all canons of justice to make a man judge in his own cause
It is true that he did not participate in the deliberations of the committee when his name was considered
But then the very fact that he was a member of the selection board must have had its own impact on the decision of the selection board
Further admittedly he participated in the deliberations of the selection board when the claims of his rivals particularly that of Basu was considered
He was also party to the preparation of the list of selected candidates in order of preference
At every stage of this participation in the deliberations of the selection board there was a conflict between his interest and duty
Under those circumstances it is difficult to believe that he could have been impartial
The real question is not whether he was biased
It is difficult to prove the state of mind of a person
Therefore what we have to see is whether there is reasonable ground for believing that he was likely to have been biased
We agree with the learned Attorney General that a mere suspicion of bias is not sufficient
There must be a reasonable likelihood of bias
In deciding the question of bias we have to take into consideration human probabilities and ordinary course of human conduct
It was in the interest of Naqishbund to keen out his rivals in order to secure his position from further challenge
Naturally he was also interested in safeguarding his position while preparing the list of selected candidates
The members of the selection board other than Naqishbund each one of them separately have filed affidavits in this Court swearing that Naqishbund in no manner influenced their decision in making the selections
In a group deliberation each member 467 of the group is bound to influence the others more so if the member concerned is a person with special knowledge
Ms bias is likely to operate in a subtle manner
It is no wonder that the other members of the selection board are unaware of the extent to which his opinion influenced their conclusions
We are unable to accept the contention that in adjudging the suitability of the candidates the members of the board did not have any mutual discussion
It is not as if the records spoke of themselves
We are unable to believe that the members of selection board functioned like computers
At this stage it may also be noted that at the time the selections were made the members of the selection board other than Naqishbund were not likely to have known that Basu had appealed against his supersession and that his appeal was pending before the State Government
Therefore there was no occasion for them to distrust the opinion expressed by Naqishbund
Hence the board in making the selections must necessarily have given weight to the opinion expressed by Naqishbund
This takes us to the question whether the principles of natural justice apply to administrative proceedings similar to that with which we are concerned in these cases
According to the learned Attorney General those principles have no bearing in determining the validity of the impugned selections
In support of his contention he read to us several decisions
It is not necessary to examine those decisions as there is a great deal of fresh thinking on the subject
The horizon of natural justice is constanlty expanding
The question how far the principles of natural justice govern administrative enquiries came up for consideration before the Queens Bench Division in In re  H K An Infant 1
Therein the validity of the action taken by an Immigration Officer came up for consideration
In the course of his judgment Lord Parker CJ observed thus  But at the same time I myself think that even if an immigration officer is not in a judicial or quasi judicial capacity he must at any rate give the immigrant an opportunity of satisfying him of the matters in the subsection and for that purpose let the immigrant know what his immediate impression is so that the immigrant can disabuse him
That is not as I see it a question of acting or being required to act judicially but of being required to act fairly
Good administration and an honest or bona fide decision must as it seems to me require not merely impartiality nor merely bringing one s mind to bear on the problem but acting fairly and to the limited extent that the circumstances of any particular case allow and within the legislative frame work under 1  630
468 which the administrator is working only to that limited extent do the so called rules of natural justice apply which in a case such as this is merely a duty to act fairly
I appreciate that in saying that it may be said that one is going further than is permitted on the decided cases because heretofore at any rate the decisions of the courts do seem to have drawn a strict line in these matters according to whether there is or is not a duty to act judicially or quasi judicially
 In the same case Blain J observed thus I would only say that an immigration officer having assumed the jurisdiction granted by those provisions is in a position where it is his duty to exercise that assumed jurisdiction whether it be administrative executive or quasi judicial fairly by which I mean applying his mind dispassionately to a fair analysis of the particular problem and the information available to him in analysing it
If in any hypothetical case and in any real case this court was satisfied that an immigration officer was not so doing then in my view mandamus would lie
 In State of Orissa vs Dr Miss Binapani Dei and Ors1 Shah J speaking for the Court dealing with an enquiry made as regards the correct age of a government servant observed thus We think that such an enquiry and decision were contrary to the basic concept of justice and cannot have any value
It is true that the order is administrative in characterbut even an administrative order which involves civil consequences as already stated must be made consistently with the rules of natural justice after informing the first respondent of the case of the State The aim of the rules of natural justice is to secure justice or to put it negatively to prevent miscarriage of justice
These rules can operate only in areas not covered by any law validly made
In other words they do not supplant the law of the land but supplement it
The concept of natural justice has undergone a great deal of change in recent years
In the past it was thought that it included just two rules namely 1 no one shall be a judge in his own case Nemo debet esse judex propria causa and 2 no decision shall be given against a party without affording him a reasonable hearing audi alteram partem
Very soon there after a third rule was envisaged and that is that quasi judicial enquiries must be held in good faith without bias and not arbitrarily 1  469 or unreasonably
But in the course of years many more subsidiary rules came to be added to the rules of natural justice
Till very recently it was the opinion of the courts that unless the authority concerned was required by the law under which it functioned to act judicially there was no room for the application of the rules of natural justice
The validity of that limitation is now questioned
If the purpose of the rules of natural justice is to prevent miscarriage of justice one fails to see why those rules should be made inapplicable to administrative enquiries
Often times it is not easy to draw the line that demarcates administrative enquiries from quasi judicial enquiries
Enquiries which were considered administrative at one time are now being considered as quasijudicial in character
Arriving at a just decision is the aim of both quasi judicial enquiries as well as administrative enquiries
An unjust decision in an administrative enquiry may have more far reaching effect than a decison in a quasi judicial enquiry
As observed by this Court in Suresh Koshy George vs The University of Kerala and Ors1 the rules of natural justice are not embodied rules
What particular rule of natural justice should apply to a given case must depend to a great extent on the facts and circumstances of that case the framework of the law under which the enquiry is held and the constitution of the Tribunal or body of persons appointed for that purpose
Whenever a cornplaint is made before a court that some principle of natural justice had been contravened the court has to decide whether the obser vance of that was necessary for a just decision on the facts of that case
It was next urged by the learned Attorney General that after all the selection board was only a recommendatory body
Its recommendations had first to be considered by the Home Ministry and hereafter by the UPSC
The final recommendations were made by the UPSC Hence grievances of the petitioners have no real basis
According to him while considering the validity of administrative actions taken all that we have to see is whether the ultimate decision is just or not
We are unable to agree with the learned Attorney General that the recommendations made by the selection board were of little consequence
Looking at the composition of the board and the nature of the duties entrusted to it we have no doubt that its recommendations should have carried considerable weight with the UPSC
If the decision of the selection board is held to have been vitiated it is clear to our mind that the final recommendation made by the Commission must also be held to have been vitiated
The recommendations made by the Union Public Service Commission cannot be disassociated from the selections made by the selection board which 1  470 is the foundation for the recommendations of the Union Public Service Commission
In this connection reference may be usefully made to the decision in Regina vs Criminal Injuries Compensation Board exhibit Parte Lain1
It was next urged by the learned Attorney General that the mere fact that one of the members of the Board was biased against some of the petitioners cannot vitiate the entire proceedings
In this connection he invited our attention to the decision of this Court in Sumer Chand Jain vs Union of India and another2
Therein the Court repelled the contention that the proceedings of a departmental promotion committee were vitiated as one of the members of that committee was favourably disposed towards one of the selected candidates
The question before the Court was whether the plea of mala fides was established
The Court came to the conclusion that on the material on record it was unable to uphold that plea
In that case there was no question of any conflict between duty and interest nor any members of the departmental promotion committee was a judge in his own case
The only thing complained of was that one of the members of the promotion committee was favourably disposed towards one of the competitors
As mentioned earlier in this case we are essentially concerned with the question whether the decision taken by the board can be considered as having been taken fairly and justly
One more argument of the learned Attorney General remains to be considered
He urged that even if we are to hold that Naqishbund should not have participated in the deliberations of the selection board while it considered the suitability of Basu Baig and Kaul there is no ground to set aside the selection of other officers
According to him it will be sufficient in the interest of justice if we direct that the cases of Basu Baig and Kaul be reconsidered by a Board of which Naqishbund is not a member
Proceeding further he urged that under any circumstance no case is made out for disturbing the selection of the officers in the junior scale
We are unable to accept either of these contentions
As seen earlier Naqishbund was a party to the preparation of the select list in order of preference and that he is shown as No 1 in the list
To that extent he was undoubtedly a judge in his own case a circumstance which is abhorrent to our concept of justice
Now coming to the selection of the officers in the
junior scale service the selections to both senior scale service as well as junior scale service were made from the same pool
Every officer who had put in a service of 8 years or more even if he was holding the post of an Assistant Conservator of Forests was eligible for being selected for the senior scale service
In fact some 1 2 Writ Petition No 2371966 decided on 4 5 1967
471 Assistant Conservators have been selected for the senior scale service
At the same time some of the officers who had put in more than eight years of service had been selected for the junior scale service
Hence it is not possible to separate the two sets of officers
For the reasons mentioned above these petitions are allowed and the impugned selections set aside
The Union Government and the State Government shall pay the costs of the petitioners
VPS Petitions allowed


Summary:
In pursuance of the Indian Forest Service Initial Recruitment Regulation 1966 framed under r 41 of the Indian Forest Service Recruitment Rules made under the All India Services Act 1951 a Special Selection Board was constituted for selecting officers to the Indian Forest Service in the senior and junior scales from officers serving in the forest department of the State of Jammu and Kashmir
One of the members of the Board was the Chief Conservator of Forests of the State as required by the Regulations
He was a Conservator of forests appointed as Acting Chief Conservator superseding another Conservator of Forests whose appeal to the State Government against his supersession was pending at the time the selections by the Board were made
The Acting Chief Conservator was also one of the candidates seeking to be selected to the Indian Forest Service
The Board made the selection of officers in the senior and junior scales
The Acting Chief Conservator s name was at the top of the list of selected officers while the names of three conservators including the officer who was superseded who were the Acting Chief Conservator s rivals were omitted
The Acting Chief Conservator did not sit in the Selection Board at the time his name was considered but participated in the deliberations when the names of his rivals were considered
He also participated in the Board s deliberations while preparing the list of selected candidates in order of preference
The list and the records were sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs forwarded the list with its observations to the Union Public Service Commission as required by the Regulations and the UPSC examined the records of the officers afresh and made its recommendations
The Government of India thereafter notified the list
The three conservators whose names were not included in the list and other aggrieved officers filed a petition in this Court under article 32 for quashing the notification
On the questions  1 Assuming that the proceedings in the present case were administrative proceedings whether principles of natural justice applied to them 2 Whether there was a violation of such principles of natural justice in the present case 3 Since the recommendations of the Board were first considered by the Home Ministry and the final recommendations were made by the UPSC whether there was any basis for the petitioners  grievances 4 Whether there were grounds for setting aside the selection of all the officers including those in the junior scales HELD  1 The rules of natural justice operate in areas not covered by any law validly made that is they do not supplant the law of the land but supplement it
They are not embodied rules and their aim is to secure justice or to prevent miscarriage of justice
If that is their purpose there is no reason why they should not be made applicable to administrative proceeding also especially when it is not easy to draw the line that 458 demarcates administrative enquiries from quasi judicial ones and an unjust decision in an administrative enquiry may have a more far reaching effect than a decision in a quasi judicial enquiry
468F G 469B D Suresh Koshy George vs The University of Kerala   State of Orissa vs Dr Miss Binapani Dei  and In re  H K An Infant  630 referred to
2 The concept of natural justice has undergone a great deal of change in recent years
What particular rule of natural justice should apply to a given case must depend to a great extent on the facts and circumstances of that case the framework of the law under which the enquiry is held and the constitution of the Tribunal or the body of persons appointed for that purpose
Whenever a complaint is made before a court that some principle of natural justice had been contravened the court has to decide whether the observance of that rule was necessary for a just decision on the facts of that case
The rule that enquiries must be held in good faith and without bias and not arbitrarily or unreasonably is now included among the principles of natural justice
468G H 469D L  In the present case
at the time of selection the other members of the Board did not know that the appeal of the superseded conservator was pending before the State Government and hence there was no occasion for them to distrust the opinion of the Acting Chief Conservator
There was a conflict between his interest and duty and he was a judge in his own cause
Taking into consideration human probabilities and the ordinary course of human conduct there was reasonable ground for believing that the Acting Chief Conservator was likely to have been biased
He did not participate in some of the deliberations of the Board but the facts that he was a member of the Board and that he participated in the deliberations when the claims of his rivals were considered and in the preparation of the list must have had its impact on the selection as the Board in making the selection must necessarily have given weight to his opinion
In judging the suitability of the candidates the members of the Board must have had mutual discussions and though the other members filed affidavits stating that the Acting Chief Conservator in no manner influenced their decision in group discussions each member was bound to influence the others in a subtle manner and without their being aware of such influence
466D G 467A D In the circumstances of the case the selection by the Board could not be considered to have been taken fairly and justly as it was influenced by a member who was biased
470 C E 3 The Selection Board was undoubtedly a high powered body and its recommendations must have had considerable weight with the UPSC
The recommendation made by the UPSC could not be dissociated from the selection made by the Selection Board which was the foundation for the recommendations of the UPSC
Therefore if the selection by the Selection Board was held to be vitiated the final recommendation by the UPSC must also be held to have been vitiated
462 G H 469G H Regina vs Criminal Injuries Compensation Board Ex Parte Lain  881 applied
Sumer Chand Jain vs Union of India WP No 237 of 1966 dated 4 5 1967 distinguished
459 4 The selections to both senior and junior scales were made from the same pool and so it was not possible to separate the two sets of Officers
Therefore it was not sufficient to merely direct the Selection Board to consider the cases of the three conservators who were excluded but all the selections had to be set aside
470 G H 471A