High Court Has Ample Power Under Article 226 To Issue Directions Not Specifically Sought Before Tribunal: Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court has said that it is well-established that the High Court can under Article 226 of the Constitution consider the legality of orders passed by Tribunals, adding that it has ample powers to issue directions even when such reliefs are not specifically sought in the plea before the Tribunal. However, the High Court ordered that the disciplinary authority could wait for the conclusion of the criminal trial before complying with the order of the Tribunal to finalize the disciplinary proceedings. Referring to the Supreme Court's decision in L.Chandra Kumar v. Union of India a Division Bench of Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice P. Krishna Kumar said: “Therefore, this court has ample powers under Article 226 of the Constitution to issue the direction as above, even if it is not specifically sought in the petition filed before the Tribunal, if it is found necessary.” It thus issued an order directing the disciplinary authority to await the conclusion of the criminal case for concluding the disciplinary proceedings against the employee, even when such reliefs were not sought earlier before the Tribunal. As per Article 323A and Section 28 of the said Act, though it was intended to take away the jurisdiction of the High Courts under Article 226, by the seven Judges Bench of the Honourable Supreme Court in the landmark decision in L.Chandra Kumar v. Union of India, it was held that clause 2 of Article 323 A and Section 28 of the said Act, to the extent they exclude the jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution, are unconstitutional.” The Court also clarified that the pendency of disciplinary proceedings would not act as a hindrance for considering the suitability of the applicant for promotion since the disciplinary authority has not ordered any action so far.