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Supreme Court of India 2019-11-08 dismissed

HARI NIWAS GUPTA vs THE STATE OF BIHAR

Bench: 2 — Mohan M. Shantanagoudar, Sanjiv Khanna

In Brief

Three Bihar judicial officers were suspended and dismissed without a disciplinary inquiry under Article 311(2)(b) of the Constitution for alleged misconduct in Nepal. The High Court had not recorded written reasons for dispensing with the inquiry. The Division Bench quashed the dismissal. The Supreme Court upheld this decision, holding that reasons for invoking Article 311(2)(b) must be recorded contemporaneously at the time of the order, not subsequently. The Court clarified that the High Court, as disciplinary authority, can invoke this power if conditions are met and reasons are properly recorded. The appeals were dismissed.

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Constitutional Law Administrative Law Civil Service Law Judicial Independence Disciplinary Proceedings Article 311

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