In Brief
A Head Mistress at a private school in Maharashtra was terminated following a disciplinary inquiry into 53 charges including misappropriation. The High Court quashed the termination, finding no evidence that the three-member Enquiry Committee had jointly deliberated. The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's judgment, holding that the committee had complied with mandatory procedural requirements under the 1981 Rules: it met on specified dates, received each member's findings, approved a compiled report with amendments, and submitted a final report signed by all three members (one dissenting). As the employee had since died, the Court awarded ex gratia relief of Rs. 1.5 lakh as humanitarian settlement rather than remitting the case.
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