NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & ANR. versus PANNALAL CHOUDHURY &ANR.

Citation: [2015] 8 S.C.R. 78 · Decided: 01-07-2015 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: VIKRAMAJIT SEN · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

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Judgment (excerpt)

[2015] 8 S.C.R. 78 
A 
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & ANR. 
B 
v. 
PANNALALCHOUDHURY &ANR. 
(Civil Appeal No. 5070 of 2008) 
JULY01,2015 
[VIKRAMAJIT SEN AND 
ABHAY MANOHAR SAPRE, JJ.] 
c 
Service law - Dismissal from service - Order of 
dismissal ...:. Legality of -
Charges of financial as also 
administrative irregularities against respondent-Registrar of 
National Institute of Technology - Order of dismissal by 
Principal & Secretary, NIT - Challenge to, on the ground that 
D Principal & Secretary, NIT not authorise to pass such order 
since the authority to dismiss vested in Board of Governors 
(BOG), NIT under the Rules - Held: Resolutions passed by 
BOG show that the BOG monitored, dealt with and eventually 
decided the case of the respondent in their various meetings 
E since inception and also authorized the Principal & Secretary 
to deal with the same in consultation with the Chairman of 
BOG and to do the needful by passing appropriate orders -
Though expression "to dismiss the respondent" was not there 
in the Resolution but the expression "authorization", "to take 
F necesS?fY action as the Chairman advises" and "to do the 
needful accordingly" in the Resolution were wide enough to 
clothe Principal & Secretary with a power to pass the dismissal 
order, {occasion so arose - Moreso, applying the Jaw of 
G ratification to the facts, the authority exercised by the Principal 
& Secretary by dismissing the respondent was ratified by BOG 
with retrospective effect thereby making an invalid act a lawful 
one in conformity with the procedure prescribed in Rules -
Dismissal order passed by the Competent Authority-BOG 
H as prescribed in the Rules and thus, was legal and proper 
and is upheld - Order passed by the High Court set aside. 
78 
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY v. PANNALAL 79 
Cl'iOUDHURY 
Words and phrases: Expression "Ratification" -
A 
Meaning of. 
Maxims-· "Ratihabitio mandato aequiparatur" - Held:''A 
subsequent ratification of an aet 'is equivalent to a prior 
authority to perform such act". 
B 
Allowing the appeal, the Court 
HELD: 1.1 Reading of the Resolutions passed by 
the Board of Governors-BOG in juxtaposition in no 
uncertain terms show that the BOG monitored, dealt with C 
and eventually decided the case of the respondent in 
their various meetings si,l:'tc.e~ inception and also 
authorized the Principal & Secretary to deal with the 
same in consultation with t'11il Chairman of Board of 0 
Governors and to do the needful by passing appropriate 
orders. The expression ·~au~thorization", "to take 
necessary action as the Chairman advises" and "to do 
the needful accordingly" in the Resolution were wide 
enough to clothe the Principal & Secretary with a power E 
to pass the dismissal order, if occasion so arises. [Paras 
30, 31] [94-B-C; D-E] 
1.2 The appellant rightly submitted that the 
Resolutions authorizing the Principal & Secretary to F 
pass appropriate orders rightly, did not use. the 
expression "to dismiss the respondent" because a'f that 
point of time, the departmental inquiry was in 
contemplation against the respondent It was, therefore, 
not known at that time as to what would be the outcome G 
of departmental proceedings and secondly use of such 
expression in the Resoluti.on before the start of 
departmental inquiry could. have been construed as 
prejudging the issue against the respondent thereby 
indicating existence of bias attitude of the Members of H 
f' 
80 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS . 
(2015] 8 S.C.R. 
A BOG towards the respondent and lastly the three 
expressions used in the Resolution did clothe ·the 
Principal & Secretary with the power to pass appropriate 
orders which included the order imposing punishment 
of dismissal as prescribed in the Rules, against the 
B respondent depending upon the outcome of the 
departmental inquiry and subject to grant of final 
approval by the BOG. [Para 32) [94-F-H; 95-A-B] 
1.3 Keeping in view the contents of the four 
C Resolutions, there is no hesitation to hold that the 
dismissal order was passed by the BOG and the Principal 
& Secretary only signed the order for and on behalf of 
the BOG on the strength of authorization made in his 
favour by the BOG vide Resolution. [Para 33) [95-D-E] 
D 
1.4 The expression "Ratmcation" means "the 
making valid of an act already done". This principle is 
derived from the Latin maxim "ratihabitio mandato 
aequiparatur" meaning thereby "a subsequent 
E ratification of an act is equivalent to a

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