No order with civil consequences to be passed without following natural justice: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said any order inviting adverse civil consequences cannot be passed without adherence to the principles of natural justice and granting a hearing to the affected parties.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Vishwanathan said the Fee Structure Committee as well as state government cannot unilaterally revise the fees, in disregard to the statutory provisions.

On an appeal filed by Srusti Academy of Management, the court set aside Orissa High Court's division bench orders which had upheld the recommendation of December 7, 2022, of the Fee Structure Committee and the notification of December 30, 2022, issued by the state government.

In its order on December 3, the court noted the fee structure committee reduced the fees that the appellant could charge to the students, indisputably, without giving an opportunity of being heard.

"It is a settled principle of law that any order inviting adverse civil consequences cannot be passed without adherence to the principles of natural justice. In any case, the relevant provision itself requires a hearing to be given to the institution(s) before a revision is made," the bench said.

The bench directed the Fee Structure Committee as well as state government to determine the fee structure for the next academic session by following the procedure as set out under Sections 6 and 7 of the Orissa Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission & Fixation of Fee) Act, 2007 and the law laid down by this court.

Till the fees for the next academic session are redetermined, the appellant would continue to charge the fees which existed before, the court said.