Natural Justice Principles Apply to All Employees, Including Contractual: Himachal Pradesh HC

The Himachal Pradesh High Court set aside the suspension of Surinder Kumar, a data entry operator at Central Sanskrit University, for misconduct, citing a violation of the principle of natural justice. 

The Court held that the university failed to issue a show cause notice or conduct a fair inquiry before suspending the employee, and clarified that even temporary or contractual employees are entitled to such procedural safeguards.

The Court relied on precedents like Darshana Kumari v. State of Himachal Pradesh and Nar Singh Pal v. Union of India to rule that disciplinary action must follow due process, and accordingly directed reinstatement with full back wages.