TMI Blog2006 (4) TMI 260X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... im equal in rank with the officer making the appointment. In other words, the Divisional Engineer did not cease to be subordinate to the Chief Electrical Engineer merely because the latter s power to make appointment to the post had been delegated to him. - CIVIL APPEAL NO. 2228 OF 2006 - - - Dated:- 24-4-2006 - RUMA PAL, DALVEER BHANDARI AND MARKANDEY KATJU, JJ. Manish Pitale and Chander Shekhar Ashri for the Appellant. A.K. Sanghi for the Respondent. JUDGMENT 1. Leave granted. 2. The respondent was employed by the appellant. On the basis that the respondent had indulged in various activities of misconduct, he was placed under suspension pending disciplinary enquiry. The respondent was served with a charge- ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e was incompetent to do so. 4. In the writ petition, the respondent had taken several grounds for challenging the dismissal order for example, that the relevant documents were not supplied, that he was not allowed to cross-examine the witnesses, that he was not allowed to engage a lawyer, etc. However, a perusal of para 6 of the impugned judgment of the High Court shows that the writ petitioner did not press any of the grounds. The only ground which was pressed was that the order of dismissal was passed by the Managing Director of the appellant, who had no authority or power to do so, as the same was vested in the Board of Directors of the appellant. In view of the fact that the respondent had not pressed these grounds before the High C ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Asstt. Electrical Engineer [1979] 4 SCC 289 in support of this contention. 7. The High Court was right when it held that an act by a legally incompetent authority is invalid. But it was entirely wrong in holding that such an invalid act cannot be subsequently "rectified" by ratification of the competent authority. Ratification by definition means the making valid of an act already done. The principle is derived from the Latin maxim ratihabitio mandato aequiparatur , namely, "a subsequent ratification of an act is equivalent to a prior authority to perform such act". Therefore, ratification assumes an invalid act which is retrospectively validated 1 . 8. In Sri Parmeshwari Prasad Gupta s case ( supra ), the services of the Genera ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Court of Judicature for Rajasthan s case ( supra ). See also Claude-Lila Parulekar v. Sakal Papers (P.) Ltd. [2005] 11 SCC 73. 9. The same view has been expressed in several cases in other jurisdictions. Thus, in Hartman v. Hornsby 142 Mo 368, 44 SW 242, 244 it was said : " Ratification is the approval by act, word, or conduct, of that which was attempted (of accomplishment), but which was improperly or unauthorisedly performed in the first instance." 10. In the present case, the Managing Director s order dismissing the respondent from the service was admittedly ratified by the Board of Directors on 20-2-1991 and the Board of Directors unquestionably had the power to terminate the services of the respondent. On the bas ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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