Natural justice requires a real hearing before withdrawing an eligibility certificate or imposing adverse civil consequences.

An adverse administrative order with civil consequences cannot stand unless the affected party receives a real and effective opportunity of hearing before the decision is taken. The High Court found that notice was not effectively served at the petitioner's registered office and that the withdrawal of the eligibility certificate and the appellate rejection were made without a meaningful opportunity to present its case. Those orders were therefore unsustainable for breach of natural justice and were quashed, with the matter remitted for a fresh decision after hearing the petitioner.

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Issues: Whether the orders withdrawing the eligibility certificate and rejecting the appeal were liable to be quashed for want of proper opportunity of hearing before passing an order with civil consequences under the relevant rule.

Analysis: The record showed that notice to the petitioner was not effectively served at its registered office and that the matter was decided when the petitioner had no proper opportunity to place its case on merits. The withdrawal of the eligibility certificate and the appellate rejection were based on the respondents' record without a meaningful hearing, even though serious civil consequences followed. In such circumstances, compliance with the requirement of fair hearing was essential before any adverse order could be sustained.

Conclusion: The impugned orders were unsustainable for breach of natural justice and were rightly quashed, with the matter remitted for fresh decision after hearing the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: An adverse administrative order having civil consequences cannot be sustained unless the affected party is given a real and effective opportunity of hearing before the decision is taken.

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