The statutory provision prevails over the principle of natural justice.

1. A Physics Lecturer of the S.N.M. College, Maliankara a private college managed by a Corporate Educational Agency, the H. M. D. P. Sabha, Vadakekara, Parur has preferred this appeal against the judgment of the learned judge dismissing his writ petition. The Principal of the College made an appointment of the Head of the Department of Physics. The appellant was one of those who strongly resented the appointment and regarded it as an act of favouritism. The form and manner of the appellant's protest led to disciplinary proceedings being initiated against him and to his suspension pending enquiry. A junior of the Manager's Standing Counsel was, in the first instance, appointed Enquiry Officer. The appellant protested, and filed O.P. No. 3747 of 1975 in this Court. The Management a greed for appointment of a fresh Enquiry Officer. The 2nd Respondent, an Advocate of this Court was chosen as the fresh Enquiry Officer. The appellant repeated his protest alleging that the said 2nd Respondent was intimately associated with the Standing Counsel for the Management. He raised the fundamental and basic objection that the Management was really the accuser against him, and cannot be a judge in its own cause, against the fundamental principle, of natural justice forbidding such a course of action. The Management could not, it was added, do indirectly through the medium of an Enquiry Officer, what it cannot do directly, itself. The learned judge held that having regard to S.60 of the Kerala University Act, 1974, the Management's action in appointing the Enquiry Officer was legal and valid and not open to challenge and dismissed the writ petition...

We may extract S.60 of the University Act, 1974.

"60. Conditions of service of teachers of private colleges. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law or in any contract or other document, the conditions of service of teachers of private colleges, whether appointed before or after the commencement or this Act, including conditions relating to pay, pension, provident fund, gratuity, insurance and age of retirement, shall be such as may be prescribed by the Statutes.

(2) No teacher of a private college shall be kept under suspension by the educational agency except when disciplinary proceedings are initiated against him.

(3) When a teacher of a private college is suspended for a period exceeding fifteen days, the matter, together with the reasons for the suspension, shall be reported to the Vice-Chancellor.

(4) Any disciplinary proceedings initiated under sub-section (2) shall be completed within a period of three months or within such further period as may be allowed by the Vice-Chancellor after hearing the parties concerned.

(5) Any person aggrieved by an order of the Vice-Chancellor under sub-section (4) may, within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of the order by him, appeal to the Appellate Tribunal.

(6) No disciplinary action shall be taken against a teacher without giving him a reasonable opportunity of showing cause against the action proposed to be taken against him.

(7) Any teacher aggrieved by an order passed after the commencement of this Act in any disciplinary proceeding taken against him may, within sixty days from the date on which a copy of such order is served on him or within sixty days after the Appellate Tribunal has been constituted under this Act, whichever period expires later, appeal to the Appellate Tribunal and the Appellate Tribunal may, after giving the parties an opportunity of being heard, and after such further inquiry as may be necessary, pass such order thereon as it may deem fit, including an order of reinstatement of the. teacher concerned:

Provided that the Appellate Tribunal may admit an appeal presented after the expiration of the said period if it it satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not presenting the appeal within the said period.

(8) Any order passed by the Appellate Tribunal under sub-section (7) may be execute