The principles of natural justice must demonstrate a direct impact on the litigant's rights to necessitate judicial intervention against administrative action.

ORDER

By way of this petition, challenge is made to order Annex.P/1 dated 03/03/2022, whereby the services of the petitioner who was working on contractual basis on the post of District Community Mobilizer has been terminated by passing a stigmatic order.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner has vehemently argued that the order Annex.P/1 amounts to glaring failure of principles of natural justice in as much as the petitioner was not given proper opportunity of hearing being heard before passing of the said order and that the documents demanded by her have also not been provided. It is vehemently argued that the order is founded and motivated by allegation of the petitioner demanding bribe from one Smt. Saroj Prajapati and her husband Shri Anand Prajapati. The audio clip was produced before the authority and which the authority has held to be substantiated which could not be done without any forensic examination by the authority.

3. It is contended that the petitioner was initially issued a notice dated 29/09/2025 (Annex.P/3) on the allegation of demand of bribe as revealed  from the audio clip which went viral in the district. The charge of work being done by the petitioner was withdrawn from her on same date vide order Annex.P/4 and then the petitioner had replied to the show cause notice wherein the petitioner had clearly submitted that the petitioner has been working since last 7 years on the post of District Community Mobilizer and there are no complaints against the petitioner and that the audio clip does not have the voice of the petitioner.

4. Counsel for the petitioner further relied on affidavit given by the said lady Smt. Saroj Prajapati stating therein that the audio which is circulating does not contain her own voice. The affidavit dated 01/10/2021 was vehemently relied by the counsel for the petitioner so also the panchnama containing same averments prepared by the said complainant Smt. Saroj Prajapti.

5. It is contended that thereafter without conducting any enquiry by not giving the petitioner any opportunity to rebut the charges against her, the impugned order has been passed in violation of principles of natural justice. Reliance is placed on judgment of this Court in the case of Rahul TripathiVs. Rajeev Gandhi Shiksha Mission. Bhopal reported in (2001) 3 MPHT 397 to submit that the case depicts a glaring failure of principles of natural justice.

6. It is contended that though the petitioner was given another show cause notice vide Annex.P/22 dated 01/02/2022 and the petitioner had denied the allegation in her reply vide Annex.P/23, but the authority was under obligation to carry out independent enquiry, in which the petitioner had to be given chance to participate and also that without the forensic examination of the audio clip, no conclusion could have been drawn on the basis of such audio clip once the other person who was alleged to be speaking with the petitioner in the audio clip, as well as the petitioner, both had denied the voices to be of them.

7. Per contra, counsel for the respondent/NHM has vehemently argued that it is not a case where there is failure of principles of natural justice in as much as initially show cause notice Annex.P/1 was given to the petitioner which was replied by her. She took the defence that the voice in the audio clip does  not belong to her and also relied on an affidavit and panchnama of Smt. Saroj Prajapati with whom the petitioner is alleged to be speaking in the audio clip.

8. It is contended that the said Smt. Saroj Prajapti thereafter appeared before the Collector and got her statements recorded as well as the statements of her husband recorded and affirmed in the statements Annex.R/1 that the voice indeed is of her and that previously she had given affidavit under pressure of the petitioner because she has to deal with