Is Disciplinary Hearing Mandatory Before Dismissal Of Employee According To Law?

Is conducting disciplinary hearing mandatory before dismissal of employee according to Indian law or any act?Or conducting a disciplinary hearing or not varies as per company policy??? Please guide and throw some light on the same.

It is mandatory if it involves disciplinary action. No one can be punished without giving an opportunity to be heard
Sivasankaran

If you are dismissing an employee by way of punishment for a misconduct allegedly committed by him, you need to conduct a domestic enquiry as pe ryour standing orders if your establishment has one or in the event of standing orders not being applicable to you, as per your service rules, if you have framed one and if you do not have any service rules or if they are silent on disciplinary procedure, then you need to conduct an enquiry as per the principles of natural justice which are binding on an employer.Apart from this, the Industrial Disputes Act and the Constituion will also interfere with arbitrary dismissals.
B.Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advsior
Mumbai

As per principle of natural justice, no one can be punished with hearing, the person should be given an opportunity to be heard. in view of this and Service Rules/Standing Orders of a company, before termination of an employee, a domestic inquiry shall be mandatory. The miscondut allged has to be proved in diciplinary inquiry. Then only can be terminated.
So it mandatory to conduct inquiry in to alligation raised.
Regards
Sanjay

Dear Mr Saikumar B
Which is the competent Court for Managerial Level Employees working in Pvt Ltd Co. in Karnataka, who is harrased by the company.
Hope you ll help.
Regards

Dear Rupinder,
This is addition to what other members have said. You can click here to my read views on why domestic enquiry should be conducted.
Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar

Dear Mr.Rupinder
The general rule is that no employee/worker(to whom the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act are applicable) could be dismissed without framing a charge and following the procedure prescribed under the standing orders applicable to him. But this general rule is having an exception. Courts have held that an employee could be dismissed from service even without following the procedure prescribed. I am posting a link to the judgment of the Honourable High Court of Madras on this issue. In this judgment the Honourable Judge had considered the judgments of the Honourable Supreme Court on this issue. Please read the judgment. It gives a new perspective to the issue posed by you. Please see Untitled Page
With regards

It can be done only in case when, there when allegations are serious in nature, and that are apparent with any second thought.

I have gone through this full case law, there is nothing in this case which contend that an employee can be terminated without domestic inquiry.
And nature of allegation in present case were also serious. And in present case in fact inquiry was conduct but incomplete and dispensed due to assault on inquiry office, its amount to grave misconduct.
Even the relevant case referred in this judgment are also not such suggestive, in fact, the Court in number of cases held that even if no proper inquiry was conducted but still its open to the Tribunal to give an opportunity to be heard by both Employer and Employee at a latter stage.
Regards

Dear Mr.Essykkr
Will you please indicate any case law in support of your post quoted above?
With regards