P.V. Mahadevan vs M.D. Tamil Nadu Housing Board

The Supreme Court held that the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the appellant, a Superintending Engineer in the Tamil Nadu Housing Board, was barred due to inordinate delay of 10 years in issuing the charge memo, which violated principles of natural justice. The Court emphasized that the absence of a satisfactory explanation for the delay rendered the proceedings unfair, referencing the precedents in State of Madhya Pradesh v. Bani Singh [1990] Supp. SCC 738 and State of A.P. v. N. Radhakrishan [1998] 4 SCC 154. Consequently, the Court quashed the charge memo and the disciplinary proceedings against the appellant.