The Quiet Erosion Of Natural Justice
Dr. Ranjeet Kumar, Visiting Faculty at Chanakya National Law Institute
A. Introduction
Law does not begin only in the statutes; it begins in the human instinct for fairness. It is evident through the historical texts that long before the existence of the codified rules, statutes, and constitutional guarantees, the idea that no person should be condemned unheard was embedded in moral consciousness. This basic moral intuition, which we now call the principles of natural justice, finds its resonance not only in modern administrative law but deep within India’s civilizational past.
The concept of natural justice, though it did not propound the words as they evolved through the Latin maxims, yet its essence is unmistakable in the legal history of India as well. Texts like the Dharmashastras and the Arthashastra of Kautilya reveal a governance structure wherein the King had to deliver justice with fairness, reasoned decision-making, and impartiality, etc. Kautilya advised rulers to decide disputes only after careful hearing of both parties, warning that a king who acts arbitrarily invites disorder and loss of legitimacy. Similarly, in the Mahabharata, justice is portrayed not as rigid authority but as dharma, a balance of righteousness, duty, and fairness. The seeds of audi alteram partem, hearing the other side, were thus culturally ingrained long before their formal recognition.
Centuries later, this moral intuition evolved into a structured legal doctrine within common law traditions. Jurists across generations have emphasised that natural justice is not merely procedural; it is foundational. This articulation captures the dual purpose of natural justice: ensuring fairness and preserving public confidence in legal processes. Likewise, William Blackstone in 1769 underscored the primacy of fairness, observing that ten guilty persons would rather escape than for one innocent suffer a sentence that reflects the underlying caution against arbitrary decision-making.
