Case Note & Summary
The petitioner, Suprabhat Lala, was appointed as a Manager with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on 1 October 2001 under terms and conditions set out in a letter dated 7 September 2001. Clause 11 of the appointment letter provided for termination by either party on three months' notice or payment in lieu thereof. On 24 July 2023, the Chief Human Resources Officer of NSE issued a termination order, which the petitioner challenged by way of a writ petition before the Bombay High Court. He also sought to quash a transfer order dated 27 June 2022. The petitioner alleged that the termination was illegal, unjustified, arbitrary, and discriminatory, violating his fundamental rights under Articles 14, 16, and 21 of the Constitution. He prayed for certiorari to quash both orders, a writ of mandamus to reinstate him with continuity of service and full back wages, and release of salary arrears from 2018. NSE filed a counter-affidavit raising a threshold objection to maintainability. It contended that NSE is not a 'State' or instrumentality of State under Article 12 of the Constitution, as it is neither owned nor controlled by the Central or State governments, and it does not discharge any public or sovereign function. NSE further argued that the dispute was purely contractual, arising from a private employment contract, and that a writ petition under Article 226—a public law remedy—could not be invoked to enforce private law rights or compel specific performance of a contract of personal service. The senior counsel for NSE relied on decisions in Chanda Deepak Kochhar v. ICICI Bank Ltd., K. K. Saksena v. International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, and St. Mary’s Education Society v. Rajendra Prasad Bhargava to support the proposition that writ jurisdiction does not lie in such matters. The court heard arguments on the maintainability issue. The excerpt of the judgment provided does not include the court's final ruling or ratio decidendi; the text ends mid-sentence during narration of facts. Therefore, the complete decision, operative directions, and final holding are not available in the provided material.
Headnote
A) Constitutional Law – Writ Jurisdiction – Maintainability against private entity – Constitution of India, Articles 12, 226 – The petitioner, a former Manager at National Stock Exchange (NSE), challenged his termination order dated 24 July 2023 and a prior transfer order, seeking certiorari and mandamus for reinstatement and back wages. NSE raised a preliminary objection that the writ petition was not maintainable because NSE is not a ‘State’ or instrumentality under Article 12 and that the employment dispute is a private contractual matter. Citing precedents including Chanda Deepak Kochhar, K.K. Saksena, and St. Mary’s Education Society, the respondent contended that Article 226 cannot be invoked to enforce a contract of personal service and that prayers for reinstatement amount to specific performance of a personal service contract which a writ court cannot grant. The court considered these submissions on maintainability. (Paras 3-4)
Issue of Consideration
Whether a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is maintainable against the National Stock Exchange for challenging termination of employment when NSE is not a 'State' or instrumentality under Article 12 and the dispute is purely contractual.
Law Points
- Writ under Article 226 is a public law remedy
- not maintainable for private contractual disputes
- NSE not State or instrumentality under Article 12
- specific performance of contract of personal service cannot be compelled
- termination of employment governed by contract falls outside writ jurisdiction
