The right to fair hearing is one of the principles of natural justice and fundamental to fair procedure. The courts have been applying the principle of right to fair hearing as a basis for building a code of fair administrative procedure. Long ago, the courts adopted their viewpoint on the principle that ‘administrative bodies entrusted with legal power could not validly exercise it without first hearing the person who was going to suffer’. There was a wide application of this principle to administrative and judicial acts and also to the acts of individual ministers and officials as well as to the acts of collective bodies such as justices and committees. There are many cases of non compliance of the principle of right to fair hearing that come up before the British and Commonwealth courts. It was evident from the decisions of such cases that the courts would apply the principle of natural justice to cases of administrative character. However, this principle was also extended beyond the sphere of administrative law to bodies, such as clubs and societies. It has been held that the application of this rule is not confined to the conduct of the strictly legal tribunals, but is applicable to every tribunal or body of persons invested with authority to decide matters which involve civil consequences to individuals.
