Asian Hotels & Properties PLC vs Frederick S. Benjamin et al. – SC APPEAL NO. 143/2010-2010

In the case between Asian Hotels & Properties PLC and Frederick S. Benjamin, The Commissioner of Labour, and others, the Supreme Court addressed whether an arbitrator’s refusal to admit the domestic inquiry proceedings as evidence in an industrial dispute arbitration amounted to a breach of natural justice. It was determined that denial of consideration of such evidence—especially where all relevant witnesses had not been summoned—constituted an error and violated the principles of natural justice. The proper scope of an arbitrator’s discretion under Section 17(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act was clarified, holding that flexibility in evidentiary rules in arbitration proceedings does not permit the exclusion of pertinent evidence. Reliance was placed on the Industrial Disputes Act and es