Report No. 104

5.5. Authorities other than- judges.-

Before proceeding to consider the other issues arising out of section 1 of the Act, (that is to say, the issues which relate to the nature of the protected acts and various other conditions of judicial immunity), some words may be in order about quasi-judicial authorities. According to doctrines of constitutional and administrative law, these authorities are regarded as bound by the rules of natural justice, and consequentially amenable to judicial control exercised by High Courts under Article 226 of the Constitution. The extent of permissible judicial control is of course, a question primarily relatable to that article. For the present purpose, the precise issue to be considered is this: to what extent is judicial immunity from liability (conferred by the Act under consideration) available to such quasi-judicial authorities?