Important Legal Definitions

"No one should be a judge in their own cause." The foundational rule against bias, dictating that any adjudicator, judge, or inquiry officer who has a personal, pecuniary, or subject-matter interest in the dispute is disqualified from presiding.

In A.K. Kraipak v. Union of India, an acting Chief Conservator of Forests sat as a member of the selection board that selected candidates for the Indian Forest Service, and was himself selected; the Supreme Court quashed the entire selection list for violation of nemo judex in causa sua.