Rajeev Gandhi vs. Gujarat State Electricity Board 1979: A Judicial U-Turn on Natural Justice?

I'm totally against this SC verdict. Judges Kuldip Singh and P.N. Bhagwati took a major U-turn on the principles of natural justice. In this case, the court held that an employee's suspension before a departmental inquiry isn't a denial of natural justice. How's that possible, I ask? Natural justice is all about fair play and impartiality. But here, they went against their own precedent in Sodhi vs. Union Territory, Chandigarh 1978. In a nutshell, the court created a loophole by saying that an inquiry's purpose is to find out the truth, not to punish the employee. I don't buy it.