Natural justice requires fair hearing; an adjudication order based on only 48 hours' notice was unsustainable.

An adjudication order is vulnerable where parties are not given a fair and reasonable opportunity of hearing. Short notice of about 48 hours, coupled with uncertainty whether all noticees were served, was treated as unreasonable in a long-pending matter involving substantial demand and penalties. The proceeding was therefore conducted without adequate opportunity for the appellants to present their case, and the order was held unsustainable for breach of natural justice.

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Issues: Whether the adjudication order was vitiated for denial of reasonable opportunity of hearing and violation of principles of natural justice.

Analysis: The notice of hearing was issued with only about 48 hours' notice, and it was not clear that all noticees had been served. In the circumstances of a long pending proceeding and the magnitude of the demand and penalties, requiring appearance on such short notice was found unreasonable. The adjudication was therefore passed without affording a fair opportunity to the appellants to present their case.

Conclusion: The order was vitiated by violation of natural justice and could not be sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: An adjudication order passed without granting a fair and reasonable opportunity of hearing, especially on inadequate notice, is liable to be set aside for breach of natural justice.

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