Condonation of pre-deposit delay under Excise law restored the appeal despite an unsupported delay explanation.

Delay in making the statutory pre-deposit under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act was condoned, even though the application did not explain the delay and was not supported by an affidavit, because a similar matter had treated the value of the right of appeal as a sufficient consideration. The appeal was restored to its original number.

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Issues: Whether the delay in making the pre-deposit under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act should be condoned and the appeal restored to file.

Analysis: The required deposit was made more than one year after the stipulated date. The application did not disclose the reasons for the delay and was not supported by an affidavit of the party. Even so, regard was had to the approach adopted in a similar matter where delay in deposit had been condoned in view of the value of the right of appeal.

Conclusion: The delay in deposit was condoned and the appeal was restored to its original number.

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