Natural justice exception overrides alternate remedy where demand was issued without hearing and remanded for fresh decision.

A demand passed without affording the affected party a hearing was held vulnerable for breach of natural justice, and that defect was treated as an exception to the rule requiring exhaustion of alternate remedies. The court also noted that the jurisdictional question whether trade exhibitions fall within the statutory expression "entertainment" had not been decided by the authority after hearing the petitioner. In these circumstances, the demand could not stand in its existing form, and the matter was remitted for fresh consideration with a reasoned speaking order after hearing the petitioner.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition was maintainable despite the availability of an alternate remedy, where the impugned demand was passed without hearing the petitioner; and whether the impugned order deserved to be set aside and remitted for fresh consideration.

Analysis: The impugned demand had been made without affording the petitioner an opportunity of being heard. A breach of the principles of natural justice constitutes a recognised exception to the rule requiring exhaustion of alternate remedies. The matter also involved the basic jurisdictional question whether the petitioner's trade exhibitions could fall within the statutory expression "entertainment", but that issue had not been decided by the authority after hearing the petitioner. In these circumstances, the demand could not be sustained in the form in which it was made, and fresh consideration by the authority was necessary.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remitted to the Additional Collector to pass a fresh speaking order after giving the petitioner an opportunity of being heard.

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