Procedural filing defects cannot defeat merits review; manual appeal dismissal set aside and remanded for fresh hearing.

A procedural objection to filing an appeal manually, instead of through the portal, could not justify dismissal without examining the merits. The High Court treated the defect as procedural, held that the appellate authority should have considered the appeal substantively, and set aside the impugned order. The matter was remanded to the appellate authority for fresh decision on merits after affording both parties an opportunity of hearing.

---

---

Issues: Whether the appeal could be dismissed solely on the technical ground that it was filed manually instead of on the portal, and whether the matter should be remanded for decision on merits.

Analysis: The dismissal of the appeal was based only on a procedural objection. The Court treated the issue as procedural and found that the appellate authority ought to have examined the matter substantively. The impugned order was therefore not sustained.

Conclusion: The writ petition was allowed, the appellate order dismissing the appeal was set aside, and the matter was remanded to the appellate authority to decide the appeal afresh on merits after granting both parties an opportunity of hearing.

---