Natural justice in estate duty appeals: a remand without hearing was void, and writ relief was available to compel proper disposal.

A pending estate duty appeal remained governed by the unamended regime under the saving provision, so later appellate forums were unavailable. In a valuation dispute, a remand made without notice, hearing, or reasons was contrary to natural justice and was treated as a nullity, not as final disposal of the appeal. The authority was bound to decide the matter in conformity with the earlier High Court answer and could not avoid that obligation by a mechanical remand. Delay or an alternative statutory remedy did not bar writ relief where the impugned order was void and jurisdiction had not been properly exercised.

---

---

Issues: Whether the appellate authority's purported remand without notice and hearing was void, and whether the petitioner was entitled to a writ directing disposal of the estate duty appeal in conformity with the earlier High Court judgment.

Analysis: The saving provision in the Estate Duty (Amendment) Act, 1958 preserved the pending appeal under the unamended estate duty regime, so the later appellate forums were not available. The Board was required to dispose of the appeal in accordance with the High Court's earlier answer and, in a valuation dispute, could not treat the matter as mechanically remittable to the assessing authority without notice or reasons. A remand made in violation of the principles of natural justice was treated as a nullity and could not amount to final disposal of the appeal. The existence of delay or an alternate statutory remedy did not bar writ relief where the impugned order was void and the authority had failed to exercise the jurisdiction vested in it.

Conclusion: The purported remand order was invalid and the petitioner was entitled to mandamus. The refusal to dispose of the appeal in accordance with the earlier judgment was quashed, and the authority was directed to decide the appeal afresh after hearing the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: An order passed by a quasi-judicial authority without compliance with natural justice is a nullity and can be directly challenged in writ jurisdiction, and an authority bound to act in conformity with an earlier binding answer must itself finally dispose of the matter unless the statute validly permits a different course.

---