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Issues: (i) whether the demand of duty and penalty for alleged clandestine removal could be sustained on the basis of weighment slips and third-party material; (ii) whether denial of cross-examination and failure to consider the verification report vitiated the adjudication.
Issue (i): Whether the demand of duty and penalty for alleged clandestine removal could be sustained on the basis of weighment slips and third-party material.
Analysis: The demand rested on weighment slips said to have been recovered from the weighbridge and treated as evidence of clandestine clearances. The record did not show proper recovery through panchnama, and the appellant disputed the source and relevance of the documents. The verification conducted by the Range Superintendent also indicated that most entries matched the statutory records and only a few discrepancies remained, which were subsequently explained. The finding of clandestine removal was therefore not supported by sufficient corroborative evidence.
Conclusion: The allegation of clandestine removal was not proved, and the duty demand and penalty could not be sustained.
Issue (ii): Whether denial of cross-examination and failure to consider the verification report vitiated the adjudication.
Analysis: The appellant sought cross-examination of the weighbridge in-charge and other relevant persons, but the request was denied. The adjudication also did not properly consider the verification report submitted pursuant to the Commissioner's direction. In proceedings based on third-party material, denial of cross-examination and non-consideration of the verification report amounted to a breach of natural justice and weakened the evidentiary basis of the order.
Conclusion: The adjudication was vitiated by denial of cross-examination and failure to give due weight to the verification report.
Final Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the appeal was allowed with consequential relief.
Ratio Decidendi: A charge of clandestine removal cannot be upheld on uncorroborated third-party documents, and denial of cross-examination of material witnesses violates natural justice when such evidence forms the basis of the demand.
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