Show cause notice disclosure is limited to relied-upon documents; wider requests and premature writ relief were rejected.

At the show cause notice stage, a noticee is not entitled to copies of every document merely referred to in the notice; the entitlement extends only to documents relied upon for adjudication. As the respondents stated that they would rely only on the documents in annexure A and not on other material, the request for wider disclosure was rejected. Any grievance concerning a third-party manifest was left to be raised in adjudication. The Court found no breach of natural justice at that stage and held that the writ petition was premature, resulting in dismissal.

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Issues: Whether, at the stage of adjudication pursuant to a show cause notice, the noticee is entitled to insist on copies of documents merely referred to in the notice but not relied upon by the adjudicating authority, and whether the writ petition was premature.

Analysis: The distinction between documents merely referred to in a show cause notice and documents relied upon for adjudication was accepted. Since the respondents stated that they would rely only on the documents in annexure A of the notice and not on any other material, the petitioner could not demand copies of every document mentioned in the notice. The grievance regarding a third-party manifest was held to be a matter for adjudication. In view of the binding Division Bench decision, no violation of natural justice was found at this stage, and the petitioner was held to have approached the Court prematurely.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to the requested relief at the notice stage, and the writ petition was dismissed.

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