Natural justice and incomplete record required remand for fresh adjudication of the unaddressed mineral-export notification.

The appellate authority treated remand as necessary where the adjudication order had not addressed the relevant mineral-export notification under Section 11C of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, together with supporting factual material. As the record was inadequate for a final merits determination and no response was received from the adjudicating authority when comments were sought, the matter required fresh examination of the facts, documents and submissions. The order was set aside and the case was remitted for de novo adjudication in accordance with law and natural justice.

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Issues: Whether the impugned order deserved to be set aside and the matter remanded for de novo consideration because the relevant notification and supporting materials had not been addressed.

Analysis: The appeal raised reliance on the mineral-export notification under Section 11C of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and on related factual material that was not considered in the adjudication order. Since comments were sought from the adjudicating authority but no response was received, the record was found inadequate for a final merits determination at the appellate stage. In these circumstances, remand was considered necessary to secure a proper examination of the facts, documents, and submissions and to ensure compliance with natural justice. The power to remand was treated as available to the appellate authority.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remitted for fresh adjudication in accordance with law and natural justice.

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