Interim protection in excise appeal granted pending prompt disposal of the stay petition and temporary abeyance of the order.

Interim protection may be granted where a stay petition in a pending central excise appeal remains undecided, and prompt disposal of that application can be directed to prevent prejudice. The Madras High Court directed the appellate authority to decide the stay petition within three weeks and kept the adjudicating authority's order in abeyance until then.

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Issues: Whether directions were warranted for expeditious disposal of the stay petition filed in the pending appeal, and whether interim protection should be granted till such disposal.

Analysis: The dispute arose from the alleged inaction of the appellate authority on the stay application filed in the central excise appeal. The Court treated the grievance as capable of being addressed by directing prompt disposal of the stay petition, and accepted the need for temporary protection meanwhile.

Outcome: The writ petition was disposed of with a direction to decide the stay petition within three weeks, and the order of the adjudicating authority was kept in abeyance in the meantime.

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