Fair personal hearing requires reliable notice service before concluding show cause proceedings and taking final action.

Doubtful service of the hearing notice meant the petitioners could not safely be treated as having deliberately defaulted, and the record did not reliably show that they had received a proper opportunity before the show cause proceedings were concluded. In those special facts, the requirement of a fair personal hearing prevailed, and the matter had to be heard afresh before any final order was taken on the notice. The impugned order was therefore set aside and an effective fresh hearing was directed.

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Issues: Whether the order passed on the show cause notice was liable to be set aside for want of a proper personal hearing and whether the petitioners were denied a reasonable opportunity to appear and make submissions.

Analysis: The communication fixing the hearing was found to be doubtful in receipt, as the postal acknowledgement and surrounding circumstances did not reliably show that the petitioners had received notice before the hearing date. In these special facts, the absence of appearance could not safely be treated as deliberate default. The proper course was to afford the petitioners an effective opportunity of hearing before the show cause proceedings were concluded.

Conclusion: The impugned order passed on the show cause notice was set aside and a fresh hearing was directed to be given to the petitioners.

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