Pre-deposit waiver in penalty dispute upheld where hardship was considered and discretion was not shown to be perverse.

Interference with a pre-deposit waiver order is unwarranted where the adjudicating forum has considered the plea of undue hardship and exercised discretion to grant substantial relief, unless the exercise is shown to be perverse or unreasonable. Here, the Tribunal had already waived 60% of the penalty and required deposit of only the balance 40% in a matter concerning alleged non-realisation of export proceeds under foreign exchange law. The High Court found no material to disturb that discretion, and upheld the conditional direction for hearing the substantive appeal upon partial deposit.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal's order directing deposit of 40% of the penalty, while declining full waiver on the plea of undue hardship, warranted interference.

Analysis: The dispute arose from penalties imposed for alleged non-realisation of export proceeds under the foreign exchange laws. The Tribunal had considered the appellant's financial constraints and the relevant circumstances, and had already granted substantial relief by waiving 60% of the penalty and requiring deposit only of the balance 40%. The plea for complete waiver was examined against the statutory requirement of pre-deposit and the discretionary power to dispense with it on proof of undue hardship. The Court found no material to show that the Tribunal's exercise of discretion was perverse or that any extenuating circumstance justified further interference.

Conclusion: The challenge to the Tribunal's pre-deposit order was rejected, and the direction to deposit 40% of the penalty was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed, and the Tribunal's conditional order for hearing the substantive appeal upon partial deposit was left undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: Interference with a pre-deposit waiver order is not warranted where the adjudicating forum has considered the plea of hardship and exercised its discretion to grant substantial relief, unless that discretion is shown to be perverse or unreasonable.

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