Marginal delay in appeal and unavailable appellate forum justified remand for merits-based adjudication by the authority.

A marginal delay in filing an appeal, coupled with compliance with the prescribed pre-deposit, justified restoration of the statutory appellate remedy where the appellate forum was not yet constituted. Because deciding the writ petition on merits would have required scrutiny of records and resolution of factual questions, remand to the Appellate Authority was appropriate. The rejection of the appeal for delay was set aside, and the matter was directed to be decided on merits by the Appellate Authority within a fixed time frame.

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Issues: Whether the order of the Appellate Authority rejecting the appeal for delay should be set aside and the matter remanded for decision on merits.

Analysis: The appeal had been filed with the prescribed pre-deposit and the delay was marginal. The appellate tribunal was not yet constituted, and deciding the writ petition on merits would have required scrutiny of records and determination of factual questions. In these circumstances, remand to the appellate authority was considered appropriate.

Conclusion: The rejection order was set aside and the appeal was remanded to the Appellate Authority for disposal on merits.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition was disposed of by restoring the statutory appellate process and directing a merits-based adjudication by the Appellate Authority within a fixed time frame.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the appellate forum is unavailable and the dispute requires factual scrutiny, a marginal delay in filing the appeal may justify remand to the appellate authority for decision on merits rather than writ adjudication in the first instance.

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