Unsigned show cause notice must be decided first; failure to rule on validity vitiates the adjudication and requires remand.

An unsigned show cause notice was challenged as invalid, and that jurisdictional objection had to be decided before any merits determination. Because the adjudicating authority failed to record a finding on the notice's validity, it ignored a material issue going to the root of the proceedings. The order was therefore unsustainable, was set aside, and the matter was remanded for fresh decision after hearing the appellant and first ruling on whether the notice was valid.

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Issues: Whether the impugned order could be sustained when the adjudicating authority failed to record a finding on the specific plea that the show cause notice was unsigned and therefore invalid.

Analysis: The notice on record did not bear the signature of the officer who allegedly issued it. The appellant had specifically challenged the notice as unsigned and invalid, and that objection went to the root of the proceedings because an unsigned notice could not form the basis of valid adjudication. In such circumstances, the adjudicating authority was required to decide the objection and record a clear finding on the validity of the notice before proceeding to determine the abatement claim on merits. Failure to do so resulted in denial of a material issue affecting the legality of the proceedings.

Conclusion: The impugned order could not be sustained and was set aside for non-consideration of the validity of the show cause notice. The matter was remanded for fresh decision after recording specific findings on that issue and after affording hearing to the appellant.

Final Conclusion: The adjudication was reopened for a fresh decision on the foundational objection regarding the notice, and the dispute was sent back for reconsideration in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: When a party specifically challenges the legality of a notice as unsigned or otherwise invalid, the adjudicating authority must first decide that jurisdictional objection; failure to do so vitiates the order and warrants remand.

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