Procedural Oversight Invalidates Administrative Action, Protecting Individual's Right to Fair Hearing and Natural Justice

HC of Allahabad found that an inadvertent error in not uploading a complete show cause notice violated the petitioner's procedural rights. The court set aside the impugned order dated 10.10.2023, allowing the respondent authority to proceed legally while ensuring the petitioner's right to object and receive a fair hearing.

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Issues involved:
The issues involved in the judgment are related to the inadvertent error in not uploading the show cause notice before imposing a penalty, compromising the petitioner's right to object and have a personal hearing.

Summary:
The High Court of Allahabad, in the case, acknowledged that due to inadvertence, the show cause notice necessary before imposing any penalty was not uploaded by the petitioner. This error led to the petitioner's right to object and have a personal hearing being compromised. The dashboard on the portal only displayed basic information about the notice, lacking the actual notice that needed to be attached for the petitioner's awareness.

The Court recognized that the petitioner had a legitimate right to object to the show cause notice and to a personal hearing. However, the failure to serve the notice with all its contents and annexures deprived the petitioner of effectively exercising these rights. The respondent authority did not contest the petitioner's rights but due to the inadvertent error, these rights were denied.

Considering the circumstances and the denial of the petitioner's rights, the Court deemed it unnecessary to keep the petition pending or call for a counter affidavit at that stage. Consequently, the impugned order dated 10.10.2023 was set aside, granting liberty to the respondent authority to proceed in accordance with the law. As a result, the writ petition was disposed of by the Court.

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