Pre-deposit compliance and clerical omission in online filing: dismissal set aside after the defect was later cured.

An appellate dismissal for failure to indicate pre-deposit in the online filing form was found unsustainable where the mandatory pre-deposit was later paid through the electronic cash ledger. The initial omission was treated as an inadvertent clerical defect, and rigid insistence on that error was considered disproportionately formalistic. The dismissal order was set aside and the appeal was restored for consideration on merits in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the appellate authority was justified in dismissing the appeal for non-indication of pre-deposit at the time of online filing despite the petitioner later making the mandatory pre-deposit.

Analysis: The appeal had been filed with an inadvertent omission in the online form regarding the pre-deposit column. The deficiency was subsequently cured by payment of the mandatory pre-deposit from the electronic cash ledger. In these circumstances, a rigid insistence on the initial clerical error was held to be excessively disproportionate, and the dismissal could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The impugned dismissal order was set aside and the petitioner's appeal was restored before the appellate authority for consideration on merits in accordance with law.

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