Order Quashed Due to Natural Justice Violation; Case Remanded for Fresh Hearing, Payment to Hospital Required.

The HC quashed the impugned Order-in-Original dated 4 November 2024, citing a violation of natural justice due to the unjustified rejection of the petitioner's adjournment request. The matter was remanded to the adjudicating authority for a fresh hearing, with proceedings to conclude by 31 March 2025. The petitioner was ordered to pay Rs. 50,000 to Tata Memorial Hospital within two weeks, with the remand contingent on this payment.

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Issues: Violation of principles of natural justice in passing an Order-in-Original without considering adjournment request.

In this case, the petitioner, engaged in ship management services, challenged an Order-in-Original issued on 4 November 2024, alleging a misdescription of an imported vessel. The petitioner had filed written submissions and appeared before the adjudicating authority. An e-mail was sent on 29 October 2024, fixing a personal hearing on 30 October 2024. However, the petitioner's advocates requested an adjournment due to Diwali vacations, which was not considered. The respondent passed the impugned order on 4 November 2024, leading to the present petition. The petitioner argued that the failure to consider the adjournment request violated principles of natural justice. The High Court found the rejection of the adjournment request without justification to be a violation of natural justice, and ordered the impugned order to be quashed and remanded the matter back to the adjudicating authority for a fresh hearing. The court also imposed a cost of Rs. 50,000 on the petitioner, to be paid to Tata Memorial Hospital within two weeks, with the remand being subject to the payment of the cost.

The High Court held that the failure to consider the adjournment request, made due to valid reasons of the petitioner's advocate being out of town during Diwali vacations, amounted to a violation of natural justice. The court emphasized that the rejection of the adjournment request without providing any reason and not communicating the same to the petitioner was unjustified. The court deemed the action disproportionate and ordered that another opportunity should have been granted to the petitioner to ensure the principles of natural justice were upheld.

The court concluded that in the peculiar circumstances of the case, there was a clear violation of the principles of natural justice. As a remedy, the impugned order dated 4 November 2024 was set aside, and the matter was remanded back to the adjudicating authority for a fresh hearing. The respondent was directed to complete the adjudication proceeding by 31 March 2025. Additionally, the court imposed a cost of Rs. 50,000 on the petitioner, to be paid to Tata Memorial Hospital within two weeks. The court made the remand subject to the petitioner paying the imposed cost, ensuring compliance with the order.

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