Natural justice in customs adjudication bars reliance on undisclosed statements and unjustified denial of cross-examination.

A Customs House Agent licence revocation was found unsustainable because the adjudicating authority relied on statements beyond those specified in the show cause notice, without giving the affected party notice and an opportunity to meet that material. The denial of cross-examination of relied-upon witnesses was also unjustified, as no adequate reason was recorded for dispensing with that right or for treating the witnesses as unavailable. The combined procedural defects amounted to breach of natural justice, and the revocation order could not stand.

---

---

Issues: Whether the revocation of the Customs House Agent licence was vitiated by violation of natural justice on account of reliance upon statements not relied on in the show cause notice and denial of cross-examination of the witnesses whose statements were relied upon.

Analysis: The show cause notice expressly relied upon specified statements, but the adjudicating authority founded its finding also on statements of loaders that were excluded from the notice. Where a notice confines the material on which the charge is made, the authority cannot rely on additional statements without putting the affected party on notice and affording an opportunity to meet them. Further, the appellant had sought cross-examination of relied-upon witnesses, including persons whose statements formed the basis of the allegation. The denial of cross-examination was not supported by any adequate showing that their attendance could not be procured, and no satisfactory reasons were recorded for dispensing with that right. In these circumstances, the order suffered from procedural unfairness and was not sustainable.

Conclusion: The impugned revocation order was held unsustainable for violation of principles of natural justice and denial of cross-examination.

Ratio Decidendi: An adjudication founded on material outside the show cause notice, coupled with unjustified denial of cross-examination of relied-upon witnesses, is vitiated for breach of natural justice.

---