Natural justice requires consideration of adjournment requests; ignoring a fair hearing plea justified setting aside and remand.

An appellate order that ignores a duly made adjournment request and thereby deprives a party of a fair opportunity of hearing is liable to be set aside for breach of natural justice. Here, the record showed that the assessee sought adjournment because its consultant was unavailable, but the request was not considered in the appellate order. The omission was treated as a material procedural defect affecting fairness, so the order was set aside and the matter remanded for de novo consideration in accordance with natural justice, with consequential relief in relation to the detained goods.

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Issues: Whether the appellate order was vitiated for failure to grant an adjournment and comply with the principles of natural justice, warranting setting aside and remand.

Analysis: The appellate record showed that the assessee had sought adjournment because its consultant was unavailable, yet the request was not dealt with in the appellate order. This omission was treated as a failure to examine a fundamental aspect affecting the fairness of the hearing. The detention of goods was consequential to the impugned order and the procedural defect found in the appeal.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded for de novo consideration after following the principles of natural justice. The assessee was permitted to deal with the detained goods consequentially.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded to the extent of obtaining remand and restoration of the proceedings for fresh adjudication.

Ratio Decidendi: An appellate order that ignores a duly made adjournment request and thereby denies a fair opportunity of hearing is liable to be set aside and remanded for de novo decision in accordance with natural justice.

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