Natural justice requires disclosure of relied-upon material before adjudication; order set aside and matter remanded for fresh decision.

Reliance on undisclosed material in adjudication breached natural justice where the department used information gathered from Central Excise officers and enquiries with supporting manufacturers without supplying copies to the noticees. Because that material was relied on against the appellants, they were denied a fair opportunity to meet the case. The adjudication order was therefore set aside and the matter remanded for de novo adjudication, with directions to supply the relied-upon material and allow the appellants to file their reply before a fresh decision.

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Issues: Whether the adjudication order was liable to be set aside for violation of principles of natural justice on account of reliance upon undisclosed material and whether the matter should be remanded for de novo adjudication.

Analysis: The adjudicating authority relied upon material obtained from Central Excise Officers and enquiries said to have been made with supporting manufacturers, but those materials were not disclosed to the noticees and copies were not supplied. Since the undisclosed material was used against the appellants, they were denied an effective opportunity to meet the case. In such circumstances, compliance with natural justice required that the material relied upon be put to notice and the appellants be allowed to respond before any fresh determination.

Conclusion: The order was set aside and the matter was remanded for de novo adjudication after supply of the relied-upon material and receipt of the appellants' reply.

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