Bona fide disclosure requirements govern under-reporting penalties, and post-penalty immunity applications cannot secure available statutory protectio...
Certificate-of-origin verification procedure governs preferential customs benefits; denial without retroactive verification was set aside with consequ...
Disciplinary Committee jurisdiction and mandatory investigation requirements invalidated cancellation of an insolvency professional's registration and...
Retention of seized property survives where recorded reasons support proceeds of crime, while stayed investigation periods are excluded from limitatio...
The HC held that the impugned adjudicative order violated the principles of natural justice, specifically audi alteram partem, because the officer who conducted the personal hearing did not render the decision; a successor officer decided the matter without affording a fresh hearing. Reliance on administrative guidance requiring prompt issuance of orders following personal hearings reinforced that divided responsibility between hearing and decision-making undermines fairness. Consequently, the HC quashed the impugned order as vitiated for denial of a fair hearing and allowed the petition, directing that any fresh decision be taken by the officer who affords the hearing or, if by a successor, only after providing the petitioner a fresh opportunity of personal hearing.
The HC held that the impugned adjudicative order violated the principles of natural justice, specifically audi alteram partem, because the officer who conducted the personal hearing did not render the decision; a successor officer decided the matter without affording a fresh hearing. Reliance on administrative guidance requiring prompt issuance of orders following personal hearings reinforced that divided responsibility between hearing and decision-making undermines fairness. Consequently, the HC quashed the impugned order as vitiated for denial of a fair hearing and allowed the petition, directing that any fresh decision be taken by the officer who affords the hearing or, if by a successor, only after providing the petitioner a fresh opportunity of personal hearing.
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