The HC allowed the writ petition, quashing the Order-in-Original...

The HC allowed the writ petition, quashing the Order-in-Original and treating the Show Cause Notice as abandoned due to an inordinate 14-year delay in adjudication. Applying the doctrine of reasonable time and the maxim lex dilationes abhorret, the court found the prolonged lapse, unexplained by the respondent, amounted to a violation of principles of natural justice and arbitrariness in quasi-judicial proceedings. The petitioner's failure to be informed of any transfer to call book and the absence of transparency vitiated the entire process. The HC held that, in these exceptional circumstances, the petitioner need not be relegated to alternate statutory remedies and relief by writ was maintainable.

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