https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=44355 An ex parte central excise adjudication imposing duty, penalty and confiscation was set aside because the assessee was denied a fair opportunity to respond after his advocate failed to file a written reply. The HC held that natural justice requires a meaningful chance to defend, and that a litigant should not ordinarily suffer adverse consequences for counsel's default where the record showed counsel had been engaged and had sought the relevant documents. Treating the matter as one of law arising from proved facts, the HC held the ex parte order was vitiated and directed fresh adjudication after supply of the relied-on documents and an opportunity to file a written representation. en-us Thu, 01 Feb 1996 00:00:00 +0530 Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:56:58 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=44355 An ex parte central excise adjudication imposing duty, penalty and confiscation was set aside because the assessee was denied a fair opportunity to respond after his advocate failed to file a written reply. The HC held that natural justice requires a meaningful chance to defend, and that a litigant should not ordinarily suffer adverse consequences for counsel's default where the record showed counsel had been engaged and had sought the relevant documents. Treating the matter as one of law arising from proved facts, the HC held the ex parte order was vitiated and directed fresh adjudication after supply of the relied-on documents and an opportunity to file a written representation. Case-Laws Central Excise Thu, 01 Feb 1996 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=44355