2001 (1) TMI 92

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....pondents waive service through learned Counsel Mr. Jetley. By consent, the petition called out for hearing and heard. 2.This writ petition is directed against an order of the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (CEGAT) under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, directing the petitioners to deposit a sum of Rs. 20 lacs as pre-deposit for hearing the appeal. 3.The facts are....

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....ompany was raided sometime in February 1996 and a large number of its records were seized. Some of the records seized, inter alia, include private registers which, according to the petitioners, reveal the movement of the goods from and into the factory. The documents seized also include issue slips, which would evidence such movement of goods from and into the factory, according to the petitioners....

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....t under Section 35F of the Act. The petitioners' case was that the seized records in the custody of the department would clearly bear out that no material had been removed from the factory of the petitioners for home consumption and that all material removed for processing had been returned to the factory after processing. The petitioners, therefore, contended that they had more than prima facie c....

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....xplanation to the Tribunal when the records seized are in the very appeal before it. The Tribunal is the last fact finding authority under the Act and is entitled to reverse the finding of facts also. In these circumstances, we would have expected at least a prima facie consideration of the contention of the petitioners with reference to the seized documents. Unfortunately, such is not the case. I....