Personal hearing is mandatory before confiscation under Section 130; order quashed for breach of natural justice.

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....Section 130 requires that no confiscation of goods or conveyance be ordered without giving the affected person a personal hearing. Mere consideration of a written reply is not enough to satisfy the statutory mandate or the principle of audi alteram partem. As the impugned confiscation order showed no indication that any hearing had been granted, it was held to be vitiated for non-compliance with the mandatory procedure. The High Court quashed the order and remitted the matter for fresh adjudication after affording the petitioner an opportunity of hearing.....