Not Providing Opportunity to Cross-Examination & Documents amount to Violation of Natural Justice Principles: Calcutta HC quashes Order of Customs (Appeal) [Read Order]

The Calcutta High Court, while quashing an order of the Customs (Appeal), held that the act of not providing an opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses and documents would amount to gross violation of the principles of natural justice.

The petitioner, Sunil Kumar Mitra challenged an order of the of Customs (Appeal), confirming the adjudicating orders in question mainly on the ground of violation of principle of natural justice by the adjudicating authority by not providing the documents to the petitioner upon which the adjudicating authority relied in passing the order of adjudication in question adverse to the interest of the petitioner and not providing the petitioner his legal rights to cross-examine those witnesses on whose statement the adjudicating authority has relied and taken into consideration at the time of passing the adjudication order in question.

After considering the arguments from both sides, Justice Md Nizamuddin held that “in this case there was violation of principle of natural justice and the impugned order of the Appellate Authority is a non-speaking order on the aforesaid grounds taken by the petitioner in its memorandum of appeal filed before the Appellate Authority and accordingly, the impugned order dated 28th February, 2017 is set aside and remanded back to the Appellate Authority concerned on these two limited issues/grounds, which are non providing of documents to the petitioner upon which adjudicating authority has relied and denying the petitioner to cross-examine the witnesses in question on whose statement adjudicating authority has relied in its adjudication order.”

While concluding the order, the Court clarified that “the impugned order of the Appellate Authority is set aside and remanded only on these two issues and the rest of the order, the Court is not inclined to interfere but of course it will be subject to final outcome of adjudication on the aforesaid two formalities of providing the documents relied by the adjudicating authority and upon the cross examination of the witnesses upon whose statement adjudicating authority has relied.”

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