2014 (4) TMI 1095 - AT - Central Excise

Restoration of appeal - Held that - As can be seen from the reproduced letter for adjournment that the appellant is stating that they have filed an application before Honble High Court of Bombay, but has not attached any document / petition or the application, for us to peruse and come to conclusion, that the issue involved in that application and in the final order passed by the bench is the same. In view of the foregoing, we dismiss the application for restoration of appeal as devoid of merits.

Summary

Issues: Application for restoration of appeal dismissed for lack of merit.

Analysis:
1. Background: The appellant failed to appear before the tribunal, submitting a letter requesting a 3-month extension due to a related matter pending in the Mumbai High Court. The tribunal noted that previous appeals by the appellant were disposed of in 2008 due to delays caused by the appellant.

2. Contention: The appellant claimed to have filed an application in the Bombay High Court related to the current matter but did not provide any supporting documents for the tribunal to verify the connection between the two issues.

3. Decision: The tribunal found the application for restoration of appeal lacking in merit due to the absence of evidence linking the High Court application to the issues in the tribunal's previous order. As a result, the application was dismissed.

This judgment highlights the importance of providing substantial evidence and clear connections between related legal proceedings to support requests for adjournments or restoration of appeals. The tribunal emphasized the need for transparency and diligence in presenting relevant documents to establish the merit of such applications.