2012 (2) TMI 609 - HC - Central Excise

Summary

Issues involved: Compliance with earlier court order, supply of documents, opportunity for cross-examination, jurisdiction of Adjudication Order, maintainability of writ petition after amendment.

Compliance with earlier court order: The petitioner sought directions for compliance with a previous court order to supply all documents related to the case. Allegations were made that both relied upon and non-relied upon documents were not supplied, and the petitioner was not given the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses, rendering the Adjudication Order without jurisdiction.

Opportunity for cross-examination: The court emphasized that there is no right to cross-examine witnesses before the reply to the show cause notice is filed and before adjudication commences. The petitioner's contention that the opportunity for cross-examination was denied due to non-supply of documents was considered, and the impugned order in this regard was set aside.

Supply of documents: The court held that the petitioner was provided with relied upon documents in the form of a DVD, but non-relied upon documents were not collected despite repeated requests. The petitioner's claim of non-supply of documents and denial of cross-examination was viewed as an attempt to avoid filing an appeal.

Jurisdiction of Adjudication Order: The court dismissed the writ petition, stating that the petitioner should file a statutory appeal against the order in the Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal. The petitioner was given a week to file the appeal along with an application for condonation of delay, with the Tribunal to consider the time spent in pursuing the writ petition in the High Court.