2016 (8) TMI 1068 - HC - Central Excise

Validity of revisionary order passed by the revisionary authority - Exercise of revisionary powers - Whether can be exercised by the officer of same rank or not - Held that - in view of the decision of Punjab and Haryana High Court in the case of M/s NVR Forgings vs Union of India and others 2016 (5) TMI 7 - PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT which was followed by this Court M/s Kent Malleables Private Limited vs Union of India and others, the Revisionary Authority had to be an officer of a higher rank than the appellate authority, whose order is impugned before the Revisionary Authority. Therefore, the impugned order passed by the Revisionary Authority is set aside. - Petition disposed of

Summary

Issues:
Challenge to order of Revisionary Authority accepting revision filed by department and rejecting revision against order in appeal.

Analysis:
The petitioner challenged the order of the Revisionary Authority dated 16.12.2015, which accepted the department's revision and rejected the revision against the order in appeal dated 8.12.2011 by the Commissioner (Appeals), Central Excise, Chandigarh-I, Chandigarh. The petitioner argued that the Revisionary Authority should be of a higher rank than the appellate authority, citing a Division Bench judgment. The respondents did not dispute this legal position. The Court referred to a previous case and held that revision by an officer of the same rank was impermissible. The impugned order was passed by the Joint Secretary to the Government of India, who was also the Commissioner of Central Excise and Customs, making it impermissible under the law. The Court allowed the petitions, setting aside the impugned orders but granted liberty to the State to proceed afresh in accordance with the law without prejudice to the parties' rights.

Precedents:
The Court referred to the judgment in M/s NVR Forgings's case and M/s Kent Malleables Private Limited's case, where similar issues were considered. The Court held that revision by an officer of the same rank as the appellate authority was not permissible. The judgments cited by the respondents were deemed to be based on individual fact situations and did not provide any advantage to the respondents. The Court emphasized that the decisions were to be made in accordance with the law, ensuring fairness and adherence to legal principles.

Conclusion:
Based on the detailed reasoning provided in the judgment, the Court set aside the impugned order passed by the Revisionary Authority but granted liberty to the revenue to proceed afresh in accordance with the law. The writ petition was disposed of accordingly, ensuring that the legal principles were upheld and the rights of the parties were protected.