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Issues involved: Imposition of penalty under Defence of India Rules, 1962; Appeal against penalty order; Criminal prosecution for contravention of rules, Customs Act, and Foreign Exchange Regulation Act; Acquittal in criminal court; Rejection of appeal; Revision before High Court.
Imposition of Penalty: The petitioner was penalized with a Rs. 10,000/- penalty under the Defence of India Rules, 1962 by the third respondent on 1-8-1969. An appeal was made to the Second respondent on 17-9-1969. Meanwhile, the petitioner faced criminal prosecution for the same set of facts. The Criminal Court acquitted the petitioner on 12-9-1972, concluding that he could not be penalized. The second respondent rejected the appeal on 21-11-1977, and the petitioner's revision before the first respondent was unsuccessful, leading to the challenge in the writ petition. Principles of Natural Justice: The petitioner's counsel argued that it would be unfair to penalize the petitioner after the Criminal Court's favorable decision, which was based on identical facts and charges. Citing precedents, it was contended that quasi-judicial tribunals should not ignore the findings of competent criminal courts when taking action based on the same offense. The judgment of the Criminal Court, which acquitted the petitioner based on merits, should be considered conclusive in proceedings before such tribunals. Application of Precedent: Referring to previous cases, the Court found merit in applying the principle that findings and orders of criminal courts should be treated as conclusive in proceedings before quasi-judicial tribunals. The Court noted that in a similar case under the Customs Act, the proceedings were quashed after the Criminal Court's acquittal based on merits and identical facts. Consequently, the Orders passed by the respondents imposing the penalty were deemed invalid and were ordered to be deleted. The writ petition was allowed with no costs incurred.
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