SARPIN PHARMACAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave to amend.

(2.) It appears that on 8-10-2001, the Appellate Tribunal dismissed the petitioners' appeal on the ground that there was no proof of validation of bank guarantees which were earlier given by the petitioner-firm pursuant to the order of pre-deposit made by the Tribunal in Appeal No. E/14-R/96-Bom. The petitioners' case is that the petitioner-firm had not received the notice of hearing of the appeal but when the petitioner received the communication from the Registry of the Appellate Tribunal calling upon the petitioner to produce proof of validation of the bank guarantees on 18-9-2001, the petitioner sent reply dated 11-9-2001 (Annexure "D") informing the Registrar that the bank guarantees were validated and were renewed till 30-3-2002. The petitioner also sent a copy of the renewed bank guarantees along with the said letter dated 11-9-2001. It is the petitioner's case that on account of the Registry of the Tribunal not having placed the said papers before the Tribunal, the Tribunal dismissed the petitioner's appeal on 8-10-2001 as stated above.

(3.) In view of the above, the petitioner-firm was obviously required to file a misc. application for restoration of the appeal which the petitioner claims to have done in November 2001, but no further order is passed by the Tribunal on the said restoration application. According to the petitioners, since the Registry of the Tribunal is not in a position to trace the papers of the disposed of appeal on account of shifting of the Tribunal's premises from Fort area to Masjid Bunder in Mumbai, the restoration application is not being heard and the Departmental Officers are left with no other alternative but to take steps for coercive recovery against the petitioner-firm on account of dismissal of the appeal.