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2013 (10) TMI 238 - HC - Central ExciseLocus Standi of the Assistant Director (Investigation) to challenge the order of Settlement Commission – Held that:- There is no authorisation produced before us in favour of the petitioner No.2 to challenge the order of the Settlement Commission before this Court by way of a writ petition. Even according to the hierarchy, petitioner No.2 is several levels below the Settlement Commission and the officers manning it. - petitioner No.2 has no locus standi to challenge the order of the Settlement Commission. - petitioner No.2 deleted from the proceedings. Power of Judicial Review - challenge the order of Settlement Commission - majority order versus minority order - Held that:- The power of judicial review is more about the decision-making process rather than the merits of the decision itself, while examining and scrutinizing the decision making process, it becomes inevitable to also appreciate the facts of a given case so as to test the decision on the touchstones of illegality, irrationality or procedural impropriety - An evaluation of the facts of the case would necessarily be involved even to record a finding that the decision is irrational - Relying upon R.B. Shreeram Durga Prasad and Fatechand Nursing Das v. Settlement Commission (It and Wt) and Anr. [1989 (1) TMI 4 - SUPREME Court ] With particular reference to orders of the Settlement Commission. The present case clearly appears to be eminently a case for adjudication and not for settlement. The decision making process adopted by the majority of the Settlement Commission is flawed. The majority opinion rightly posed the question to themselves that the real question is whether the applicant has accounted for all the catechu bought by it and whether any duty liability was incurred by utilizing the unaccounted catechu for the purpose of clandestine manufacture and clearance of the goods. However, it appears to us that they did not examine the question with the insights and incisiveness which the dissenting member employed in examining the question. That has to be examined by the adjudicating authority under the Central Excise Act in accordance with law and the provisions of the Act. We are quite aware of the limits of judicial review as contoured by the authorities to which we have referred earlier. The view taken by the majority in the present case appears to us, with respect, vitiated by irrationality, procedural impropriety and illegality. The majority clearly erred in holding that the applicant has made a full and true disclosure of the duty liability which was not admitted before the central excise authorities and the manner in which such liability was derived. They also erred in holding that the case was simple and did not involve any dispute or complex questions of fact or law which can only be decided by the adjudicating authority and therefore it was a case for settlement by the Settlement Commission. We accord our approval to the reasoning and conclusion arrived at by the dissenting member who constituted the minority. The opinion of the majority is accordingly, quashed and the minority opinion is upheld. The writ petition allowed.
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