TMI Blog2019 (5) TMI 500X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s to the lis has a right of appeal and, therefore, it is essential for them to know the considered opinion of the Court to make the remedy of appeal meaningful. It is the reasoning which ultimately culminates into final decision which may be subject to examination of the appellate or other higher Courts. It is a settled canon of legal jurisprudence that the Courts are vested with discretionary powers but such powers are to be exercised judiciously, equitably and in consonance with the settled principles of law. Whether or not, such judicial discretion has been exercised in accordance with the accepted norms, can only be reflected by the reasons recorded in the order impugned before the higher Court. Often it is said that absence of reasoning may ipso facto indicate whimsical exercise of judicial discretion. The Court cannot lose sight of the fact that a losing litigant has a cause to plead and a right to challenge the order if it is adverse to him - Whether an argument was rejected validly or otherwise, reasoning of the order alone can show. To evaluate the submissions is obligation of the Court and to know the reasons for rejection of its contention is a legitimate expectati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rrect description of goods as well as the vehicle number through which the goods were dispatched. The transaction is duly recorded in the books of accounts of the revisionist. On 20.03.2013 the Mobile Squad of the Commercial Tax Department intercepted the goods and issued a show cause notice for seizure of the goods. Allegation in the show cause notice was that the tax invoice accompanying the goods did not mention the number of bundels or weight of the goods found in the vehicle. The revisionist replied to the said penalty notice and annexed the tax invoice. 5. It is admitted that weight of the goods was not mentioned in the tax invoice issued by the revisionist. The reply of the revisionist was rejected and the revisionist who was in urgent need of the goods, deposited the security of ₹ 1,12,000/- and got the goods released and subsequently by means of order dated 21.06.2013, penalty order was passed. 6. The revisionist preferred an appeal against the order dated 21.06.2013 passed by the Additional Commissioner (Grade-II) Appeals, Range-2, Lucknow on 10.01.2013, which was rejected and thereafter he preferred Second Appeal under S ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l order must be supported by reasons, recorded in it. Thus, while deciding an issue, the Court is bound to give reasons for its conclusion. It is the duty and obligation on the part of the Court to record reasons while disposing of the case. The hallmark of an order and exercise of judicial power by a judicial forum is to disclose its reasons by itself and giving of reasons has always been insisted upon as one of the fundamentals of sound administration justice - delivery system, to make known that there had been proper and due application of mind to the issue before the Court and also as an essential requisite of principles of natural justice. The giving of reasons for a decision is an essential attribute of judicial and judicious disposal of a matter before Courts, and which is the only indication to know about the manner and quality of exercise undertaken, as also the fact that the Court concerned had really applied its mind. [Vide State of Orissa Vs. Dhaniram Luhar (JT 2004(2) SC 172 and State of Rajasthan Vs. Sohan Lal Ors. JT 2004 (5) SCC 338:2004 (5) SCC 573]. 32. Reason is the heartbeat of every conclusion. It introduces clarity in an order and without ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... requirements of natural justice is spelling out reasons for the order made;....... 12. The Supreme Court in State of Orissa v. Dhaniram Luhar (2004) 5 SCC 568 while dealing with the criminal appeal, insisted that the reasons in support of the decision was a cardinal principle and the High Court should record its reasons while disposing of the matter. The Court held as under: 8. Even in respect of administrative orders Lord Denning, M.R. In Breen v. Amalgamated Engg. Union, (1971)2 QB 175, observed:(QB p.191 C) The giving of reasons is one of the fundamentals of good administration. In Alexander Machinery (Dudley) Ltd. v. Crabtree it was observed: Failure to give reasons amounts to denial of justice. Reasons are live links between the mind of the decision-taker to the controversy in question and the decision or conclusion arrived at. Reasons substitute subjectivity by objectivity. The emphasis on recording reasons is that if the decision reveals the inscrutable face of the sphinx , it can, by its silence, render it virtually impossible for the Courts to perform their appellate function or exercise the power of judicial ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... icial discretion. Patricia Wald, Chief Justice of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in the Article, The problem with the Courts: Black-robed Bureaucracy Or Collegiality Under Challenge 42 Md.L. Rev. 766, 782 (1983), observed as under:- ' My own guiding principle is that virtually every appellate decision requires some statement of reasons. The discipline of writing even a few sentences or paragraphs explaining the basis for the judgment insures a level of thought and scrutiny by the Court that a bare signal of affirmance, dismissal, or reversal does not. ' 15. The Court cannot lose sight of the fact that a losing litigant has a cause to plead and a right to challenge the order if it is adverse to him. Opinion of the Court alone can explain the cause which led to passing of the final order. Whether an argument was rejected validly or otherwise, reasoning of the order alone can show. To evaluate the submissions is obligation of the Court and to know the reasons for rejection of its contention is a legitimate expectation on the part of the litigant. 16. It will be useful to refer words of Justice Roslyn Atki ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . Reason is the very life of law. When the reason of a law once ceases, the law itself generally ceases (Wharton's Law Lexicon). Such is the significance of reasoning in any rule of law. Giving reasons furthers the cause of justice as well as avoids uncertainty. As a matter of fact it helps in the observance of law of precedent. Absence of reasons on the contrary essentially introduces an element of uncertainty, dissatisfaction and give entirely different dimensions to the questions of law raised before the higher/appellate courts. In our view, the court should provide its own grounds and reasons for rejecting claim/prayer of a party whether at the very threshold i.e. at admission stage or after regular hearing, howsoever concise they may be. 19. It is the duty cast upon the Appellate Authority that even if it is in agreement with the view taken by the first Appellate Authority, it should give its own reasons/findings which may indicate that there has been application of mind and also the consideration of grounds raised in the appeal by the revisionist. In absence of reasons it is difficult to come to a conclusion that there has been any application of mind by th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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