KARACHI: A custom appellate bench of High Court of Sindh (SHC) comprising Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar and Justice Javed A Sarwana remanded a dispute to Adjudicating Authority of Pakistan Customs while hearing Special Custom Reference Application f29/2021.
The bench earlier heard Khalid Mehmood Rajper Advocate, counsel for the Directorate of Intelligence and Investigations in SCRA against one Muhammad Awais and Member Judicial-II of Custom Appellate Tribunal. The Tribunal has passed order in favor of Respondent who never appeared before the Adjudicating Authority as reflected from Order in Original dated 16-7-2019 whereas the Tribunal has considered the contentions of the respondent including documents which were never presented before the Original Authority and based on such contentions over turned the findings of the fact recorded at original stage.
When confronted, the counsel for respondent contended that no Show Cause Notice was ever issued and therefore Respondent need not to appear before the Adjudicating Authority. The Tribunal ought to have remanded the matter to the original authority for examining the contention as Order in Original was an ex-parte order.
In this circumstance the order of the tribunal and Order in Original are hereby set aside and matter is remanded back to the Original Authority before whom the Respondent shall appear and place all material and documents which they have relied upon before Tribunal where-after the said authority shall pass appropriate order in original. The Reference Application is allowed, the bench ordered.