Farce of Adjudication and Appeal
NOBODY would have any doubt on the authenticity of the above story. While Members of the Tribunals and Judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court have to make their own orders, it is strange that the Departmental adjudicating authorities have a battery of Superintendents and Inspectors to draft their orders and these learned adjudicators have to just sign on the dotted line.
Sometime back, I had gone to interview a Chief Justice of a High Court at his house. I was given appointment at 7.30 pm. When I went there, the Chief Justice was dictating an order to his steno. The CJ was in the Court till 5pm and by 7.30pm, he was at his house doing his adjudication work!
And now a days, the trend in the department is to simply confirm the demands made in the Show Cause Notices. These Show Cause Notices are also drafted by lower level officers. Adjudication and appeal at the level of Commissioners and below has become a joke or a farce. Nobody has any faith that they can hope to get a reasonable order at this level. If orders are to be drafted by subordinate officers, why should we have adjudicators – just for signing? The one who drafted the order could perhaps sign better!
In the case referred by the Netizen (), the Tribunal had observed,
“This being a serious matter we are of the opinion that it should be referred to the Chairman of the CBEC, New Delhi for reference and enquiry into the matter. Central Board of Excise and Customs, however, may like to make a general enquiry and issue suitable instructions to the adjudicating officers to desist from taking the help of the subordinate officers in drafting the orders. A quasi-judicial officer has to apply his own mind to the facts and circumstances of the case and reach at his own decision unfettered by anything else. From this it follows that even the narration of facts in an adjudication order has to be drafted by the adjudicating officer himself.”
Even if the Board had issued instructions, they would have been flouted with impunity. The present practice is the drafting officer prepares the draft and puts it up to the adjudicating officer with the remarks, “draft order as dictated, put up”. Everybody knows that there was no dictator!