Appellate orders under the Customs Act attain finality, and original authorities cannot restart proceedings without explicit remand.

1. By this petition under Art.226 of the Constitution, the petitioner seeks a suitable writ to quash the adjudication proceedings and de novo enquiry commenced by a fresh notice dated 13-12-1972 (Annexure - E) issued under the Customs Act, 1962 (hereinafter called the Act.)

2. On 27-2-1969, when the petitioner detrained at the Jabalpur railway - station from the Janata Express coming from Bombay, he was searched by officers of the Central Excise Department who recovered 23 wrist watches of foreign make from his possession. This gave rise to adjudication proceedings against the petitioner commenced by a show cause notice dated 23-5-1969 (Annexure - A) issued by the Assistant Collector, Customs and Central Excise, Jabalpur (respondent No.2). That proceeding ended by the order dated 30-6-1969 (Annexure - B) passed by the respondent No.2 whereby all the watches were confiscated under S.111 (d) of the Act on the ground that no duty had been paid thereon and a penalty of Rs. 250/- was imposed under S.112 of the Act. The petitioner preferred an appeal to the Appellate Collector (respondent No.3) under S.128 of the Act, Under S.128 (2) of the Act, by the order dated 22-7-1972 (Annexure - C), the respondent No.3 set aside the order of adjudication (Annexure - B) passed by the respondent No.2 without any direction remanding the case for commencement of a de novo enquiry. Thereafter a fresh notice dated 27-7-1972 (Annexure - D) was issued to the petitioner by the respondent No.1 for commencement of a de novo enquiry and the petitioner's objection to the same having been rejected, the present petition has been filed substantially for the relief already stated.

3. The petitioner's case is that the order of respondent No.3 passed in appeal under S.128 (2) of the Act not having given any direction of remand permitting a fresh enquiry and the same having become final, the de novo enquiry and fresh proceedings for adjudicition now commenced are without jurisdiction. In reply, the respondents contend that the direction of remand is implicit in the appellate order Annexure - C wherein the expression "without prejudice" has been used.

4. The relevant portion of the appellate order (Annexure - C) is as follows: -
"The adjudication, therefore, suffers for lack of principle of natural justice, in as much as adequate opportunities were not given to the appellant to defend his case. I,therefore, without prejudice, vacate the order of the adjudication passed by the Assistant Collector, Central Excise, Jabalpur."
There can be no doubt that there is no express direction of remand given in the appellate order permitting the initiation of fresh adjudication proceedings after the earlier order of adjudication passed by respondent No.2 had been set aside in appeal, vide order Annexure - C. The case of the respondents is that the use of the expression "without prejudice" in the relevant portion of the order quoted above implies such a remand. We are unable to accept this argument because that would require importing certain words in the appellate order which are admittedly not there. Mere use of the expression "without prejudice" does not lead to the implication suggested on behalf of the respondents. In Collector of Central Excise, Madras v. V. K. Pallappa Nadar , AIR 1964 Mad. 111 ; the expression "without prejudice Ito the merits of the case" used in a similar order made by the appellate authority under S.35 of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, was not construed as implying a direction of remand and it was held that the expression only meant that the appellate authority had not gone into the merits of the case and had disposed of the matter on a preliminary groun