Tribunal has inherent power to dismiss an appeal for non-appearance of appellant

The Tribunal dismissed the excise appeal of the assessee for non-appearance. The application filed by the assessee for restoration of the appeal was also dismissed. The dismissal was challenged before the High Court on the ground that under s. 35C of the Excise Act (corresponding to s. 254 of the Income-tax Act) the Tribunal had no power to dismiss an appeal for non-appearance of the Appellant. It had to decide on merits. HELD: (i) In Chenniappa Mudaliar 74 ITR 41 the Supreme Court struck down R. 34 of the Tribunal Rules, 1946 (now Rule 24) and held that the Tribunal had no power to dismiss an...