Adjudicating Authority While Dismissing Appeal For Non-Prosecution Cannot Add Direction To Dismiss It On Merits As Well: NCLAT

The NCLAT ruled that the Adjudicating Authority cannot add a merit-based dismissal to an appeal dismissed due to non-prosecution. The case centered around a dismissed appeal where the authority had also issued a ruling on merits, which was not permissible. The ruling clarifies that an appeal dismissed for non-prosecution should not be followed by a decision on the merits of the case, thus ensuring that only procedural dismissals are made and avoiding unwarranted merits-based judgments.