Manoj Kumar Jain vs. The Union Of INDIA And 3 Ors

Held

The Court allowed the prayer of the petitioner's counsel. The writ petition was dismissed as withdrawn, with liberty granted to the petitioner to file afresh. The reasoning behind this decision is solely based on the petitioner's request and the respondent's lack of objection, facilitated by the issuance of Notification No. 03/2023-Central Tax. No substantive issues regarding GST law were decided on merits. The ratio decidendi is that a party can withdraw a writ petition with liberty to refile if the opposing party consents and the court deems it appropriate, especially when a relevant notification has been issued.

Facts

The petitioner, Manoj Kumar Jain, filed a writ petition before the Gauhati High Court. The respondents were the Union of India and various GST authorities, including the Principal Commissioner of Central Goods and Service Tax and the Assistant Commissioner of Central Goods and Service Tax. The specific tax period and amount in dispute are not recorded in the judgment. The procedural history involves the filing of the writ petition and a subsequent submission by the petitioner's counsel seeking to withdraw the petition.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner can withdraw the writ petition with liberty to file afresh in light of Notification No. 03/2023-Central Tax dated 31.03.2023? The petitioner argued that in view of the aforementioned notification, they wished to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to file afresh. The respondent GST authorities stated they had no objection to this prayer.