Prakash Mayappa Jambagi vs. The Assistant Commissioner

Held

The Court considered the memo filed by the learned counsel for the appellant seeking leave to withdraw the appeal. The memo was taken on record. As there were no objections from the respondents and the appellant had expressed a clear intention to withdraw, the Court allowed the withdrawal. Consequently, the writ appeal was dismissed as withdrawn. The Court did not delve into the merits of the original writ petition or the order passed by the Single Judge, as the appeal was disposed of on the procedural ground of withdrawal. The ratio decidendi is that a party has the right to withdraw their appeal, provided no prejudice is caused to the other side and the Court permits it.

Facts

The appellant, Prakash Mayappa Jambagi, a civil contractor, filed a writ appeal before the Karnataka High Court, Dharwad Bench, challenging an order dated 07.06.2024 passed by a learned Single Judge in WP No. 102880/2022. The respondents included the Assistant Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, the State of Karnataka, the Government of India, the GST Council, and the Principal Chief Commissioner of Central Tax. The appeal was filed under Section 4 of the Karnataka High Court Act, 1961, seeking to set aside the Single Judge's order and grant consequential relief. However, before the appeal could be heard on merits, the learned counsel for the appellant filed a memo seeking leave to withdraw the appeal.

Key Issues

The primary issue before the Court was whether the appellant should be granted leave to withdraw the writ appeal. The appellant, through their counsel, indicated their intention to withdraw the appeal. The respondents did not raise any objections to this request. Therefore, the Court had to decide whether to permit the withdrawal of the appeal. The appellant's argument was based on their unilateral decision to withdraw the appeal, as evidenced by the filed memo. The respondents did not present any arguments against the withdrawal.