Superintendent Of Central Tax vs. Shri Alok Bhandari

Facts

The petitioner, the Superintendent of Central Tax, Anti-Evasion, GST Commissionerate, Bangalore East, filed a Criminal Petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The petition sought to set aside an order dated July 20, 2019, passed by the LIX Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru, in Criminal Misc. No. 5394/2019. The respondent is Shri Alok Bhandari, Director of M/s Spiegel Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. The matter was listed for the fourth time, and office objections remained uncomplied with. The Court had previously granted one week's time to comply with the objections, failing which the petition would stand dismissed.

Held

The Court held that the petitioner was not interested in prosecuting the petition. This conclusion was reached due to the absence of the learned counsel for the petitioner and the non-compliance with office objections despite multiple listings. The Court noted that the petition was filed in 2020 and had been listed for the fourth time without compliance. A previous order had granted one week's time to comply with the office objections, failing which the petition would stand dismissed. Consequently, the Court found no reason to proceed with the merits of the case. The petition was dismissed on the grounds of non-prosecution and non-compliance with procedural requirements. No specific findings were made on the merits of the case or the legality of the Sessions Court's order.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Criminal Petition filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. is maintainable for setting aside the order dated 20.07.2019 passed by the LIX Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru? 2. Whether the petitioner has demonstrated sufficient grounds to warrant interference with the impugned order under Section 482 Cr.P.C.? The petitioner, represented by the Superintendent of Central Tax, argued that the order passed by the Sessions Court was erroneous and required setting aside. The petitioner likely intended to argue that the Sessions Court's order was not in accordance with law or that there were procedural irregularities. The respondent, Shri Alok Bhandari, Director of M/s Spiegel Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., would have contended that the petition is not maintainable or that the Sessions Court's order was justified. The judgment does not explicitly detail the arguments of either side beyond the petitioner's intent to set aside the order. No specific provisions, circulars, or precedents were mentioned in the provided text.