Shri Saurabh Kumar vs. Union Of INDIA

Held

The High Court of Karnataka disposed of the writ petition in terms of the order passed in Writ Petition No. 3938/2021 and connected matters, dated August 11, 2021. The judgment does not provide the specific details of the order in Writ Petition No. 3938/2021 or the reasoning behind it. However, by agreeing to dispose of the present case in similar terms, it implies that the High Court found the precedent applicable. The operative direction was to dispose of the writ petition accordingly. All pending interlocutory applications were also disposed of. The specific findings on the issues raised by the petitioner, the reasoning of the court, and the ratio decidendi are not elaborated upon in this judgment, as it relies entirely on a previous order.

Facts

The petitioner, Shri Saurabh Kumar, an Executive Assistant at the Airport and ACC, Customs Commissionerate, Devanahalli, Bangalore, filed a writ petition before the High Court of Karnataka. The petition challenged an order dated December 13, 2019, passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Bengaluru Bench, in O.A. No. 170/00887/2019. The respondents were the Union of India, represented by the Secretary to the Government, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue; the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC) & GST; and the Principal Chief Commissioner of Central Tax, Bangalore. The parties' counsel submitted that the issue in this writ petition was covered by a previous order of the High Court in Writ Petition No. 3938/2021 and connected matters, dated August 11, 2021 (Anju Kumar Pintu and Others v/s Union of India and others). Consequently, the parties sought disposal of the present matter in similar terms.

Key Issues

1. Whether the order dated December 13, 2019, passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal in O.A. No. 170/00887/2019 is legally sustainable. The petitioner, Shri Saurabh Kumar, sought to set aside the aforementioned CAT order. The specific grounds for challenge and the arguments presented by the petitioner are not detailed in the judgment. The respondents, Union of India and others, did not present any specific arguments as recorded in the judgment. Instead, their counsel submitted that the issue involved in the writ petition was covered by a prior order of the High Court in Writ Petition No. 3938/2021 and connected matters, dated August 11, 2021. They agreed to dispose of the present matter in similar terms.