Smruti Ranjan Mohanty vs. The Commissioner Of GST, Odisha

Held

The High Court held that the present writ petition, W.P.(C) No. 5191 of 2023, should be disposed of in terms of the common order previously passed by the Court on November 6, 2023, in W.P.(C) No. 6684 of 2023 and batch. This implies that the Court found the petitioner's case to be covered by the principles and directions laid down in the earlier common order. The reasoning is that the common order addressed a batch of similar writ petitions, and by directing the disposal of this petition in terms of that order, the Court extended the same relief or decision to the petitioner. The ratio decidendi would be that where a High Court has passed a common order in a batch of similar writ petitions, subsequent writ petitions with identical facts and grievances can be disposed of in terms of that common order. The operative direction is the disposal of the writ petition in line with the November 6, 2023 order.

Facts

This writ petition, filed by Smruti Ranjan Mohanty, was disposed of by the Orissa High Court in terms of a common order passed on November 6, 2023. The common order pertained to a batch of writ petitions, including W.P.(C) No. 6684 of 2023 and others, filed by various petitioners including Pravat Kumar Choudhury. The opposite parties in this petition are the Commissioner of GST, Odisha, and others. The judgment does not specify the tax period(s), the order or action under challenge, the authority that passed it, or the amount in dispute. The procedural history is limited to the filing of this writ petition and its disposal based on a prior common order.

Key Issues

The primary issue before the Court was the legality and validity of the orders or actions that formed the subject matter of the common order dated November 6, 2023, in W.P.(C) No. 6684 of 2023 and batch. The Court had to decide whether the relief granted in the common order should be extended to the petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 5191 of 2023. The petitioner, Smruti Ranjan Mohanty, likely argued that the facts and circumstances of his case were similar to those in the batch of petitions decided on November 6, 2023, and therefore, he was entitled to the same relief. The revenue or State, represented by the Commissioner of GST, Odisha, likely contended that the common order was correctly passed and that the petitioner's case did not warrant any different treatment. The judgment does not explicitly state the specific provisions of law or precedents relied upon by either side.