The Commissioner Of CT And GST, Odisha vs. Sanjeet Kumar Bagh
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The appeal was filed by the Commissioner of CT & GST, Odisha, and another against an order passed by a learned Single Judge. The impugned order was passed on the very first date of hearing of the writ petition without providing the appellants an opportunity to file a reply. The respondent in the appeal is Sanjeet Kumar Bagh. The writ petition was W.P.(C) No.25688 of 2021. The High Court delinked this appeal from a connected case.
Held
The High Court held that the impugned order was unsustainable on the short ground that it was passed on the very first date of hearing without providing the appellants an opportunity to file a reply to the writ petition. The Court reasoned that this procedural lapse violated the principles of natural justice, as a party must be given a chance to respond to allegations or claims made against them. Consequently, the impugned order was set aside. The writ petition was restored to the file of the learned Single Judge for a fresh hearing on merits, with specific timelines set for the filing of the reply and rejoinder affidavits. The Court directed the learned Single Judge to dispose of the matter expeditiously.
Key Issues
1. Whether the impugned order, passed on the first date of hearing without affording an opportunity to the appellants to file a reply, is sustainable in law? The appellants argued that the impugned order was passed without granting them an opportunity to present their case by filing a reply to the writ petition. They contended that this violated principles of natural justice. The respondent (petitioner before the Single Judge) did not present any arguments recorded in this judgment.
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Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances
ORDER 23.03.2023 02. 1. The present appeal is delinked from the connected case as requested by learned counsel for the parties.
On the short ground that the impugned order was passed on the very first date of the hearing without any opportunity to the present Appellant to file a reply to the writ petition, the impugned order is set aside.
W.P.(C) No.25688 of 2021 will be restored to the file of the learned Single Judge in the roster Bench where it will be listed for hearing on 13th July, 2023. 4. Reply will be filed by the present Appellants to the writ petition positively on or before 1st July, 2023 and rejoinder affidavit thereto by 10th July, 2023. It is made clear that none of the parties will be granted any more opportunity for the above purpose.
The learned Single Judge is requested to proceed with the hearing of the matter on merits and dispose it of as expeditiously as possible.
The writ appeal is disposed of in the above terms. An urgent certified copy of this order be issued as per rules.
(Dr. S. Muralidhar) Chief Justice
(G. Satapathy) Judge
SK Jena/Secy.
Reproduced from the public record of the Orissa High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.