M/S. Kamyab Television PVT. LTD. vs. Addl. Commnr., GST And Central Excise

Facts

The petitioners, M/s. Kamyab Television Pvt. Ltd. and another, approached the High Court of Orissa at Cuttack through a writ petition. The petition was filed at the stage of a show cause notice issued by the Opposite Parties, which included the Addl. Commissioner, GST and Central Excise. The specific tax period and the amount in dispute are not recorded in the judgment. The procedural history indicates that the petitioners sought intervention from the High Court before an adjudication order was passed.

Held

The Court held that it was not inclined to interfere at the stage of the show cause notice. The reasoning was that the petitioners had an adequate statutory remedy available. The Court directed that if the petitioners had not yet replied to the show cause notice, they should file their reply by 3rd April, 2023. Following this, the Adjudicating Authority was directed to hear the petitioners and pass an appropriate order on the show cause notice in accordance with law within three months thereafter. No further directions were deemed necessary at this stage. The ratio decidendi is that High Courts should generally not entertain writ petitions when statutory remedies are available and the matter is at a preliminary stage like a show cause notice.

Key Issues

1. Whether the High Court should interfere at the stage of a show cause notice when no adjudication order has been passed. The Petitioners, by approaching the High Court, implicitly sought intervention and potentially a stay or quashing of the proceedings at the show cause notice stage. They likely argued for the High Court's inherent power to intervene to prevent prejudice or illegality. The Revenue (Opposite Parties) likely contended that the petitioners should exhaust the statutory remedies available, including responding to the show cause notice and awaiting the adjudication order, before approaching the High Court. They would have argued that the writ jurisdiction should not be exercised prematurely, especially when a clear alternative remedy exists.