M/S Ashesh Kumar Behuria vs. The Commissioner, CT And GST, Odisha

Facts

The petitioner, M/s. Ashesh Kumar Behuria, filed a writ petition before the Orissa High Court challenging an order passed by the Opposite Parties, including the Commissioner, CT & GST, Odisha. The petitioner had filed an additional affidavit which was taken on record. It was confirmed that the impugned order had been uploaded on the portal. The petitioner sought to withdraw the present petition to pursue a statutory appeal against the adjudication order.

Held

The Court permitted the Petitioner to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to challenge the adjudication order by way of a statutory appeal. The Court directed that if such an appeal is filed not later than November 3, 2022, and is accompanied by an application for condonation of delay citing the pendency of the present writ petition as the reason for the delay, then the appellate authority shall consider it in accordance with law. The Court explicitly clarified that it had not expressed any view on the merits of the matter. The writ petition was disposed of as withdrawn with the liberty granted.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner should be permitted to withdraw the writ petition to file a statutory appeal against the adjudication order, considering the pendency of the writ petition may cause a delay in filing the appeal? The Petitioner argued that they wished to withdraw the writ petition to file a statutory appeal against the adjudication order. The Revenue or State did not record any specific arguments in the judgment.