M/S.Sushil Kumar Jena vs. CT And GST Officer, Cuttack Ii Circle

Facts

The petitioner, Sushil Kumar Jena, filed a writ petition before the High Court of Orissa at Cuttack. The Opposite Parties were the CT and GST Officer, Cuttack, and another. The specific tax period and the order or action under challenge, as well as the authority that passed it, are not detailed in the judgment. The amount in dispute is also not stated. The procedural history relevant to the High Court's decision is that the petitioner sought to withdraw the writ petition.

Held

The Court allowed the petitioner to withdraw the writ petition. It granted the petitioner liberty to file an appeal under the relevant statute, provided it was filed not later than August 2, 2021. The Court stipulated that if the appeal was accompanied by an application for condonation of delay, explaining the delay due to the pendency of the writ petition, the Appellate Authority would consider that application on its merits. The Court explicitly stated that it had not expressed any opinion on the petitioner's contentions. The operative direction was to dispose of the writ petition as withdrawn.

Key Issues

The Court had to decide whether to allow the petitioner's request to withdraw the writ petition. The petitioner argued for withdrawal with liberty to file a statutory appeal. The revenue or State's arguments are not recorded in the judgment. The core legal question revolved around the Court's discretion to permit withdrawal of a writ petition and grant liberty to pursue alternative statutory remedies, particularly when a statutory appeal mechanism exists.