M/S Geolane Infrastructures (P) LTD. vs. Principal Commnr., GST And Central Excise, Bbsr

Facts

The Petitioner, M/s. Geolane Infrastructures (P) Ltd., filed a writ petition before the High Court of Orissa at Cuttack. The Opposite Parties were the Principal Commissioner, GST & Central Excise, Bhubaneswar, and others. The Petitioner sought to withdraw the writ petition. The grounds for withdrawal were to approach the Appellate Tribunal with an appeal as per law. The Petitioner also reserved the right to seek a waiver of pre-deposit before the Appellate Tribunal. The Court considered the Petitioner's request for liberty to approach the Appellate Tribunal and to make a prayer for waiver of pre-deposit.

Held

The Court allowed the Petitioner's request to withdraw the writ petition. The Petitioner was granted liberty to approach the Appellate Tribunal with an appeal in accordance with the law. Furthermore, the Petitioner was permitted to reserve their right to make a prayer before the Appellate Tribunal regarding the waiver of pre-deposit, to the extent permissible under the law. The Court also noted that any explanation offered by the Petitioner for any delay in approaching the Appellate Tribunal due to the pendency of the writ petition would be taken into account by the Appellate Tribunal. The original certified copy of Annexure 19 was ordered to be returned to the Petitioner upon substitution with an attested photocopy.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Petitioner should be granted leave to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to approach the Appellate Tribunal? The Petitioner argued that they wished to withdraw the writ petition to pursue an appeal before the Appellate Tribunal. They also sought to reserve their right to make a prayer for waiver of pre-deposit before the Appellate Tribunal, as permissible in law. The Revenue or State did not record any specific arguments against the withdrawal or the liberty sought by the Petitioner.