Commissioner Of Customs vs. Dalmia Cement (Bharat) LTD.

Held

The Court accepted the submission made by the Appellant-Department. The Court noted that the Appellant-Department had filed a memo indicating their intention to withdraw the appeal based on their internal litigation policy, which discourages pursuing cases with monetary stakes below Rs. 2 Crores. The Court acknowledged this submission and accordingly dismissed the appeal as withdrawn. No costs were awarded. The operative direction was to dismiss the appeal as withdrawn.

Facts

The Appellant-Department, represented by its learned counsel, filed a memo before the High Court. This memo included a copy of a circular outlining the Department's litigation policy. According to this policy, the Department resolved not to initiate any Appeals or Petitions where the monetary stakes involved were less than Rs. 2 Crores. The counsel, therefore, prayed for leave to withdraw the present Appeal. The submission was placed on record by the Court.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Appellant-Department is entitled to withdraw the Appeal based on its internal litigation policy? The Appellant-Department argued that its litigation policy, which stipulates not to pursue appeals with monetary stakes below Rs. 2 Crores, permits withdrawal of the current appeal. The Department relied on this internal policy to justify its request for withdrawal. The judgment does not record any specific arguments from the respondent side, if any, other than the submission being placed on record.