The Principal Commissioner vs. M/S Vijayakrant Constructions

Held

The Court accepted the submission made by the appellant-Department's counsel. Based on the Department's litigation policy, which precludes pursuing appeals with monetary stakes below Rs. 2 Crores, the Court allowed the withdrawal of the appeal. The reasoning is directly tied to the Department's internal policy, which the Court acknowledged and acted upon. There were no findings on the merits of the case, as the appeal was disposed of on a procedural ground. The operative direction was to dismiss the appeal as withdrawn, with no costs awarded.

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 appeals or petitions where the monetary stakes were less than Rs. 2 Crores. Consequently, the counsel prayed for leave to withdraw the present appeal.

Key Issues

The Court did not have to decide any substantive legal issues as the appeal was withdrawn. The sole procedural matter was the appellant-Department's request to withdraw the appeal based on its internal litigation policy. The Department argued that its litigation policy mandated the withdrawal of appeals with monetary stakes below Rs. 2 Crores, and therefore, it sought permission to withdraw the present appeal. The judgment does not record any arguments from the respondent side.