Rafiqul Hasan vs. State Of West Bengal And Ors.

Held

The Court allowed the proposed corrections to its previous order dated August 21, 2026. Specifically, it was held that "Section 73" would be read as "Section 73 of WBGST Act/CGST Act, 2017". The date of appeal filing was corrected to "3rd December, 2024". The date "19th December, 2023" was amended to "20th March, 2024". Crucially, the Court ordered the insertion of a new paragraph stating that the adjudication order dated March 20, 2024, and the appellate order dated January 27, 2025, were set aside. This necessitated renumbering of the subsequent paragraphs in the original order. The Court found these corrections to be necessary for accuracy and clarity, and they were made with the consent of all parties. All other portions of the August 21, 2026 order were to remain unaltered. The ratio decidendi is that High Courts can correct clerical and typographical errors in their judgments, especially when agreed upon by the parties, to reflect the true intent and findings.

Facts

The petitioner, Rafiqul Hasan, proprietor of Techno Industry, filed a writ application before the High Court at Calcutta. The Court had previously disposed of this application on August 21, 2026. The petitioner's counsel sought to incorporate specific changes into the prior order. These changes involved correcting the reference to "Section 73" to "Section 73 of WBGST Act/CGST Act, 2017", rectifying a typographical error in the year of appeal filing from "20242" to "2024", and amending a date from "19th December, 2023" to "20th March, 2024". Additionally, the petitioner requested the insertion of a new paragraph stating that the adjudication order dated March 20, 2024, and the appellate order dated January 27, 2025, were set aside, with consequential renumbering of subsequent paragraphs. These corrections were made in the presence of and with the consent of the learned advocates for the respondents.

Key Issues

1. Whether "Section 73" in the previous order should be specifically identified as "Section 73 of WBGST Act/CGST Act, 2017"? 2. Whether the year of appeal filing by the petitioner should be corrected from "3rd December, 20242" to "3rd December, 2024"? 3. Whether the date "19th December, 2023" in the previous order should be amended to "20th March, 2024"? 4. Whether the adjudication order dated March 20, 2024, and the appellate order dated January 27, 2025, should be set aside, with consequential renumbering of paragraphs in the previous order? Petitioner's Arguments: The petitioner argued for the incorporation of these specific textual and date corrections to ensure accuracy in the Court's order. They sought to clarify the statutory provision and rectify any factual inaccuracies regarding dates and the operative effect of prior orders. Revenue/State's Arguments: The respondents (State and Union of India) were represented, and the corrections were made with their consent, indicating no opposition to the proposed amendments.