Subrata Deb Mallick vs. State Of West Bengal And Ors.

Held

The Court allowed the withdrawal of the writ petition. The reasoning was based on the petitioner's explicit instruction to withdraw and pursue the available remedy before the appellate tribunal. The State did not object to this course of action. The Court granted liberty to the petitioner to approach the tribunal within a period of 4 weeks from the date of the order, in accordance with the law. No specific findings were made on the merits of the underlying GST dispute, as the petition was withdrawn before any substantive adjudication.

Facts

The petitioner, Subrata Deb Mallick, filed a writ petition (WPA 3334 of 2024) before the High Court against the State of West Bengal and others. The petitioner's advocate informed the Court that they had instructions to withdraw the writ petition. The reason for withdrawal was to allow the petitioner to pursue a remedy before the appellate tribunal under the WB GST/CGST Act, 2017. The learned advocate for the State did not raise any objection to the withdrawal.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner should be permitted to withdraw the writ petition to avail the remedy before the appellate tribunal under the WB GST/CGST Act, 2017? Petitioner's argument: The petitioner, through their advocate, sought to withdraw the writ petition to pursue their remedies before the appellate tribunal, indicating a preference for the statutory appellate mechanism. The petitioner's advocate presented an undated e-mail communication as evidence of these instructions. Revenue/State's argument: The learned advocate for the State did not raise any objection to the petitioner's request for withdrawal.