Mahalaxmi -Nilkanth (Jv) vs. Assistant Commissioner Of Central Tax Durgapur Ii Division And Ors

Facts

The appellant, Mahalaxmi – Nilkanth (JV), filed an intra-Court appeal against an order dated April 2, 2024, passed by a learned Single Bench of the Calcutta High Court in W.P.A. 7235 of 2024. The Single Bench had refused to grant an interim order. The appeal was heard by a Division Bench comprising the Chief Justice and another judge. The specific tax period, the order or action under challenge, the authority that passed it, or the amount in dispute are not recorded in the provided judgment excerpt. The procedural history leading to the writ petition is also not detailed.

Held

The Division Bench held that there were no grounds to interfere with the order passed by the learned Single Bench. Consequently, the Court found no scope for passing any interim order. The reasoning provided is that the facts and circumstances of the case did not warrant any intervention. The ratio decidendi is that an intra-Court appeal against a Single Bench's refusal to grant an interim order will be dismissed if the appellate court finds no grounds to interfere with the lower court's decision and no scope for passing an interim order. The operative direction was to dismiss the appeal.

Key Issues

1. Whether the learned Single Bench erred in refusing to grant an interim order in W.P.A. 7235 of 2024. The appellant contended that an interim order was necessary pending the final adjudication of the writ petition. The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the appellant regarding the grounds for seeking an interim order or the merits of the underlying writ petition. The respondents, including the Assistant Commissioner of Central Tax and the State, did not present any arguments as the Division Bench found no grounds to interfere with the Single Bench's order. The judgment does not mention any specific provisions of the GST Act or Rules that were argued by either side.