Muthuraman Purushothaman vs. The Secretary

Facts

The petitioner, Muthuraman Purushothaman, filed a writ petition seeking a Mandamus to direct the 1st respondent, the Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, to dispose of his representation dated 11.10.2021. The petitioner had submitted this representation earlier, but it had not received any attention. The respondents were the Ministry of Finance, the Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Tax and Customs, and the Commissioner of CGST & Central Excise. The writ petition was filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

Held

The Court held that since the representation dated 11.10.2021 had been sent to the 1st respondent and had not received any attention until the date of the writ petition, it was appropriate to direct the 1st respondent to pass appropriate orders. The Court explicitly stated that it was disposing of the writ petition at the admission stage without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case. The operative direction was to the 1st respondent to consider the representation on its merits and in accordance with law within a period of 6 weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the order. No costs were awarded.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Court should direct the 1st respondent to dispose of the petitioner's representation dated 11.10.2021, given that it has been pending without action. Petitioner's Argument: The petitioner contended that his representation, submitted on 11.10.2021, had not been addressed by the 1st respondent, necessitating judicial intervention to compel a decision. Revenue/State's Argument: The judgment does not record any specific arguments from the respondents. However, the appearance of the Central Government Senior Panel Counsel for the 1st respondent indicates their representation in the matter.