Narayan Enterprise And Anr vs. The Union Of INDIA And 2 Ors

Held

The Court held that the petitioners had not shown diligence in the proceedings, evidenced by the numerous defects in their writ petition, including non-payment of court fees, an incomplete affidavit, and uncertified annexures. The Court found that the writ petition appeared to have been filed merely for the sake of filing. Consequently, while the petitioners sought to withdraw the petition with liberty to re-file, the Court declined to grant such liberty. The Court reasoned that equitable jurisdiction should not be extended to litigants who have not demonstrated diligence. The writ petition was closed on withdrawal, but without the liberty to re-file.

Facts

The petitioners, Narayan Enterprise and Moloy Banik, filed a writ petition before the Gauhati High Court challenging a show cause notice dated July 22, 2022, issued by the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of CGST & CE, Silchar Division. The writ petition was filed on January 7, 2023. The Court noted several defects in the petition, including unpaid court fees, an incomplete affidavit, uncertified and unpaginated annexures, and lack of service of notice on the respondents. The Court also observed that the affidavit filed was not a proper affidavit and expressed surprise at the Notary Public's endorsement. The petitioners' counsel subsequently sought to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to re-file.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioners have demonstrated diligence in prosecuting the writ petition, as required for invoking the equitable jurisdiction of the High Court? (Mixed question of law and fact) The petitioner argued that they wished to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to re-file. The revenue or State did not appear and made no submissions. The Court's decision hinges on whether the petitioners' conduct warranted the grant of liberty to re-file, considering the deficiencies in their initial filing.