M/S. Motilal Suraj Chand vs. Union Of INDIA

CW/2820/2026HC RajasthanGSTCNR RJHC02012468202625 February 2026Bench: INDERJEET SINGH,RAVI CHIRANIA2 pages

AI SummaryRemanded

Facts

The petitioner, M/s. Motilal Suraj Chand, represented by its legal heir Shri Suraj Bhan Khandelwal, filed a writ petition before the Rajasthan High Court. The petitioner challenged an order dated 20.11.2024 passed by the respondents. The core of the petitioner's submission was that this order was passed against a dead person, rendering it legally unsustainable. The petitioner prayed for the matter to be remanded back to the Competent Authority for fresh adjudication. The respondents, represented by Mr. Kinshuk Jain, Senior Standing Counsel for CGST, did not raise any serious objection to the petitioner's prayer.

Held

The Court held that an order passed against a dead person is a nullity in the eyes of law and cannot be sustained. The reasoning was based on the fundamental legal principle that legal proceedings must be against living entities or their legal representatives. Since the impugned order dated 20.11.2024 was passed against a deceased individual, it was deemed void. The ratio decidendi is that any order passed by a statutory authority against a dead person without impleading their legal heirs is invalid and liable to be set aside. Consequently, the Court set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter to the Adjudicating Authority for fresh adjudication in accordance with law, after providing an opportunity of hearing to the concerned parties.

Key Issues

1. Whether an order passed by the revenue authorities against a deceased individual is legally valid and sustainable under GST law? The petitioner argued that an order passed against a dead person is a nullity in the eyes of law and cannot be sustained. They contended that such an order is legally unsustainable and prayed for its setting aside and remand for fresh adjudication. The respondents, while not raising serious objections, implicitly acknowledged the potential issue by not opposing the petitioner's prayer for remand.

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances

[2026:RJ-JP:8643-DB] HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN BENCH AT JAIPUR D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 2820/2026 M/s. Motilal Suraj Chand, Prop. Late Suraj Chand New Mandi, Station Road, Bharatpur, Rajasthan-321001 Through Its Legal Heir Shri Suraj Bhan Khandelwal S/o Late Suraj Chand ----Petitioner Versus 1. Union Of India, Through Secretary, Finance Department, Government Of India, New Delhi 2. The Chief Commissioner, Central Goods And Services Tax, Statue Circle, C Scheme, Jaipur 3. The State Of Rajasthan, Through Chief Commissioner State Goods And Service Tax, Kar Bhawan Ambedkar Circle Jaipur 4. The Superitendent, Cgst And Central Excise Commissionerate, Cgst Range-Xxvi, Bharatpur ----Respondents For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Pankaj Ghiya. Mr. Mayank Vyas. For Respondent(s) : Mr. Kinshuk Jain, Senior Standing Counsel for CGST. HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE INDERJEET SINGH HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAVI CHIRANIA

Order 25/02/2026 Counsel for the petitioner submits that the respondents have passed the order dated 20.11.2024 against a dead person, which is legally unsustainable, therefore, prayed that the matter be remanded back to the Competent Authority for fresh adjudication in accordance with law.

[2026:RJ-JP:8643-DB] (2 of 2) [CW-2820/2026] Counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents has no serious objection to the prayer made by the learned counsel for the petitioner. After perusal of the record and considering the submissions made by counsel for the parties, this Court finds that the impugned order has been passed against a dead person. An order passed against a dead person is a nullity in the eyes of law and cannot be sustained. Accordingly, We deems it just and proper to set aside the impugned order dated 20.11.2024 and remand the matter to the Adjudicating Authority to decide the same afresh, in accordance with law, after affording an opportunity of hearing to the concerned parties. With the aforesaid observations, the writ petition stands disposed of. (RAVI CHIRANIA),J (INDERJEET SINGH),J MG/20

Reproduced from the public record of the Rajasthan High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.