Suresh Batheja vs. Union Of INDIA And Ors

Facts

The petitioner, Suresh Batheja, filed a writ petition before the Punjab & Haryana High Court challenging an order dated 31.01.2025 passed by the Additional Commissioner, CGST Commissionerate, Chandigarh. The petitioner sought to withdraw the writ petition. The respondent was the Union of India and others. The tax period and the amount in dispute were not specified in the judgment. The procedural history involved the filing of the writ petition and the subsequent decision to withdraw it.

Held

The Court held that the petitioner should be allowed to withdraw the writ petition. The reasoning was based on the petitioner's request to pursue the statutory appeal already filed against the order dated 31.01.2025 passed by the Additional Commissioner, CGST Commissionerate, Chandigarh. The ratio decidendi is that a party can withdraw a writ petition if they intend to pursue a statutory remedy that has already been invoked. The operative direction was to dismiss the petition as withdrawn with the liberty as prayed for.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner should be permitted to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to pursue a statutory appeal. The petitioner argued that they had filed a statutory appeal against the impugned order and wished to withdraw the writ petition to pursue that appeal. The respondents did not record any specific arguments against the withdrawal.