Ms Johnson Matthey INDIA PVT LTD vs. The Addittional Commissioner CGST Gurugram And Another

Facts

The petitioner, M/s Johnson Matthey India Pvt. Ltd., filed a writ petition before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh. The petition challenged an order dated 28.03.2024 passed by the revenue authorities. After some arguments, the petitioner's counsel sought permission to withdraw the writ petition. The petitioner requested liberty to file an appeal before the Appellate Authority against the impugned order. The revenue authorities were the respondents.

Held

The Court allowed the petitioner's prayer for withdrawal of the writ petition, granting them the liberty to assail the impugned order dated 28.03.2024 before the Appellate Authority. The writ petition was dismissed as withdrawn with the liberty as prayed for. Additionally, the Court directed that if the appeal is preferred within 15 days from the date of the order, the Appellate Authority shall decide the appeal on its merits, notwithstanding any issue of limitation. The ratio decidendi is that a party can withdraw a writ petition to pursue a statutory remedy, and the court can grant liberty to do so, even directing the appellate authority to consider the appeal on merits without being deterred by time limitations if filed promptly.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner should be permitted to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to file an appeal before the Appellate Authority? The petitioner argued for withdrawal of the writ petition to pursue the statutory remedy of appeal before the Appellate Authority. The petitioner sought liberty to file this appeal, implying that the current writ petition was being withdrawn to enable them to avail the appellate process. The revenue authorities did not present any arguments as recorded in the judgment.