Surojit Das vs. Deputy Commissioer Of Tax , Goods And Service S Tax And Ors

Facts

The appellant, Surojit Das, filed an intra-Court appeal against an order of the learned Single Bench that refused to grant an interim order. The appellant's goods were in the custody of the respondents, the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax and others. The appellant contended that the order of penalty was illegal and sought the release of the goods. The appeal was filed because the appellant was unable to obtain an interim order from the Single Bench.

Held

The Court held that an intra-Court appeal cannot be entertained if the prayer for an interim direction was not properly made in the pending writ petition. The reasoning was that the appropriate forum for seeking interim relief is the original writ petition itself. Therefore, the appeal was dismissed. The Court granted liberty to the appellant to make an appropriate prayer for an interim direction in the pending writ petition. No specific issue regarding the legality of the penalty or the release of goods was decided on merits.

Key Issues

1. Whether an intra-Court appeal is maintainable when the prayer for an interim direction was not properly made in the pending writ petition. The appellant argued that the goods were illegally detained and the penalty order was invalid, necessitating an appeal. The respondents, represented by the State, contended that the appeal was not maintainable because the appellant had not made an appropriate prayer for an interim direction in the original writ petition. They argued that if an interim order was sought, it should have been specifically requested in the pending writ petition.