M/S. Rsd Natural Resources PVT LTD And Anr vs. Union Of INDIA And Ors.
Facts
The petitioner, M/s. RSD Natural Resources Private Ltd. & Anr, filed a writ petition challenging an order passed by a GST revenue authority. The petitioner alleged that they were denied an opportunity of hearing and that the full text of the adjudication order was not available on the GST Portal, preventing them from filing a statutory appeal. The State respondents filed an affidavit asserting that an opportunity of hearing was provided and that the full text of the order was available on the portal prior to the filing of the writ petition. The respondents annexed screenshots from the portal as evidence. The petitioner disputed the veracity of these screenshots and presented their own.
Held
The Court held that the issues regarding whether an opportunity of hearing was provided and whether the full text of the order was available on the GST Portal were disputed questions of fact. The Court stated that it could not scrutinize or appreciate these pieces of evidence in its writ jurisdiction. The Court further noted that even if the notice to show cause was considered bad, the petitioner had replied to it and allowed the proceedings to be completed, resulting in an appealable order. The Court found that the petitioner had a statutory remedy of appeal against the order of adjudication. Therefore, the Court was not inclined to entertain the writ petition. The Court dismissed the writ petition but granted liberty to the petitioner to raise all points before the appellate authority and directed that if the appeal was filed within four weeks, the appellate authority would not raise the point of limitation.
Key Issues
1. Whether the petitioner was denied an opportunity of hearing by the GST revenue authority, which is a question of fact turning on the interpretation of evidence presented by both sides. 2. Whether the full text of the adjudication order was available on the GST Portal prior to the filing of the writ petition, thereby enabling the petitioner to file a statutory appeal, which is a disputed question of fact. Petitioner's contentions: The petitioner argued that the screenshots from the portal, as annexed by the respondents, were doubtful and that the full text of the order was not available, preventing them from filing an appeal. They also contended that the notice to show cause was bad or without jurisdiction. Revenue/State's contentions: The State respondents contended that an opportunity of hearing was given to the petitioner before passing the final adjudication order and that the full text of the order was available on the GST Portal. They relied on their affidavit and annexed documents to support these claims.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
S/L 41 06.09.2021 Court. No. 2 ks WPA 10539 of 2021 M/s. R Natural Resources Private Ltd. & Anr Vs. Union of India & Ors. (Through Video Conference) Mr. Arijit Chakraborti Mr. R. Kalawatia Mr. Prabir Bera …. For the Petitioners Mr. A. Ray, Ld. G.P. Mr. S. Mukherjee, Mr. N. Chatterjee …. For the State Mr. Sandip Choraria Mr. Abhradip Maity … For Respondent No.1 Pursuant to my order dated 11th August, 2021, Mr. Mukherjee, learned advocate appearing for the State respondents has filed an affidavit with documents to establish that before filing of this writ petition full-text of the order was available in the Portal of the respondents and also contending that opportunity of hearing was given to the petitioner denial of which has been alleged by the petitioners in his writ petition. Mr. Chakraborti, learned advocate appearing for the petitioner submits that veracity of the documents being screenshot from the portal as annexed to the affidavit is doubtful and he is relying on another screenshot in the same portal. Considering the affidavit filed by the State Revenue authority which was affirmed on 27th August,
2 2021
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