M/S Chirag Electronics Faridabad vs. Union Of INDIA And Others

Held

The Court dismissed the present Review Application (RA-CW No. 67 of 2020) in terms of its earlier judgment dated January 10, 2020, which disposed of a bunch of 51 review applications (RA-CW No. 506 of 2019 in CWP No. 28203 of 2019). The Court noted the concession by the counsel for the applicants (GST Authorities) that a similar batch of review applications had already been dismissed. It was also conceded that the plea regarding certain judgments not being brought to the Court's notice did not fall within the scope of review jurisdiction. Furthermore, it was conceded that an SLP had already been filed against the decision dated November 4, 2019, in the main writ petition. The Court found that the review application sought to reagitate matters already decided, which is impermissible under the parameters for seeking review. Therefore, the review application was dismissed on the same grounds as the earlier dismissed applications.

Facts

This case involves a Review Application (RA-CW No. 67 of 2020) filed by the GST Authorities (respondent Nos. 1 to 3) seeking to review a judgment dated December 20, 2019, passed by the High Court of Punjab & Haryana in CWP No. 37358 of 2019. The original writ petition was allowed, directing the respondents to permit the petitioner, M/s. Chirag Electronics, Faridabad, to file Form 'TRAN-1' by an extended date. The GST Authorities sought condonation of a 22-day delay in filing the review application, which was allowed. They also sought exemption from filing certified copies of previous judgments, which was also granted. The review application itself was filed after a previous bunch of 51 review applications by the Union of India against similar judgments were dismissed on January 10, 2020.

Key Issues

1. Whether the present Review Application, filed by the GST Authorities, is maintainable given that a similar batch of 51 review applications by the Union of India against identical judgments was dismissed by this Court on January 10, 2020 (RA-CW No. 506 of 2019 in CWP No. 28203 of 2019, titled 'M/s. Groupe SEB India Pvt. Ltd. Versus Union of India and Ors.')? Petitioner's Arguments (GST Authorities): The GST Authorities sought to review the judgment dated December 20, 2019. They conceded that a prior batch of review applications on similar grounds had been dismissed. They also conceded that an SLP had already been filed against the decision dated November 4, 2019, in the main writ petition. The plea that certain judgments were not brought to the Court's notice was also conceded to not fall within the scope of review jurisdiction. Revenue's Arguments (Petitioner in the original writ): The judgment does not record specific arguments from the revenue's side in the review application, but the context implies they would rely on the dismissal of previous review applications and the established parameters for review.