Surinder Singh & Anr. vs. Union Of INDIA & Ors.

Held

The Court did not decide the substantive issues on merits. Regarding the maintainability, the Court noted that the dispute appeared to be between petitioner no.1 and respondent no.6, which is typically not a subject matter for a writ petition, even with GST authorities impleaded. On the issue of territorial jurisdiction, the respondents (GST authorities) contended that the impugned GST number was obtained in Ghaziabad, implying this Court would not have jurisdiction. Following these observations and arguments, the counsel for the petitioners sought to withdraw the petition. Consequently, the Court dismissed the petition as withdrawn, granting liberty to the petitioners to pursue appropriate proceedings. No specific findings were made on the GST provisions or the validity of the GST number itself.

Facts

The petitioners, Surinder Singh and P.S. Industries (petitioner no.2), filed a writ petition seeking to quash/cancel a GST number obtained by respondent no.6, Manjeet Singh, in the name of petitioner no.2. The petitioners claimed that petitioner no.1 and respondent no.6, who were brothers and business partners in P.S. Industries, dissolved their partnership on September 17, 2019. They alleged that respondent no.6 obtained a new GST number as the sole proprietor of P.S. Industries without fulfilling his payment obligations under the dissolution deed, which they contended he was not entitled to do. The Court questioned the maintainability of the writ petition, viewing the dispute as primarily between two brothers. The GST authorities also raised a preliminary objection regarding the territorial jurisdiction of the Court, as the impugned GST number was obtained in Ghaziabad.

Key Issues

1. Whether the writ petition is maintainable before this Court, considering the dispute appears to be a private one between petitioner no.1 and respondent no.6 regarding a partnership dissolution and the subsequent obtaining of a GST number. 2. Whether this Court has the territorial jurisdiction to entertain the writ petition, given that the disputed GST number was obtained in Ghaziabad. Petitioner's Arguments: The petitioners' counsel did not explicitly argue on the merits of the case after the Court raised concerns about maintainability and jurisdiction. They sought to withdraw the petition. Respondents' Arguments: The respondents (GST authorities) contended that the Court lacks territorial jurisdiction as the GST number in question was obtained in Ghaziabad, not within the jurisdiction of this High Court. The judgment does not record specific arguments from other respondents.