M/S Om Stone Crusher And Ors. vs. State Th.Excise And Taxation And Ors.

Held

The Court held that the writ petitions had ceased to bear relevance for adjudication. The primary reason for this was the subsequent events that transpired after the filing of the petitions. The Court noted that following the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, the toll post in question, established under SRO 429 dated 28.12.2012, had been withdrawn. Consequently, the grievance and apprehension of the petitioners regarding unwarranted toll inspections were deemed to have been attended to by the passage of time and these subsequent legislative and administrative changes. The Court found that the core issue raised by the petitioners was no longer extant. Therefore, the Court concluded that the writ petitions were rendered infructuous. The operative direction was to dismiss the writ petitions as withdrawn, without prejudice to the position of either party.

Facts

The petitioners, M/s Om Stone Crusher and others, filed writ petitions challenging their subjection to unwarranted toll inspections. They contended that their stone crusher units, located in Village Gandial Keerian, Tehsil & District Kathua, were being subjected to inspections at a toll post established under SRO 429 dated 28.12.2012, even though their transportation of raw material and finished goods did not utilize the road where the toll post was situated. The grievance was that the toll post for Village Gandial was notified and made functional, leading to these inspections. The State and others were the respondents. The petitions were filed in 2014.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioners are liable to be subjected to toll inspections at the toll post established in Village Gandial, Kathua, when their transportation of goods does not pass through the notified road. The petitioners argued that the toll post was established for a specific notified area and road, and since their operations did not involve passage through that specific route, the inspections were unwarranted and illegal. They sought to be exempted from such inspections. The respondents, the State and others, did not explicitly record arguments in the judgment. However, their implicit stance was that the toll post was functional and inspections were being carried out as per the notification. Subsequent to the filing of the petitions, significant changes occurred. The judgment notes that post the Reorganization Act of 2019 and the implementation of the GST regime, the said toll post has been withdrawn. This development has rendered the petitioners' grievance and apprehension moot.