Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Sri Sushanta Kumar Das, approached the High Court of Orissa at Cuttack by way of W.P.(C) No.30922 of 2023 against the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs and other opposite parties, aggrieved by action taken by the CT & GST authorities. The matter was one among a large batch of similar writ petitions arising out of proceedings under the CGST/OGST Act, 2017 pending before the Orissa High Court. The petition was taken up through the hybrid mode of hearing on 8th November 2023 before the Division Bench comprising the Acting Chief Justice and a companion Judge. Rather than being argued afresh on its individual facts, the Bench noted that the issue raised was already covered by a common order passed by the same Court on 6th November 2023 in W.P.(C) No.6684 of 2023 and a batch of connected writ petitions, titled M/s. Pravat Kumar Choudhury and others v. Additional State Tax Officer, CT & GST, Cuttack and others. No separate reasoning or independent adjudication was recorded in the present order; the petition was disposed of purely by adopting the findings and directions rendered in the earlier batch matter.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the writ petition, being one of a batch of similarly placed GST matters, could be disposed of by applying the common order already passed in the lead case.
  2. Whether any independent adjudication on the merits of the petitioner's grievance was required.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioner, represented by senior counsel, contended that the case raised issues identical to those already adjudicated in the batch of writ petitions led by W.P.(C) No.6684 of 2023.
  • No separate submissions distinguishing the facts of this case from the lead matter were recorded in the order.

Respondent's Arguments

  • Counsel for the Central and State GST authorities did not resist disposal on the basis of the common order already passed in the batch matter.
  • No independent contentions specific to this petitioner were placed on record.

Court Order/Findings

  • The Division Bench found that the present writ petition stood squarely covered by the common order dated 6th November 2023 passed in W.P.(C) No.6684 of 2023 and batch.
  • The Court held that the writ petition is disposed of in terms of the said common order, without recording fresh reasons.
  • No further liberty or separate direction beyond adoption of the batch order was recorded.

Important Clarification

Where several writ petitions raise a common question of law or fact already decided in a lead matter, High Courts routinely dispose of the connected petitions by applying the common order, without repeating the reasoning, in the interest of judicial efficiency.

Sections Involved

  • Provisions of the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 as considered in the lead batch matter.
  • Article 226 of the Constitution of India, under which the writ petition was filed.

Decision – In Favour of

The order is essentially procedural, disposing of the petition on the strength of a common batch order rather than deciding the petitioner's individual grievance on merits. No clean win can be attributed to either side from this short order alone; the actual outcome for the petitioner depends entirely on the findings recorded in the lead matter, W.P.(C) No.6684 of 2023, which this order simply adopts.

Related Case Laws

No directly on-point case notes are currently published on this site.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Orissa at Cuttack
  • Case No.: W.P.(C) No.30922 of 2023
  • CNR: Not available
  • Coram: Acting Chief Justice Dr. B.R. Sarangi and Justice Murahari Sri Raman
  • Decision Date: 08-11-2023
  • Disposal Nature: Disposed of in terms of common order in GST batch matter

Link to Download the Order

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