Full Judgment Text
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO.4303 OF 2006
Bellary Steels & Alloys Ltd. ...Appellant(s)
Versus
Deputy Commissioner, Commercial Taxes (Assessments) &
Ors.
...Responden
t(s)
W I T H
CIVIL APPEALS NOS.4306, 4305, 4304, 4308, 4307,
5660 & 5291 OF 2006
O R D E R
Heard both sides at length.
Appellant(s) herein agree to withdraw the original Writ Petitions filed
by them in the Karnataka High Court, unconditionally. In view of such
withdrawal, the impugned judgment of the Division Bench as well as the
judgment of the learned Single Judge will not survive. It is made clear that such
withdrawal of the original Writ Petitions will not preclude the Trade from moving
the Government with a proper representation explaining the fall-out of the
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impugned Notification dated 11 October, 1995 and loss of benefit on account of
the impugned notification.
Today, when investments in the States is the need of the hour, the
Government needs to consider such representations of the Trade keeping in
mind the
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CA 4303/06 etc..contd..
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Industrial Policy, dated 12 July, 1993 as well as the Notification dated 28
October, 1993 as also the subsequent Industrial Policy vide Government Order
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dated 15 March, 1996 which, inter alia, contains an option to the assessee to opt
for the old versus new policy.
The representation, if any, will be made by the Trade within a period of
six weeks.
Before concluding, we may state that we have allowed the appellant(s)
to withdraw the original Writ Petition as the said proceedings came to be filed
against show cause notice. We have repeatedly held that in the absence of factual
foundation, it would be impossible to decide matters of this kind. When doctrine
of promissory estoppel is invoked, the doctrine needs to be based on factual data
which has not been pleaded. The High Court should not have interfered in the
matter. In these cases, the writ petition was filed without reply to even the show
cause notice. In the circumstances, we could have dismissed these Civil Appeals
only on the ground of failure to exhaust statutory remedy, but for the fact that
huge investments involving the large number of industries is in issue.
Subject to above, Civil Appeals are dismissed as
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CA 4303/06 etc..contd..
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withdrawn with no order as to costs.
..................J.
(S.H. KAPADIA)
..................J.
(AFTAB ALAM)
New Delhi,
August 12, 2009.