Stay of tax recovery pending reference requires a strong prima facie case; factual tribunal orders alone may not justify interference.

Stay of tax recovery pending a reference under the Orissa Sales Tax Act is not available as a matter of course, though it may be granted in an appropriate case under Article 226 or Article 227. The Court held that the existence of a pending reference application alone did not justify restraint on realisation of the demand. As the tribunal's order rested mainly on facts and disclosed hardly any substantial question of law, the petitioner failed to show a strong prima facie case for interference. On that basis, stay of realisation of tax was not warranted.

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Issues: Whether stay of realisation of tax could be granted under the Court's extraordinary jurisdiction pending disposal of the reference application under the sales tax law.

Analysis: The reference application under section 24(1) of the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947 was pending, and the petitioner sought stay of recovery of the tax demand. The Court noted that while stay in aid of a pending reference cannot be granted as a matter of course, it may be granted in an appropriate case in exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 or Article 227 of the Constitution of India. Applying that principle, the Court found that the tribunal's order had been decided mainly on facts and that there were hardly any questions of law, so no strong prima facie case was shown for interference.

Conclusion: Stay of realisation of tax was not warranted, and the writ petition was liable to be dismissed.

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