Alternative remedy and consumed goods: writ relief survives onerous appeal conditions, and blasting explosives were not a taxable sale.

Availability of an alternative statutory appeal is not an absolute bar to writ relief where the appellate remedy is conditioned by a deposit requirement that may make it practically illusory; dismissal on that ground alone is not warranted without considering the statutory scheme and surrounding facts. The use of explosives in blasting work, when the goods are consumed and exhausted in execution of the contract, does not constitute a taxable sale under the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994. Even alleged misuse of form C does not convert a non-sale transaction into a sale for levy purposes, and the assessment order was quashed.

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Issues: (i) whether the writ petition could be dismissed solely on the ground of availability of an alternative statutory appeal carrying a deposit condition; and (ii) whether the use of explosives in blasting work amounted to a sale liable to sales tax under the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994.

Issue (i): whether the writ petition could be dismissed solely on the ground of availability of an alternative statutory appeal carrying a deposit condition.

Analysis: The availability of an alternative remedy does not operate as an absolute bar in every case. The right of appeal is statutory, but the Court held that the nature of the condition attached to the remedy and whether it is so onerous as to render the remedy practically illusory must be examined on the facts of each case. The writ court had dismissed the petition without considering the relevant statutory provisions and surrounding circumstances.

Conclusion: The writ petition ought not to have been rejected mechanically on the ground of alternative remedy.

Issue (ii): whether the use of explosives in blasting work amounted to a sale liable to sales tax under the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994.

Analysis: A conjoint reading of the definition of "sale" and the charging provision showed that the explosives were consumed and exhausted in the execution of the blasting work and did not result in a taxable sale transaction. Even if there had been some misuse of the concession obtained through form C, that would not convert a non-sale transaction into a sale for the purpose of levy of tax.

Conclusion: The transaction did not amount to a sale and was not exigible to sales tax.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded, the writ petition was allowed, and the assessment order was quashed.

Ratio Decidendi: A writ petition cannot be dismissed merely because an alternative statutory appeal exists if the appellate condition may render the remedy effectively illusory, and goods consumed and exhausted in executing a works-related blasting job do not constitute a sale for sales tax purposes.

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