Writ challenge to show cause notice is premature where jurisdiction depends on disputed facts and law.

A writ petition under Article 226 will not ordinarily lie against a show cause notice issued within the statutory domain of the assessing authority where the dispute turns on mixed questions of fact and law. Here, the challenge involved whether transactions relating to trademarks, technical know-how and non-competition agreements constituted a sale of goods and whether the State had jurisdiction on the facts pleaded. Because the assessing authority had not yet considered the replies, the writ court declined to interfere and required the petitioners to pursue their objections before the authority, which had to decide the matter on merits after hearing them.

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Issues: Whether the petitioners could maintain writ petitions under Article 226 challenging show cause notices issued under the Karnataka Sales Tax Act on the ground of lack of jurisdiction and whether such petitions were premature.

Analysis: The notices were only show cause notices and the assessing authority had not yet considered the replies filed by the petitioners. The dispute involved mixed questions of fact and law, including whether the transactions relating to trademarks, technical know-how and non-competition agreements amounted to sale of goods and whether the State had jurisdiction on the facts pleaded. In such a situation, the writ court would not ordinarily usurp the statutory authority's function, and the existence of disputed issues required the authority to decide the matter on merits after considering the petitioners' objections.

Conclusion: The writ petitions challenging the notices were not maintainable at that stage and were dismissed as premature.

Final Conclusion: The petitioners were required to pursue their objections before the assessing authority, which had to examine the replies and proceed in accordance with law after granting hearing.

Ratio Decidendi: A writ petition challenging a show cause notice will not lie where the notice is within the authority's statutory domain and the controversy turns on disputed questions of fact and law that the competent authority must first decide.

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