Writ relief for stay of tax proceedings fails once assessment and revisional proceedings become infructuous

A writ petition seeking only a stay of proceedings and tax realisation became infructuous once the underlying assessment and revisional proceedings had ceased to survive. The court noted that the petition challenged neither the notice nor the assessment order, and the earlier revisional challenge to the Tribunal's order had already been dismissed as infructuous after final assessment orders were passed. Because the foundation for the requested stay relief no longer existed, the writ reliefs could not be granted and the petition was dismissed as infructuous.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition seeking only stay of proceedings and realisation could survive after the underlying assessment and revisional proceedings had become infructuous.

Analysis: The reliefs sought were limited to a direction to stay proceedings under section 10B of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948, stay realisation of tax for one assessment year, and stay assessment proceedings for another year. No prayer was made for quashing the impugned notice or assessment order. The court noted that the revisional challenge to the Tribunal's order had already been dismissed as infructuous after the final assessment orders were passed. In that situation, the foundation of the writ petition no longer survived and the reliefs sought could not be granted.

Conclusion: The writ petition was held to have become infructuous and was dismissed.

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