Interim relief cannot mirror final prayers where it would effectively decide the substantive dispute before final adjudication.
Interim relief that is coextensive with the final prayers in the main petition should not be granted because it would effectively pre-judge and dispose of the substantive dispute before adjudication on merits. On that basis, the request for stay of the notification and directions to grant rebate claims was rejected. The request for an out-of-turn early final hearing was also refused, as earlier pending matters on the roster and the petition's restoration after prior non-compliance provided no basis for priority over other cases. The civil application therefore failed in full, with neither interim nor scheduling relief granted.
Issues: (i) Whether interim stay and directions for grant of rebate claims could be granted when such reliefs were virtually identical to the substantive prayers in the main petition; (ii) whether the main petition should be fixed for early final hearing out of turn.
Issue (i): Whether interim stay and directions for grant of rebate claims could be granted when such reliefs were virtually identical to the substantive prayers in the main petition.
Analysis: The requested interim reliefs would have the same practical effect as allowing the main petition itself. The reliefs sought in the civil application, including stay of the notification and directions to grant rebate claims, were coextensive with the final reliefs claimed in the petition. Granting them at the interim stage would therefore amount to pre-judging the controversy and finally disposing of the substantive dispute without hearing the matter on merits.
Conclusion: The interim reliefs were not granted and the application was rejected insofar as those prayers were concerned.
Issue (ii): Whether the main petition should be fixed for early final hearing out of turn.
Analysis: The Court took into account the existing roster of earlier pending matters and the fact that the petition had already been restored after non-compliance with an earlier procedural direction. In that background, there was no basis to accord priority over other matters already awaiting final hearing.
Conclusion: The request for early out-of-turn hearing was rejected.
Final Conclusion: The civil application did not succeed, and no interim or scheduling relief was granted.
Ratio Decidendi: An interim order that grants the very relief claimed in the main petition should not be issued where it would effectively decide the substantive controversy before final adjudication.
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