Exhaustion of statutory appellate remedy before writ challenge to assessment orders; petitioners sent back to the proper appellate forum.

Where an effective statutory appellate remedy is available against an assessment order, writ jurisdiction should ordinarily not be invoked before that remedy is exhausted. The Supreme Court held that the proper course for one set of petitions was to approach the First Appellate Authority, while the other set had to proceed before the Tribunal in view of their procedural history. The High Court's refusal to insist on the appellate route was set aside, and the petitioners were relegated to the appropriate statutory appellate forum with liberty to file proceedings within the time granted.

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Issues: Whether the writ petitions challenging assessment orders ought to have been dismissed for failure to exhaust the statutory appellate remedy, and whether the petitioners should be relegated to the appropriate appellate forum.

Analysis: The matters involved challenges to assessment orders under the sales tax regime. For one set of petitions, the proper course was to first approach the First Appellate Authority. For the other set, the proper course was to approach the Tribunal, having regard to the prior procedural history. The High Court had dismissed the writ petitions without requiring resort to the statutory appellate remedies.

Conclusion: The petitions were allowed, the High Court's orders were set aside qua the petitioners, and the petitioners were relegated to the appropriate statutory appellate forum with liberty to file the proceedings within the time granted.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an effective statutory appellate remedy is available against an assessment order, writ jurisdiction should ordinarily not be invoked until that remedy is exhausted.

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