Pending stay petitions and threatened recovery justified writ intervention to secure prompt tribunal disposal and maintain status quo.

Where an assessee has already filed a statutory appeal and pending stay petitions before the appellate tribunal, and coercive recovery is apprehended, the writ court may intervene to ensure an effective hearing on the stay applications. The court did not examine the merits of the duty demands; instead, it directed the tribunal to dispose of the stay petitions within four weeks and ordered maintenance of status quo until that decision. The result was interim protection against recovery pending prompt adjudication of the stay remedy.

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Issues: Whether, in the presence of pending stay petitions before the appellate tribunal and apprehended recovery action, the writ court should exercise jurisdiction to direct early disposal of the stay petitions and preserve the existing position.

Analysis: The petitioner had already carried the orders in original in appeal before the appellate tribunal and had also filed stay petitions. As those stay petitions had not been taken up, the petitioner faced the risk of coercive recovery pursuant to the departmental circular. In such circumstances, instead of examining the merits of the duty demands, the appropriate course was to secure an effective hearing on the stay applications and prevent prejudice until the tribunal acts on them.

Conclusion: The issue was answered in favour of the petitioner. The writ court directed the appellate tribunal to dispose of the stay petitions within four weeks and ordered maintenance of status quo until such disposal.

Final Conclusion: The writ petitions were disposed of by granting interim protective relief and by ensuring prompt adjudication of the pending stay petitions before the appellate tribunal.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an assessee has already pursued the statutory appeal and stay remedy, and recovery action is apprehended because the stay application remains undecided, the writ court may intervene to ensure timely disposal of the stay petition and preserve the status quo pending such decision.

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