Maintainability of writ challenge to entry tax law rejected where prior validity ruling and limited interim orders could not reopen the issue.

The Allahabad HC noted that the constitutional challenge to the Uttar Pradesh Tax on Entry of Goods Into Local Areas Act, 2007 had already been rejected in earlier batch proceedings, including the Article 301 plea, so the Act's validity stood affirmed. Interim orders passed by the Supreme Court in connected special leave petitions were confined to those cases and were not precedents, so they could not justify reopening the same challenge. The writ petitions were therefore not maintainable on that basis, and the petitioners were directed to pursue the statutory remedies available against notices and assessment orders under the Act.

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Issues: Whether the writ petitions challenging the Uttar Pradesh Tax on Entry of Goods Into Local Areas Act, 2007 could be entertained on the basis of interim orders passed by the Supreme Court in connected matters, and whether the petitioners were entitled to any relief other than pursuing assessment and appellate remedies under the Act.

Analysis: The Act had already been upheld in earlier batch proceedings, where the constitutional challenge and the plea based on Article 301 of the Constitution of India were rejected. The interim orders passed by the Supreme Court in pending special leave petitions were confined to the facts of those cases and were expressly noted not to be precedents. Since the validity of the Act stood judicially affirmed, the High Court held that it could not re-open the same challenge merely because interim relief had been granted elsewhere. The proper course for the petitioners was to pursue the remedies available against notices and assessment orders under the Act.

Conclusion: The writ petitions were not maintainable on the basis urged and were dismissed, with liberty to the petitioners to pursue remedies against the notices or assessment orders in accordance with law.

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