Supreme Court consolidates service tax petitions by Senior Advocates, transfers cases to Delhi High Court for efficient resolution.

The Supreme Court transferred pending petitions on the imposition of service tax on legal services provided by Senior Advocates to the Delhi High Court. This decision aimed to consolidate various cases spread across different High Courts for efficient adjudication, ensuring a consolidated and streamlined approach to address the issue.

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Issues: Transfer of pending petitions on imposition of service tax on legal services rendered by Senior Advocates to one High Court.

Analysis:
The Supreme Court, comprising Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta, heard the learned counsel for the parties and considered the issue of numerous pending petitions in various High Courts regarding the imposition of service tax on legal services provided by Senior Advocates. The learned Solicitor General highlighted that petitions were pending in High Courts including Calcutta, Kerala, Gujarat, Telangana & Andhra Pradesh, Allahabad, Madras, Punjab & Haryana, and Delhi. In light of this, the Court deemed it appropriate to consolidate all these cases under one High Court for efficient adjudication. Consequently, the Supreme Court ordered the transfer of all related matters to the Delhi High Court for thorough examination and decision on merits. As a result, the transfer petitions were allowed, ensuring a consolidated and streamlined approach to address the issue at hand.

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