Withdrawal for tax benefit processing is invalid; authorities must consider eligibility certificate and registration request.

A condition requiring withdrawal of a pending writ petition before processing a Final Eligibility Certificate was legally unsustainable because access to legal remedies cannot be made conditional on abandoning proceedings, and agreements in restraint of legal proceedings are void. However, the petitioner stated it would forgo its sales tax challenge if the Final Eligibility Certificate and Permanent Premier Registration were granted for the relevant period, so the immediate grievance over the withdrawal condition no longer survived. The authorities were therefore directed to consider the request for the certificate and registration for that specified period.

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Issues: Whether the condition requiring the petitioner to withdraw the pending writ petition as a precondition for processing the Final Eligibility Certificate was legally sustainable, and whether consequential directions for consideration of the certificate could be issued.

Analysis: A condition that compels withdrawal of legal proceedings before grant of a benefit is hit by the rule that an agreement in restraint of legal proceedings is void. Access to court protection cannot be made conditional upon abandonment of pending proceedings. In the present matter, the petitioner also stated that it would give up its challenge on the sales tax issue if the respondents granted the Final Eligibility Certificate and Permanent Premier Registration for the relevant period. In view of that statement, the immediate grievance against the withdrawal condition ceased to survive, and the authorities were required to proceed with consideration of the certificate.

Conclusion: The withdrawal condition was not sustainable, and the respondents were directed to consider the grant of the Final Eligibility Certificate and Permanent Premier Registration for the specified period.

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